8.3: Infinitives-Form and Usage

V. Infinitives

An infinitive is the base form of the verb with to in front of it. For example, to go, to run, to die, to love, etc. are infinitives. An infinitive can be used as a noun. Thus, infinitives are used as subjects, direct objects, complements, appositives, adverbials and adjective modifiers. However, infinitives can never be used as the object of a preposition.

The following verbs are followed by an infinitive:

Agree             Afford         Consent        Decide         Arrange         Decline        Expect         Attempt         Undertake        Hope         Deserve 
Intend            Fail             Can’t wait     Learn           Hesitate         Mean          Like             Manage         Need               Offer          Plan                                          Pretend          Strive          Try               Refuse         Seek           Want            Seem             Cease         Promise                       

Examples

I agreed to go to the party with my wife.

We plan to buy a new car next year.

The boy wants to stay overnight at his friend’s house.

The teacher promised to give the students an examination next week.

My son refused to go to the University of Washington.

Children sometimes pretend to be sick when they don’t want to go to school.

I hesitate to borrow anything from anybody.

Students need to manage to go to school, work, and take care of their families every day.

I can’t afford to buy a new car. I don’t have enough money.

Exercise 25: Answer the following questions by using a verb followed by an infinitive, please.

1. Why do you want to learn English?

2. Where do you intend to go after class today?

3. What kind of food do you like to eat?

4. What do you hesitate to do because you are afraid?

5. What do you seek to do in the next year?

6. Tell me something you can’t wait to do.

7. What do little boys pretend to be?

8. What do you strive to do in your life all the time?

9. What do you need to do before you come to class tomorrow?

10. What can’t you afford to buy before next year?

11. Where do you hope to live 10 years from now?

12. Tell me something you would refuse to do.

13. Tell me something that you try to do every day.

Exercise 26: Use the following words in a well-written sentences.

1. to prepare

2. to intend

3. to decide

4. to dread

5. to refuse

6. to offer

7.  to hesitate

8. to arrange

9. to attempt

10. to undertake

11. to seek

12. to agree

VI. Negative Infinitives

To make infinitives negative, put not before them.

Examples

The student promised not to come to class late anymore.

I preferred not to eat out in a restaurant.

The old man prefers not to drive at night.

The boy is planning not to go to college.

My sons often arrange not to be available when I need them to help me in the garden.

My son pretended not to feel well when my wife asked him to clean the bathrooms.

VII. Infinitives with Different Subjects

It is possible in a sentence to have the subject of the sentence be different from the subject of the infinitive. The following are some verbs that can take a different subject for the infinitive:

Would like        Persuade         Challenge        Expect         Get         Require        Tell           Force         Encourage        Advise         Help

Enable             Order              Permit             Direct          Urge       Invite           Prepare    Allow         Ask                   Teach

Examples

I wanted André to go to the store for some milk.

We need Alex to lift up the heavy boxes.

I expected my students to do their homework every night.

I would like my friend to help me on Sunday.

The wife persuaded her husband to go to the doctor’s.

The girl invited her friends to come to the party.

The teacher urged the students to study.

VIII. Infinitives with Adjectives before Them

Infinitives often follow adjectives. The infinitive is the complement of the adjective because the adjective needs the infinitive to give meaning to the adjective. Very often adjectives with infinitive complements follow sentences that begin with the expletive It. It has no meaning in these sentences; it is just serving as the subject of the sentence.

Examples

The English teacher was happy to help the student with her composition.

My wife was delighted to bake a birthday cake for our sons when they were boys.

It is difficult to learn English grammar.

All of the students were unhappy to hear the results of the examination.

My father was always willing to take all of my friends fishing when I was a boy.

I am content to continue to teach for a long time.

It is easy to ride a bicycle.

It is enjoyable to lie on a beach and do nothing.

It is impossible for a man to have a baby.

It is advisable to study before an examination.

It isn’t smart to speed in a car on snow.

It is foolish to waste money on stupid things.

It is unethical to cheat on an examination.

IX. Infinitives with Adjectives and Too and Enough and Very

Too, Enough and Very are called quantifiers in grammar. Too means that something is excessive. It is negative in meaning. Enough means that something is sufficient. It is affirmative in meaning. Very only means to a high degree, “a lot.” Very does not say either excessive or sufficient; it just says a lot. Many times people use the preposition for with these words.

Examples:

A new car is too expensive to buy. I can’t buy one.

I am too old to play football. I can’t play anymore.

To speak Chinese is too difficult for me to do. I can’t do it.

My sister is too short to reach the shelves in the cupboard. She is only 5 feet tall.

It is too cold for people to go outside in winter. People don’t want to go outside.

The hat is too small for my son to wear. He can’t wear it. His head is too big.

I am old enough to be your grandfather. I am just waiting for my sons to become fathers.

Sixteen-year-old children are old enough to drive. They can drive legally.

My son is strong enough to lift 200 pounds. He is strong enough. He can do it.

This exercise is easy enough for my students to do. They can do it.

The weather in the summer is warm enough for people to go swimming in Green Lake. They can go swimming.

The girl is very beautiful. Men and women think she looks great.

My sister is very kind to animals and people. She is never mean or not nice to anyone.

Alaska is very cold in winter. Bears like it, but most people don’t like living there.

New houses are very expensive to buy in the Seattle area. Only people with money can buy one.

Exercise 27: Answer the following question using a negative infinitive, please.

1. Tell me something you decided not to do.

2. Who do you not want to talk to?

3. Tell me a job you intend not to seek.

4. Tell me something you try not to do.

5. Tell me something you promised your mother not to do when you were a boy or girl.

6. What do you hope never to happen to you.

7. What will you need not to learn in your life?

8. What did you manage not to do last week?

9. Tell me something you decided not to buy.

10. What did you learn not to do when you were younger?

11. When did you mean not to say something?

12. What would parents not like their children to do?

13. What do you hope not to do again in the future?

Exercise 28: Answer the following questions with infinitives with different subjects, please.

1. What would you like me to do?

2. Who did you help to do something recently?

3. What did your parents permit you to do when you were younger?

4. What do I require you to do when you do homework for me?

5. What did your parents require you to do when you were younger?

6. What did you urge someone to do?

7. What do I allow you to do in my classroom?

8. Who persuaded you to come to America?

9. Who sometimes needs you to help them?

10. What do teachers expect their students to do?

11. What will learning English enable you to do?

12. What did your father permit you to do?

13. What is it sometimes difficult to get babies to do?

Exercise 29: Answer the following questions using an adjective followed by an infinitive, please.

1. Tell me something that is fun to do.

2. Tell me something that is difficult to do.

3. Tell me something that is enjoyable to do.

4. Tell me a game that is fun to play.

5. Tell me something that is not good to do.

6. Tell me something that is stupid to do.

7. Tell me something that is important to do.

8. Tell me something that is unlucky to do in your culture.

9. Tell me something that you are too old to do.

10. Tell me something that you are sometimes too tired to do.

11. Tell me something that is too expensive for you to buy.

12. Tell me something that is too difficult for old people to do.

13. Tell me something that is too heavy for you to lift.

X. Infinitives after Nouns

Infinitives sometimes follow nouns to express the purpose of the nouns.

Examples

I bought a new chair to sit on.

My friend uses a hose to water his garden.

I use an old knife to peel apples with.

My wife uses pots and pans to cook food in.

I have red pens to correct papers with.

He took out a handkerchief to blow his nose.

The policeman pulled out his gun to shoot the robber.

The violinist picked up his violin to play the musical piece he wrote.

XI. Verbs (Forget, Remember, Stop, Quit) that Have Different Meanings when Followed by a Gerund than when followed by an Infinitive

Forget + Infinitive: The forgetting occurs before the idea of the infinitive didn’t happen.

Examples:

The man forgot to buy milk on his way home from work. [First, the man forgot, so he didn’t buy the milk.]
I forgot to feed the dog. [First I forgot, so I didn’t feed the dog.]
My sister forgot to send me a birthday card. [First she forgot, so she didn’t send me a card.]

Forget + Gerund: The forgetting occurs after the idea of the gerund did happen.

Examples:

I forgot taking my medicine. [First I took the medicine, and then I forgot that I took it.]
The teacher forgot making copies of an assignment for his students. [First the teacher made the copies, and then he forgot that he had already made them.]

The old man forgot telling me the story. [First the old man told me the story, and then he told me the same story again because he didn’t remember telling me the story before.]

Remember + Infinitive: Someone is telling the person not to forget to do something.

Examples:

I want my students to remember to study the past participles before the final exam. Don’t forget to study them.

My son remembered to call home last night from Japan. He called home around 11:00 PM last night. He didn’t forget to call home.

Remember + Gerund: The remembering takes place after the action of the gerund. It means not forgetting that you did something.

Examples:

I remember sending her a birthday day card. I sent the card and I remember that I sent it.

I remember going fishing with my father when I was a boy. I remember that we went fishing. I won’t ever forget that we went fishing together.

When I was with my sister last summer, we were talking about old times. We both remembered my having to go to her kindergarten class to sit with her because she was afraid and crying.

Stop + Infinitive: The stopping of one action takes place before another action happens.

Examples:

While the man was driving home from work, he stopped to buy some milk at Safeway.

The boy was playing a video game, but he stopped [playing the video game] to eat dinner with his family.

While the young men were sitting and talking in a café, they stopped to look at a pretty girl who was walking by the café window.

Stop + Gerund: The stopping of one action is complete at least for a short while.

Examples:

At the age of 35, my brother stopped smoking. He never smoked again.

I wish my students would stop making mistakes in grammar and writing.

The man’s heart stopped beating when he died.

Quit + Infinitive: The quitting of one action takes place before another action happens.

Examples:

The boy quit (school) to take a job.

The men quit working for fifteen minutes to take a break.

The students were arguing. They quit arguing when the teacher came into the room.

Quit + Gerund: The quitting of one action is complete at least for a short while.

Examples:

The man’s wife quit complaining about his being a couch potato.

I quit trying to learn Portuguese.

It quit raining in Seattle last week.