What Is an Infinitive?
An infinitive is a word that look like a verb but doesn't act like a verb.
You can spot them because they will always be to + a verb acting as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
(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!
Phrases
Example:
I love to swim in lakes.
These are made up of an infinitive and the words that modify and complement it.
| Infinitive |
Infinitive 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 Sentence |
Acting 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 Object |
Band 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.
After that, you can add any complements or modifiers.
Example: I love to run marathons.
Finished the Infinitive Page? Go Back to Phrases.
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