{"id":54,"date":"2022-05-20T21:09:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T21:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ecc-guidetowriting\/chapter\/infinitives\/"},"modified":"2022-05-20T21:09:03","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T21:09:03","slug":"infinitives","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ecc-guidetowriting\/chapter\/infinitives\/","title":{"raw":"Infinitives","rendered":"Infinitives"},"content":{"raw":"\n
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\n\nTo be or not to be, that is the question.\n\n\u2014Hamlet\n\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n

The to<\/em>-Infinitive<\/h2>\n<\/b>The infinitive is the basic dictionary form of a verb, usually preceded by to<\/i> (when it's not, it's called the bare infinitive<\/strong>, which we'll discuss more later). Thus to go<\/i> is an infinitive. There are several different uses of the infinitive. They can be used alongside verbs, as a noun phrase, as a modifier, or in a question.\n

With Other Verbs<\/h3>\nThe to<\/i>-infinitive is used with other verbs (we'll discuss exceptions when we talk about the bare infinitive):\n
    \n \t
  • I aim to convince<\/strong> him of our plan's ingenuity.<\/li>\n \t
  • You already know that he'll fail to complete<\/strong> the task.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nYou can also use multiple infinitives in a single sentence: \"Today, I plan to run<\/strong> three miles, to clean<\/strong> my room, and to update<\/strong> my budget.\" All three of these infinitives follow the verb plan<\/em>. Other verbs that often come before infinitives include want<\/em>, convince<\/em>, try<\/em>, able<\/em>, and like<\/em>.\n

    As a Noun Phrase<\/h3>\nThe infinitive can also be used to express an action in an abstract, general way: \"To err<\/b> is human\"; \"To know <\/b>me is to love me<\/b>.\" No one in particular is completing these actions. In these sentences, the infinitives act as the subjects.\n\nInfinitives can also serve as the object of a sentence. One common construction involves a dummy subject (it<\/i>): \"It was nice to meet<\/b> you.\"\n

    As a Modifier<\/h3>\nInfinitives can be used as an adjective (e.g., \"A request to see<\/b> someone\" or \"The man to save<\/b> us\") or as an adverb (e.g., \"Keen to get<\/strong> on,\" \"Nice to listen<\/b> to,\" or \"In order to win<\/strong>\").\n

    In Questions<\/h3>\nInfinitives can be used in elliptical questions as well, as in \"I don't know where to go<\/b>.\"\n
    \n\nNote:<\/strong> The infinitive is also the usual dictionary form or citation form of a verb. The form listed in dictionaries is the bare infinitive, although the to<\/i>-infinitive is often used in referring to verbs or in defining other verbs: \"The word amble<\/em> means 'to walk slowly'\"; \"How do we conjugate the verb to go<\/i>?\"\n\nCertain helping verbs do not have infinitives, such will<\/em>, can<\/em>, and may<\/i><\/i>.\n\n<\/div>\n

    Split Infinitives?<\/h3>\nOne of the biggest controversies among grammarians and style writers has been the appropriateness of separating the two words of the to<\/i>-infinitive as in \"to boldly<\/em> go.\" Despite what a lot of people have declared over the years, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this construction. It is 100 percent grammatically sound.\n\nPart of the reason so many authorities have been against this construction is likely the fact that in languages such as Latin, the infinitive is a single word, and cannot be split. However, in English the infinitive (or at least the to<\/em>-infinitive) is two words, and a split infinitive is a perfectly natural construction.\n
    \n

    Try to<\/i> versus Try and<\/em><\/h3>\nOne common error people make is saying try and<\/em> instead of try to<\/em>, as in \"I'll try and be there by 10:00 tomorrow.\" However, try<\/em> requires a to-infinitive after it, so using and<\/em> is incorrect. While this construction is acceptable in casual conversation, it is not grammatically correct and should not be used in formal situations.\n\n<\/div>\n
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    Practice<\/h3>\nIdentify the infinitives in the following sentences:\n
      \n \t
    1. Paulina is the girl to beat.<\/li>\n \t
    2. It was really nice to hear from you again.<\/li>\n \t
    3. It looks like Dash wants to fail.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[reveal-answer q=\"875706\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"875706\"]\n
        \n \t
      1. The infinitive to beat<\/em> is used in this instance. It acts as an adjective, describing what kind of girl Paulina is.<\/li>\n \t
      2. The infinitive to hear<\/em> is used in this instance. It acts as the object of the sentence.<\/li>\n \t
      3. The infinitive to fail is used in this instance.<\/em> It works along with the verb want<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\n<\/div>\n

        The Bare Infinitive<\/h2>\nAs we mentioned previously, the infinitive can sometimes occur without the word to<\/em>. The form without to<\/i> is called the bare infinitive<\/b> (the form with to<\/i> is called the to<\/i>-infinitive<\/b>). In the following sentences both sit<\/em> and to sit<\/em> would each be considered an infinitive:\n