Infinitives

Lesson 1 Infinitives

Essential Question

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How do infinitives help us specify and communicate purpose?

Grammar in the World

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If you like to swim, or if you never learned to ride a bike, then you are at least somewhat familiar familiar with infinitives.

An infinitive is a phrase that looks like a verb but actually functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

What Do I Know?

Let's see what you already know about infinitives with a short quiz:

Building Blocks

Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time, but it’s often helpful to see how a skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:

Learn About Infinitives

An infinitive is a phrase formed from a verb that actually functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

We use infinitives in sentences primarily to clarify what an action does, what kind of action it is, or why the action is taking place.

Sheryl hoped the lake would freeze soon because she really wanted to skate. (what did she want?)
For a long time, Sheryl’s refusal to compete held her back. (what kind of refusal?)
But once her ambition took over, she always skated to win. (why did she skate?)

Full infinitives are made up of two parts:

The word “to”.
The base infinitive, which is the root form of a verb (For example: skate, judge, or cheer)

So the formula for a full infinitive looks like this:

to + action verb = infinitive

Examples:

To see the Pacific Ocean is on my travel list.

I like to ski.

Home is a comfortable place to be.

We must study to learn.

The only exception to that formula is called a special infinitive. This exception occurs when certain “special” verbs that already have objects are used before an infinitive. When that happens, we drop the word "to".

Those special verbs are feel, hear, help, let, make, see, watch.

special verb + object + infinitive - to = special infinitive

Examples (infinitives are in italics)	Special Verb	Object	Infinitive	-to
She feels the flame burn her hand.	feel	the flame	to burn	burn
I will help you write the essay.	help	you	to write	write
I hear the bell ring.	hear	the bell	to ring	ring

Both full and special infinitives can function in three ways in a sentence: as a noun, as an adjective, or as an adverb.

Infinitives as a Noun

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. So when an infinitive functions as a noun in a sentence, it can perform most of the same roles that other nouns perform, and it answers the question “what?”.
A noun infinitive can be the subject of a sentence.	*To succeed* was Marshall’s goal. “to succeed” is what the sentence is about, and it tells us what was Marshall’s goal
A noun infinitive can be the object of a transitive verb.	His mother wanted *to celebrate. “to celebrate” is the direct object of the verb “wanted.” It tells us what* his mother wanted.
A noun infinitive can be a subject complement, which defines or renames the subject of a sentence following a linking verb.	Coach’s advice was to practice. “to practice” defines or renames the subject of this sentence by telling us what coach’s advice was
Exception: A noun infinitive (unlike other kinds of nouns) cannot be the object of a preposition. Marshall stretched before to skate. With a preposition, you would use a different form of the verb, such as a gerund. Marshall stretched before skating.

Infinitives as an Adjective

An adjective gives more information about a noun. So when an infinitive functions as an adjective in a sentence, it will appear with a noun and answer the question: “what kind?”.

An adjective infinitive usually appears immediately after the noun it modifies.

She was motivated by a desire to succeed.

“to succeed” in this sentence modifies the noun “desire” and tells us what kind of desire

During practices, mom always brings a book to read.

“to read” in this sentence modifies the noun “book” and tells us what kind of book

Sometimes, however, the sentence may separate an adjective infinitive from the noun it modifies, so be sure to read the full context of the sentence.

This one is her favorite teddy bear, which is fuzzy and made for her by her grandmother, to snuggle.

“to snuggle” in this sentence modifies the noun “teddy bear” and tells us what kind of teddy bear

Infinitives as an Adverb

An adverb gives more information about a verb, adjective, or another adverb. So when an infinitive functions as an adverb in a sentence, it will appear with a verb, adjective, or adverb and answer the question: “how?” or “why?”.

An adverb infinitive usually appears immediately after the verb, adjective, or adverb that it modifies.

Ricky always stays to eat.

“to eat” in this sentence modifies the verb “stays” and tells us why Ricky stays

Unfortunately, I am still unable to drive.

“to drive” in this sentence modifies the adjective “unable” and tells us how I am “unable”

Jim trained regularly to improve.

“to improve” in this sentence modifies the adverb “regularly” and tells us why Jim trained regularly

Sometimes, however, the sentence may separate an adverb infinitive from the word it modifies, so be sure to read the full context of the sentence.

In any competition, you fight for the highest number of points to win.

“to win” in this sentence modifies the verb “fight” and tells us why you fight

Split Infinitive—Yes or No?

A split infinitive is when a word or phrase comes between the “to” and the “verb” in the sentence. Perhaps the most famous split infinitive you have seen is from Star Trek:

To boldly go where no man has gone before.

You may have heard the rule “avoid split infinitives.” However, splitting infinitives is not a grammar crime. In fact, sometimes splitting infinitives is the best way to convey meaning in a sentence.

Many times, you can word a sentence so that the infinitive is split or not.

Cohesive Infinitive	Split Infinitive
I like to ski quickly.	I like to quickly ski.
We must practice to improve noticeably.	We must practice to noticeably improve.
It is important to evaluate our performance carefully.	It is important to carefully evaluate our performance.
As you can see, it is okay actually to split a full infinitive.	As you can see, it is okay to actually split a full infinitive.

Here are some general tips to help you when editing to correct infinitive phrases.

Write your sentence as it comes out the first time.
Pause if you think the wording sounds choppy or odd.
If there is a smooth way to avoid a split infinitive, try that first.
If the split infinitive makes the most sense and sounds best in your sentence, that’s okay.
Remember, sometimes the split infinitive is the best option.

Do I Get It?

Now, let's see how well you can recognize infinitives and how they're used with the following quiz: