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What Is an Infinitive?

An infinitive is a word that look like a verb but doesn't act like a verb.

They are actually made up of two words: to + a verb. These two words act together as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

(Words that are made of verbs but don't act like verbs are called verbals. There are two other types of verbals: gerunds and participles.)

Examples:

I love to swim.

The person to call is Jeff.

I can't wait to see!


Where's the To?

Sometimes, finding infinitives can be tricky because the word to is omitted. That's not very nice is it?

This usually happens when it follows certain verbs like feel, hear, help, let, make, see, and watch.

Here are some examples of infinitives that are missing the word to.

I'll underline the special verbs so that you can see where they are.

They watched the ship sail.

I heard the doorbell ring.

When Margo slammed the door, she made the painting fall.


Phrases

Example:

I love to swim in lakes.

These are made up of an infinitive and the words that modify and complement it.

InfinitiveInfinitive Phrase
Edward loves to run.Edward loves to run marathons.
Esme used the binoculars to see.Esme used the binoculars to see her favorite band.
Jack waited to eat.Jack waited to eat the cupcake.

Their Modifiers and Complements

Remember what these act as? NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, and ADVERBS right? Okay, good.

Let's look at that example phrase from above.

Example:

I love to swim in lakes.

Again, the whole phrase together is acting as a noun (the direct object of love), but you may have noticed that in lakes is an adverbial prepositional phrase. It is telling us where you like to swim.

Does that means that an adverb (in lakes) is modifying a noun (to swim)?

Yes! Remember how we talked about verb forms acting as a nouns, adjectives, and adverbs? Even though they don't act like verbs, they still have some attributes of verbs.

Even if it is acting as a noun, its "verbness" allows it to take adverbial modifiers just like other verbs. (But it can still take adjectival modifiers just like other nouns.)

They can even take complements (like direct objects), just like verbs can.

In a SentenceActing As...Its Complement/Modifier
Edward loves to run marathons.Direct Object Marathons is the direct object of run.
Esme used the binoculars to see her favorite band.Direct ObjectBand is the direct object of see, and my and favorite are adjectives modifying band.


Basic Diagramming

Place the word to on an angled line, and write the verb on a horizontal line coming off of the angled line.

With a forked line, connect this to the rest of the sentence wherever it should go. (Infinitives can be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.) You can test yourself with the exercises on this page.

Example: I love to run.

 infinitives sentence diagram

After that, you can add any complements or modifiers.

Example: I love to run marathons.

 infinitives sentence diagram


Finished the Infinitive Page? Go Back to Phrases.

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Elizabeth O'Brien SNOW


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