5 sentences with the adjective infinitive construction. Infinitive after verbs and adjectives: use

17.2 Adjective + infinitive

When an adjective acts as a complement (that is, used after a linking verb), it can be used together with an infinitive (or infinitive phrase), forming the construction

adjective + infinitive (infinitive phrase) :


The old man is unfit to work this old man is unable to work.
Which team is likely to win? Which team is most likely to win?
Everybody was anxious to know what had happened everyone wanted to know what happened.
I shall be happy to accept your kind invitation I will be happy to accept your kind invitation.
She's quite content to live at home with her parents she is quite satisfied with her life at home with her parents.
You"re not afraid to go alone, are you? you're not afraid to go alone, are you?
Anne was eager to please her parents Anna sought to please her parents.
We were sorry not to see you at the meeting Unfortunately, we didn't see you at the meeting.
I"m glad to know you were successful I'm glad to know that you had success.
Wasn't prompt to act he acted quickly.
Are you ready to start? are you ready to go?

● This construction can also use some past participles, which have actually turned into adjectives:

We were delighted to hear of your success we were delighted when we heard about your success.
Your father will be pleased to see you after your long absence your father will be glad to see you after a long absence.
She was thrilled to learn that she had won a prize she froze with excitement when she learned that she had won the prize.
She is disappointed to know that you won't be able to come to her birthday party she is very upset that you. You won’t be able to come to her birthday.

● If the action expressed by the infinitive refers not to the subject, but to another person, a combination of the preposition for and a noun/pronoun is used:

Harry's parents are anxious for him to receive a good education Harry's parents really want him to receive a good education.
Mr. and Mrs. Green are not keen for their only daughters to marry a poor school teacher Mr. and Mrs. Green do not want their only daughter to marry a poor school teacher.
I should be sorry for you to think I don"t value your advice I would be very upset if you thought that I did not value your advice.
I'm quite willing for your brother to come with you I have no objection at all to your brother coming with you.
Everyone is anxious for you to accept the position everyone wants you to agree to take this position.
The children were impatient for the bus to start the children were eagerly awaiting the departure of the bus.

● An adjective can be qualified by an adverb:

Will you be kind enough to help me with this heavy box? please help me carry this heavy box.
Will you be so kind how to lend me your pen? would you be so kind as to borrow your pen?
This book is too large to go in my pocket this book is too big to fit.
This book is small enough to go in my pocket this book is small enough to fit in my pocket.
I've been too busy to write I was too busy to write.
They were too tired to go any farther they are too tired to go further.
We were near enough to see everything we were close enough to see everything.
We were too far away to see anything we were too far away to see anything.
You are old enough to know better it’s time for you to understand this.

In these cases, the turnover can also be additionally used preposition + noun/pronoun:

The box is too heavy for you to lift the box is too heavy for you. could lift it.
They were standing near enough for us to overhear their conversation they stood close enough that (so close that) we could hear their conversation.
This town is far too wicked for a young and innocent girt like you to live alone in this city is too immoral for a young and innocent girl like you to live alone in it.

● This construction can also be used with a formal subject it:

This room is difficult to heat/It is difficult to heat this room.
The paths were easy to find/It was easy to find the paths.
Has he been easy to get along with?/Has it been easy to get along with him? Was he easy to get along with?
She says her husband is hard to please / She says it is hard to please her husband she says that her husband is difficult to please.
The river is dangerous to bathe in/ It is dangerous to bathe in the river. It is dangerous to swim in this river.
Your question is impossible to answer/ It is impossible to answer your question.
This nut is hard to crack/ This is a hard nut. to crack this nut is difficult to crack.
This room is pleasant to work in/ It is pleasant to work in this room.

and also in an exclamatory sentence:

You are very kind to say so/ It's kind of you to say so/ How kind of you to say so! It's very kind of you to say so.

She was stupid to make such a mistake/ It was stupid of her to make such a mistake/ How stupid of her to make such a mistake! how stupid she made such a mistake.

Mr. White was foolish to agree to the proposal/ It was stupid of Mr. White to agree to the proposal/ How stupid of Mr. White to agree to the proposal! Mr. White was foolish to agree to this proposal.

Yon were wrong to contradict the professor/ It was wrong of you to contradict the professor/ How wrong of you to contradict the professor! you did wrong by arguing with the professor.

(Examples taken from A. Hornby’s book “Constructions and Turns of the English Language”)

Introduction

The infinitive is a unique verb form that has rare features of extra-verbal properties and extra-contextual significance. In this respect, the infinitive is very similar to the nominative case of a noun. Like nominative case noun, verb in an indefinite form names the action in general, in itself: play, knock, read, etc.

The nominative case of a noun is the initial form in the system of word forms of a given word. In the same way, the infinitive is the initial form in verb formation.

The infinitive is also unique in its composition: without changing and maintaining irrelevance to someone (something), expressing only the idea of ​​action, it appears in three structural and morphological varieties, ending in -t, -ti, -ch.

The infinitive is also unique in its syntactic functioning: it can be any member of a sentence.

All these features of the infinitive create significant difficulties for non-Russian students in mastering it, aggravated by the interfering influence native language, in which the morphemic structure of the infinitive, morphological features and combinational possibilities are significantly different.

In this regard, in this thesis we tried to identify typical mistakes among students of the Dagestan national school, which they allow when using infinitive constructions in writing; develop visual aids to the topic “Infinitive”, which will help students in grades 5-6 to understand this topic more deeply; propose a system of exercises, linguistic tasks and communicative tasks aimed at developing all types of students’ speech activity when working with the infinitive.

To solve the problems we used the following methods:

1) study of educational, scientific and scientific-methodological literature on the topic of the diploma;

2) analysis school curriculum on the Russian language and Russian language textbooks for grades 5-6 of the National School of the Russian Federation;

3) studying the methodological experience of teachers of the practical course of the Russian language at the Faculty of Dagestan Philology;

4) ascertaining experiment and analysis of its results.

The materials of the thesis research can be used in the process of teaching PCRL, during teaching practice, as well as when reading a special course on methods of teaching the Russian language at the National School.

The thesis has the following structure: “Introduction”, “Chapter 1”, “Chapter 2”, “Conclusion”, “Bibliography”, “Appendix” (No. 1, 2).

The infinitive as the initial form of the verbal paradigm of the Russian language

The meaning of the infinitive, its structure and grammatical categories

The infinitive (indefinite form of the verb) is the original form of the verbal paradigm, naming the process, but not indicating the relationship of the verb to person, number, tense, mood, gender. The infinitive has the categories of aspect and voice (decide, decide; decide, decide).

The infinitive has the suffixes -т (-ти), -ч. The base of the infinitive of most verbs coincides with the base of the past tense, to which the suffixes -т or (in the stressed position) -ti are added (chit-l-a - read; ume-l-a - be able to; nes-l-a - carry ; vez-l-a - vez-ti).

The suffix -ch, presented in the infinitive of verbs, goes back in its origin to the suffix -ti, which was transformed in combination with the final back-lingual stems /g/, /k/ into -ch (ber-l-a - take care; bake-l- a - oven).

The isolated verb go (and verbs with the component -iti) form an infinitive from the present tense stem using the suffix -ti (id-ut - id-ti; soyd-ut - soy-ti) with the loss of the final /d/ stem.

But the combination of objective and subjective (methodological) factors leads in practice to controversial situations, for example, the above-mentioned components, i.e. -ть(-ти), -ч - suffixes or endings of the infinitive?

Based on verbs like lie down, bake, let’s look at whether the infinitive form of the verb has endings? This question can be answered only by defining what is meant by the term “ending” (“inflection”).

In the scientific and methodological literature, there are two understandings of this term: narrow and broad.

In the narrow (“traditional”) sense, “ending” is a variable significant part of a word that forms the form of the word and serves to connect words in phrases and sentences. Among the endings there are "zero inflections".

"Inflectional morphs in the Russian language are those morphs whose interchange in word forms leads to a change in the morphological meanings of gender, number, case and person: sten-a, sten-y, sten-e... sten-y; red-y, red-aya , red-oe, red-ye; write-u, ​​write-eat, write-et, write-e... Inflectional morphs also include indicators of the infinitive (for example, -ti in the verb to carry).”

The similarity of the formant -ti (-т) with the ending is manifested in the fact that it forms one of the grammatical forms of the verb (infinitive) and takes place at the end of the word form; after -t only postfixes can appear (bathe). Like any grammatical affix, -ti (-т) is not part of the base and does not participate in the formation of new words. This basically ends the similarity between -ti (-т) and the ending.

Much more significant are the features that distinguish -ti (-t) from endings. The ending is a variable part of a word that expresses the grammatical meanings of gender, number, case and person. An infinitive is a special form of a verb that is not a member of any of the intraverbal inflectional paradigms (mood, tense, person, gender, number). Consequently, the infinitive cannot be considered an inflectable form in the sense in which forms that have personal, generic, numerical and case endings. Of course, the infinitive is one of the forms of the inflected part of speech - the verb, but it only follows from this that -ti (-т) is a formative affix. And if it is unlawful to look for endings in gerunds (reading, creating), in the forms of the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs (prettier, higher), then recognizing -ti (-t) as an ending in an unchangeable form - the infinitive is illogical.

The ending serves to connect words in phrases and sentences - the infinitive either controls names or adjoins verbs, words of the state category. In any case, its grammatical form remains unchanged, i.e. -ti (-т) does not play a syntactic role.

Finally, the very fact of the location of -ti (-т) at the end of a word cannot be considered decisive, since, firstly, both suffixes (playing, lower, running) and roots (far away) can be in this position; secondly, the endings may not be located at the end of the word (five-and-ten-and, met-a-s).

Thus, based on the accepted understanding of inflection, it is hardly legitimate to define -ti (-т) as an ending. It is more logical to qualify this element in accordance with the established tradition as a formative (grammatical) suffix.

However, another (broad or, as M.F. Lukin calls it, “new”) understanding of endings is also known: any morph that expresses grammatical meaning and is not part of the stem can be considered a ending. In accordance with this understanding, -ti (-т), naturally, should be recognized as an ending, just like all other formative affixes (participles, gerunds, tense, mood, comparative degree, etc.). In this case, as I.G. admits. Miloslavsky, several endings can be distinguished in one word: go-l-a (-a - zh.r., singular, -l- - past tense), carry-i-te (-those - plural. , -and- - imperative mood).

You can accept or not accept this point of view, but you cannot deny its consistency and validity: all grammatical affixes are combined into one type (ending) based on their common function - to serve as a means of expressing grammatical meanings and forming grammatical forms. Here, as they say, everything is clear.

It is more difficult to understand why, having generally accepted the original narrow (traditional) definition of ending, school textbook and “Russian Grammar” some formative affixes (-ti, -t) are called endings, others (-l-, -e, -ee, -lice, -shi, etc.) - suffixes.

The question of the segmentability of verbs like lie down, whip is resolved ambiguously. There are several opinions on this matter:

1) The grammatical meaning of the infinitive is not expressed in any way; verbs of this type are already indivisible. But if there is a meaning for the infinitive, then there must also be a means of expressing it (formant, form); otherwise, one will have to prove that content can exist outside of form, and this is hardly provable, at least from a materialist point of view.

2) In our opinion, another point of view seems more justified: the grammatical suffix of the infinitive -ti (-т) has undergone historical phonetic changes, as a result of which the final consonant /ch/ simultaneously belongs to both the root and the suffix. However, this interpretation is also not controversial, since, strictly speaking, it goes beyond the scope of synchronous analysis.

We can agree with this statement if we recognize that zero formative suffixes, like endings, stand out not only against the background of the paradigm of grammatical forms of the same word. In practice, this may look like this: if in the word form sing -t is the formant of the infinitive, then the infinitive oven has a zero formant. The basis for this conclusion is the identity of the grammatical meanings to sing and bake.

The infinitive is the third unconjugated form of the verb. It occupies a special place among all verb forms.

An action designated by an infinitive, despite its uncertainty, evokes an idea of ​​an object, a person with whom this action can be performed, just as an adjective evokes an idea of ​​an object that has the named attribute.

Some lexemes - infinitives are homonymous with nouns: know - know, become - become, mouth - mouth (simple form).

The initial form of the verb is the infinitive (indefinite form of the verb). You should pay attention to two difficulties in determining the initial form of a verb.

The first difficulty is finding the infinitive of reflexive verbs. It is traditional to include the postfix -sya in the initial form of the verb, regardless of whether it performs a word-forming or formative function: smiles - smile, combs one's hair - comb one's hair.

IN explanatory dictionaries In the Russian language, infinitives with a voice formative -sya are recorded as separate words. For example, as single word is given to comb the passive to comb.

An exception to this rule is impersonal verbs formed from personal ones using the postfix -sya; -sya is not included in the initial form of such verbs; The impersonal verbs in the sentence Doesn’t sit, doesn’t lie, doesn’t walk have an initial form without -sya: sit, lie, walk (there is no infinitive sit, lie, walk).

The reflexivity/non-reflexivity of the initial form of the verb is determined by the function of the postfix -sya. If -sya forms a word (without -sya the verb is not used) or changes its lexical meaning (forgive - say goodbye), which, in essence, is also the formation of a new word, then the postfix -sya must be included in the initial form - the infinitive and the verb must be qualified as returnable. If -sya performs a form-building function (forms a voice form or an impersonal form), then -sya should not be included in the initial form and the verb is qualified as non-reflexive, but having a reflexive form. That is, one should distinguish between a reflexive verb (with a derivational -sya) and a reflexive form of a verb (with a formative -sya). In the sentence It’s good in the autumn flowery forest, you don’t want to leave it for a long time, say goodbye to the golden autumn days (I. Sokolov-Mikitov), ​​the initial form of want (irreflexive verb) is highlighted and it is indicated that in the sentence the verb to want has a reflexive form with the meaning of impersonality, and the infinitive to say goodbye (reflexive verb), since -sya forms a new meaning from the verb to forgive. Wed: forgive: 1) excuse; 2) release from obligation and say goodbye: 1) exchange greetings when parting; 2) to leave something, to part.

Question for the initial form - what to do? or what to do? The question for the conjugated form should reflect the categories of this form: Oh, red summer! I would love you. (A. Pushkin) - what would you do?; Arise, prophet!.. (A. Pushkin) - what will you do?

The second difficulty is that the aspectual correspondence between the analyzed and initial forms is often violated: the infinitive must have the same form as the analyzed form: obul - obut; put on shoes - put on shoes.

So, the infinitive is the initial, initial, and also dictionary form of the verb, with which the rest of the system of its forms is lexically and word-formatively connected.

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To easily and quickly translate from English into your native language (and from your native language into English), you need to have a good understanding of the construction English sentences. The first stage is a solid word order. The proposal is divided into four parts. The subject comes first, followed by the predicate, then the object, and at the very end of the sentence - the adverbial clause. The main members of the sentence are the subject and the predicate and they are always present, but minor members there may or may not be offers. There are also sentences that do not obey a fixed word order; such sentences are called inversion. For example, this is a well-known phrase - “There is/are...”. But in this construction we will not consider inversion.

So, we found out that every English sentence is built according to a strict word order. But if we want to easily understand the meaning of an English sentence, we need to understand the constructions that are created by nouns, adjectives and verbs.

Let's look at the construction with adjectives and infinitives. A sentence with this construction can be schematically represented as follows:

SUBJECT (noun or pronoun) + PREDICATE (linking verb + adjective) + TO (INFINITIVE) + … .

So what do we see? Firstly, the predicate is a compound nominal, the nominal part of which is expressed by an adjective and the adjective is followed by an infinitive.

I'll write a few examples.

The little girl was naughty to pull the kitten's tail. = The little girl acted badly by pulling the cat’s tail.

They will be glad to see you are here tomorrow. = They will be glad to see you tomorrow.

This room is difficult to heat. = This room is difficult to heat.

In order to make it easier to understand the construction “Adjective + infinitive”, first of all you need to understand the meaning of adjectives; it is the meaning of adjectives that indicates three variants of this construction.

First option can be conditionally called: “From YOUR SIDE” or we evaluate ACTIONS and BEHAVIOR. When we approve of someone’s (or our own) action or behavior in a given situation, or vice versa, we condemn it, then the meanings of the adjectives precisely characterize the action or action expressed by the infinitive. Therefore, adjectives can be selected according to the principle:

good bad

wise - stupid

bravely - cowardly

Each option has its own characteristics. The linking verb is most often the verb “to be”, but it can also be the verbs “to seem” and “to appear”. This option allows for two changes in word order, and in both cases the adjective is emphasized by placing it closer to the beginning of the sentence. You can express approval or disapproval with declarative and exclamatory sentences. Therefore, there are three types of sentences that can be translated the same way, because they express the same idea.

For example:

You were wise to accept his offer. = It was thoughtful of you to accept his offer. You were wise to accept his offer.

It was wise of you to accept his offer. = It was thoughtful of you to accept his offer. You were wise to accept his offer.

How wise of you (it was) to accept his offer! = How thoughtful of you to accept his offer! How wise you were to accept his offer!

Second option can be called: STATE OF MIND and ASPIRATION.

In this variant there can be only one word order, but the adjectives that are included in this construction can be of two types. The first type are ordinary adjectives, which for the most part are used only predicatively, and the second group of adjectives are “converted” participles, that is, these are second participles from regular verbs with endings “-ED”, which became adjectives.

We select adjectives according to the following meaning:

joy - sadness

surprise - excitement

fear - horror

I was very disappointed to know that you won’t be able to come to my birthday party. = I was very disappointed that you will not come to my birthday.

We shall be happy to accept your kind invitation. = We will be very glad to accept your kind invitation.

She is afraid to go there alone. = She is afraid to go there alone.

Third option expresses an attitude towards an action that has a modal connotation. The group of adjectives included in this version of the construction “Adjective + infinitive” is quite extensive; the relationship can be expressed by adjectives with such meanings.

possible – probably – impossible

necessary – important – necessarily – definitely

difficult - easy

dangerous - safe

This option allows for such a construction of words in a sentence.

Mary says that it is hard to please her husband. = Maria says that her husband is difficult to please.

Mary says her husband is hard to please. = Maria says that her husband is difficult to please.

It is dangerous to bathe in this river. = This river is dangerous to swim in.

This river is dangerous to bathe in. = This river is dangerous to swim in.

It is impossible to answer his question. = His question cannot be answered.

His question is impossible to answer. = His question cannot be answered.

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The construction “Adjective + infinitive” has three options, depending on the meaning of the adjectives, and each of these options has some features. But they are united by one idea: the infinitive expresses an action, and the adjective indicates an ATTITUDE towards the action. The adjective in the construction is included in the compound nominal predicate and is its nominal part. The linking verb in a compound nominal predicate is most often the verb “to be”.

First option RELATIONSHIPS speaks about behavior and actions. It can be conditionally called “Your side...” or “You did...”. This option allows three sentence constructions, one of which is exclamatory. In the Russian version it sounds something like this:

It was very NICE of YOU to invite me to the party.

It was very nice of you to invite me to your party.

You are very nice to invite me to your party.

How nice of you to invite me to your party!

It was POLITE of John to give up his seat on the bus to that old lady.

It was polite of John to offer his seat in the bus to that old woman.

John was very polite to offer his seat in the bus to that old woman.

How polite of John to offer his seat in the bus to that old woman!

You acted very carelessly by telling him the truth.

It was very unwise of you to tell him the truth.

You are very unwise to tell him the truth.

How unwise of you to tell him the truth!

Second option RELATIONSHIP talks about the feelings, emotions and aspirations that the action expressed by the infinitive causes.

We were happy to see our grandchildren. = We were glad to see our grandchildren.

He was sorry not to see her at the party. = He was sad that he didn't see her at the party.

John was mortified to know that he had not been elected. = John was terribly upset when he found out that he was not elected.

There is also third option, which can be safely called modal, since the attitude to action is expressed by “modal” adjectives. These are adjectives that indicate possibility, probability, certainty, ability, readiness, agreement and, conversely, impossibility, improbability, inability, disagreement.

I will write a few of the most common “modal” adjectives.

to be certain = to be faithful, to be undoubted, to be obligatory;

to be sure = to be certain, to be indispensable;

to be bound = to be indispensable, to be obligatory, to be sure;

to be likely = probable, suitable;

to be fit = to be worthy, proper, capable, ready;

to be able = to be able, to be able, to be able, to be capable;

to be liable = to be probable, to be possible; be obliged;

to be important = to be important, significant;

to be ready = to be ready, to agree, to be prepared;

to be willing = to be ready, to agree; willing to do something;

to be unable = to be unable, to be unable;

to be unfit = to be unsuitable, to be unfit, to be unfit;

I will write several sentences with the construction “Adjective + infinitive”, in which the adjective has a modal meaning.

He is bound to help you. = He will certainly help you.

She is liable to come at any moment. = She can come at any moment.

Our team is certain to win. = Our team will definitely win.

The old woman is unfit to work. = This old lady is unable to work.

They are ready to start at once. = They are ready to leave now.

The weather is sure to be sunny. = The weather will certainly be sunny.

Was he willing to listen to your arguments? = Did he agree to listen to your arguments?

He is likely to know about this. = He probably knows about it.

I am unable to speak to you right now. = I can't talk to you right now.

This house is quite fit to live in.= This house is quite fit to live in. = This house is quite suitable for living.

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! Today we will learn what an infinitive is, get acquainted with the rules of formation and learn the forms, and also discuss the role it plays in a sentence and find out when the infinitive is used with the particle “to” and when without.

Infinitive in English language(Infinitive)- impersonal or indefinite form of the English verb, which answers the question “What to do?”, “What to do?”. It indicates only the action, without naming the person, number or mood.

A distinctive feature of the infinitive is the particle “to”, but in some cases it can be omitted (bare infinitive).

I was glad to see you. - I was glad to see you.
Can't play chess. - He knows how to play chess.

Negative forms are formed by adding a particle " not"before the infinitive.

I have decided not to invite them. - I decided not to invite them.

Rules for forming the infinitive in English

The infinitive in English has 4 forms (or types) in the active (active) voice and 2 in the passive (passive).

Let's look at them:


Forms of the English infinitive

  • Simple Infinitive- the form that we are used to seeing in the dictionary. It is usually used to indicate action in the present or future tense.
I am glad to meet Peter. - I'm glad to meet Peter.
I have a lot of work to do. - I have a lot of work to do.
  • Continuous Infinitive- this form indicates a long-term effect. This infinitive, like the Simple, denotes an action in the present or future tense.
The weather seems to be changing. - It seems the weather is changing.
He doesn't seem to be sleeping. - He seems to be sleeping.
  • Perfect Infinitive names an action that occurred before the moment of speech indicated in the sentence or before another action.
I am happy to have left school. - I'm glad I left school.
She will pretend to have won the lottery. - She will pretend that she won the lottery.
  • Perfect Continuous Infinitive shows an action that lasts until a specific moment or other action in the present.
I'm glad to have been living in London for so long. - I'm glad I've lived in London for so long.
Jack seems to have been living here since his childhood. - It seems that Jack has lived here since childhood.
  • Passive Indefinite Infinitive expresses an action on someone or something that occurs simultaneously with the action expressed by a verb in its personal form - a predicate verb.
I didn't expect to be invited. - I didn't expect to be invited.
Everybody wants to be loved. - Everyone wants to be loved.
  • Passive Perfect Infinitive used to denote an action in the passive voice that occurred before the action or state expressed by the predicate verb.
Not said to have won the Olympic Gold. - They say that he won a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
They were lucky - they could have been killed. - They were lucky - they could have been killed.

Functions of the infinitive in English

The infinitive in a sentence can perform various functions: be a subject, an object, part of a compound predicate, a definition, etc.

  • Subject.
To walk alone late at night is very dangerous. - Walking alone late at night is very dangerous.
  • Addition (object).
Many people hate to lose. - Many people hate losing.
  • Part of a compound predicate.
My decision is to stay here for a couple of days. - My decision is to stay here for a couple of days.


  • Definition (attribute).
She was the best to solve this problem. “She solved this problem best of all.”
  • Adverbial modifier
You can break this model. It was made to be tested. - You can break this model. It was made for testing.

The infinitive is often used in sentences as introductory words or phrases.

To put it mildly, Jack was tipsy. - To put it mildly, Jack was tipsy.
To tell the truth, I don’t really like this city. - To be honest, I really don’t like this city.
Well, to cut a long story short, the party was awful. - In short, the party was terrible.

When the infinitive is used with the particle to

  • The infinitive is usually used with the particle “to”: “to read”, “to write”, “to work”.

But, if in a sentence there are 2 infinitives connected by the conjunction “and” or “or”, then the particle “to” is usually omitted before the second infinitive.

She decided to go and buy something for supper. - She decided to go and buy something for dinner.
I intend to call on him and discuss this question. “I intend to go to him and discuss this issue.”
  • The particle "to" is sometimes used at the end of a sentence without a verb.

This is done to avoid repeating the same verb in a sentence. This use of the particle “to” usually occurs after the verbs “ to wish"- wish, " to want"- want, " to try"- try , « to allow"- allow, " to have to"- be obligated, etc.

I didn't want to stay there, but I had to. - I didn’t want to stay there, but I had to (stay).
He wished to go, but he wasn’t able to. - He wanted to go, but was not able (could not go).
  • The infinitive with “to” is used after the verbs “ask” (ask), “learn” (learn, find out), “explain” (explain), “decide” (decide), “find out” (find out), “want to know” "(want to know) when they are followed by a question word.
We should decide now what to do next. - We must decide now what to do next.
Ralph wanted to know where to buy some good cheese. - Ralph wanted to know where he could buy good cheese.
  • The infinitive with “to” is always used after the words “first” (first), “second” (second), “next” (next), “last” (last).
He loves parties: he is always the first to come and the last to leave. - He loves parties: he is always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

  • The infinitive with “to” is used after the expressions “would like” or “would love” (would like), “would prefer” (would prefer), which indicate a specific desire.
I would like to talk to her right now. - I'd like to talk to her right now.
I would love to help you, but I have no time. - I would love to help you, but I don’t have time.
I would prefer to drink hot tea - I would prefer to drink hot tea.
  • The infinitive with “to” is always used after the words “too” and “enough”.
It’s too cold outside to go jogging. - It's too cold outside to go for a run.
That place was good enough to visit it again. - That place was good enough to visit again.

List of verbs that require an infinitive after themselves

to agree- agree
to aim- intend, try
to appear- turn out to be
to arrange- negotiate
to ask- ask
to attempt- to attempt
to be able- to be able, to be able
to run- ask, beg
to begin- start
to care- want, have a desire
to choose- choose
to claim- declare, assert
to dare- make up your mind, have courage
to decide- decide
to demand- demand
to deserve- deserve
to dread- to be afraid, to be afraid
to expect- expect
to fail- not to come true, not to do, not to be able to
to get- get permission
to happen- turn out to happen
to hesitate- not to decide
to hope- hope
to hurry- hurry up
to intend- intend
to learn- study
to manage- be able to cope
to need- need
to neglect- forget, not do something
to plan- to plan
to prepare- get ready
to pretend- pretend, pretend
to proceed- go to, start doing something after something
to promise- promise
to refuse- refuse
to seem- seem
to strive- try, make an effort
to wear- to swear
to tend- to have a tendency, to gravitate
to threaten- threaten, intimidate
to vow- take an oath
to wait- wait
to want- want
to wish- want, desire

When the infinitive is used without the particle to

  • After modal verbs(may, can, should, must etc).
Children should spend more time outside. - Children should spend more time outdoors.
Can I ask you a question? - Can I ask you a question?

Exception The modal verbs are “dare” / “ought” / “have” / “be”.

She ought to be more polite to other people. - She should be more polite to people.

  • After the verbs “let”, “make”, “see”, “hear”, “feel”.
I felt him put his hand on my shoulder. “I felt him put his hand on my shoulder.
I saw she leave the room. - I saw her leave the room.
I heard her sing. - I heard her sing.

But, if these verbs are used in Passive Voice , then they are accompanied by an infinitive with the particle “to”.

Not was seen to leave the house. - We saw him leave the house.

  • After the verb “help” (to help), a verb can be used either with or without “to”.
Help me ( to) find my keys, please. - Help me find the keys, please.
  • After the expressions “had better” / “would rather”.
I would rather don't tell them about it. - I would prefer not to tell them about it.
You" d better see the doctor. - You'd better go to the doctor.
I" d rather drink coffee - I would prefer to drink coffee.
  • In interrogative sentences that begin with “Why not?” (why not).
Why not dance? - Why not dance?
Why not join us and have some wine? - Why not join us and have some wine?

Conclusion

We hope that we have revealed to you all the secrets of the infinitive in English. Now you can safely apply the rules in practice and avoid mistakes in speech :)

Good luck with your studies!

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