The Forms of the Infinitive

Study the following information.

The infinitive has the following forms:

	Active	Passive
Present	(to) give	(to) be given
Continuous	(to) be giving	-
Perfect	(to) have given	(to) have been given
Perfect Continuous	(to) have been giving	-

Active forms are used:

• Present infinitive: the action expressed by the infinitive is simultaneous to the action expressed by the verb-predicate, or refers to the future. E.g. I am glad to see you. I was glad to see you. I will be glad to see you. I want to take a postgraduate course next year.

• Continuous infinitive: the action expressed by the infinitive is in the progress. E.g. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the mountains.

• Perfect infinitive: expresses the action prior to the action of the verb-predicate. E.g. She claims to have met Richard Gere. (First she met Richard Gere, then she claimed that she had met him.)

• Perfect Continuous: emphasizes the duration of the action of the infinitive, which lasted before the action of the verb-predicate. E.g. She claims to have been working hard lately. (We emphasize what she has been doing lately.)

Passive forms are used:

• Present infinitive: (to) be + past participle E.g. He hopes to be given a pay rise soon.

• Perfect infinitive: (to) have been + past participle E.g. He is said to have been injured in a car accident.

The verbs tenses corresponding to the tenses of the infinitive are as follows:

Verb tenses		Infinitive
he goes / will go	→	to go
he is going / will be going	→	to be going
he went / has gone / had gone / will have gone	→	to have gone
he was going / has been going / had been going / will have been going	→	to have been going

1. Rewrite the sentences using the verb in brackets. Mind the form of the infinitive.

1. She has grown taller. (seem) ________________ 2. She was accepted to work in the Ministry. (appear) ______________________________ 3. They have been working in the garden all morning. (seem) _____________________ 4. He is drawing a picture. (appear) _____________________ 5. They make friends easily. (appear) ____________________ 6. You are studying hard this term. (seem) _________________________ 7. She found the solution to the problem. (claim) __________________ 8. She is reading the new novel at the moment. (seem) _____________________________ 9. She doesn’t know the answer. (pretend) _____________________ 10. Sally tells lies. (tend) __________________________

2. Fill in the correct form of the infinitive.

1. I think he left. He must have left. 2. I think they will come. They must __________. 3. I think she is studying. She must ____________. 4. I think it will be delivered. It must _____________. 5. I think he was fired. He must ________________. 6. I think they were arguing. They must __________________. 7. I think he is lying. He must ______________. 8. I think they had been waiting for her. They must __________________. 9. I think she has typed it. She must _____________. 10. I thought she had written it. She must _____________. 11. I think they will be studying. They must _____________.

3. Fill in the correct form of the infinitive.

1. The weather seems ___________ (improve). Let’s go out. 2. She appears _________ (work) on the composition for hours. 3. She has decided _________ (accept) my offer. 4. I’m hoping __________ (leave) by then so I won’t be able to come with you. 5. The report is inaccurate. It needs _________ (review) as soon as possible. 6. The waste from the power station is said __________ (pollute) the atmosphere for months. 7. It will be much too hot _________ (wear) a coat today. 8. You must have been thirsty ________ (drink) all that water. 9. He appears _______ (injure) as a result of the fight. 10. You’re not expected _______ (pay) the whole amount today. 11. The report was supposed ________ (finish) two hours ago. 12. It was very cold today, but it seems _________ (warm up) now. 13. He claims _________ (discover) a cure for the common cold. 14. Can I trust you _________ (keep) this a secret? 15. She seems _______ (work) too hard these days.