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. In pairs, ask and answer questions using the prompts below, as in the example.

Example: SA: Is she shouting? SB: Yes, she seems to be shouting.

1. Is she looking through the new magazines? 2. Has he lost the game? 3. Has he been studying? 4. Did she burn the dinner? 5. Are they reviewing their policy? 6. Has she got a brilliant idea? 7. Did he win much money? 8. Is he looking through the keyhole? 9. Will she come tomorrow? 10. Were they watching TV when you came? 11. Is it getting colder?

2. A. Michael Roberts is an actor. He is going to visit another country. Using the prompts below, say what he expects to be done/ to do on his arrival, as in the example.

e.g. He expects to be met at the airport.

meet at the airport give some flowers drive to the hotel visit some places of interest

photograph for newspapers and magazines give an interview invite to appear on TV

B. Michael Roberts is back home now. Things didn’t happen the way he expected them to. Look at the prompts above again and make sentences as in the example.

E.g. He expected to have been met at the airport.

3. 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) __________________________

4. 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 _____________.

5. 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.

6. Fill in the correct infinitive tense.

1. A: What would you like ________ (do) tonight? B: Let’s ________ (go) to an Italian restaurant. 2. A: What’s Liz doing? B: She seems __________ (look) for something in her bag. 3. A: Alan has been offered a new job. B: No, he hasn’t. He just pretended ____________ (offer) a new job. 4. A: Colin claims __________ (meet) lots of famous people. B: I know, but I don’t believe him. 5. A: Look at those two men outside. What are they doing? B: They appear ___________ (empty) the rubbish bins. 6. A: Would you like to go to the cinema tonight? B: Not really. I would prefer _______ (go) to the theatre. 7. A: Tara seems _____________ (work) hard all morning. B: Yes, she hasn’t even stopped for a cup of coffee. 8. A: Why is Tom at work so early this morning? B: He wants _________ (finish) early so that he can go to the concert tonight.