The functions of the Infinitive

Function

Sentence Pattern

Tense, Aspect, Voice

Phrases/sentences to memorize

Subject

1. Never to study at night was Judy’s new unbreakable rule.

2. It was a great pleasure for him to be thinking all the time about Judy.

3. To visit her was all that I desired.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Continuous Infinitive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Perfect continuous infinitive

1. It is always easy to … .

2. It was hard to … .

3. It gives him pleasure to … .

4. It’s wise of him to … .

5. It will do you a lot of good/harm to … .

6. It has become his habit to … .

7. It surprised me to … .

8. It made me feel awkward to … .

Part of a Compound Nominal Predicate (Predicative)

1. After a long trip to New York her first desire was to take a bath.

2. Judy was by nature a sunny soul and she was pleasant to deal with.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

1. He is hard to please.

2. She is pleasant to look at.

3. The article is difficult to translate.

Part of a Compound Verbal Modal Predicate

1. He must have been an excellent swimmer years ago.

2. Old Burton said: “You’d better come back and see me in another thirty-five years.”

3. Judy thought: “I’d rather read plain books.”

4. He was quite willing to come.

5. We tried to talk him out of it but failed, I’m afraid.

6. He was heard to say so.

7. James was believed to have taken part in the revolt.

8. I was made to put on my coat and leave the house.

9. June is said to have spent millions of pounds on charity.

10. Only yesterday we happened to see our old friend Julie Walters.

11. He is sure to get panic-stricken after such news.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Continuous infinitive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Perfect continuous infinitive

1. Modal verbs: can, may, must, to be to, to have to, should, ought to, will, would, shall, need, dare.

2. Expressions: had better, would rather, to be able to, to be obliged, to be bound, to be willing, to be anxious, to be capable, to be going to, etc.

3. Verbs with a modal meaning: to hope, to expect, to try, to attempt, to endeavour, to long, to wish, to want, to desire, etc.

4. Verbs in the Passive Form and expressions used in the predicate of sentences containing the Subjective Infinitive Construction:

a. With the verbs denoting sense perception: to hear, to see, to observe, to notice, etc. in the passive voice.

b. With the verbs denoting mental perception: to know, to think, to consider, to believe, to suppose, to expect.

c. With the verb to make.

d. With the verbs to say, to report.

e. With the following pairs of verbs: to seem and to appear, to happen and to chance, to prove and to turn out.

f. With the expressions: to be likely, to be sure, to be certain.

Part of a Compound Verbal Aspect Predicate

A bit of money used to come in for Burton once a quarter.

Indefinite infinitive active

1. The verbs expressing the beginning, the continuation, the repetition or the end of the action: to begin, to start, to commence, to continue, to cease + infinitive.

2. Used to + infinitive, would + infinitive.

Object

1. Judy was happy to continue her education.

2. I found it utterly cruel to offer the man to swim when he was not in good condition.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Continuous infinitive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Perfect continuous infinitive

1. After the verbs to agree, to forget, to remember, to order, to teach, to ask, to help, to assist, to tell, to instruct, to request, to advise, to beg, to invite, to encourage, etc.

2. After the expressions to be glad, to be happy, to be delighted, etc.

3. In the constructions : … find/consider/

think/make/feel it interesting

necessary

impossible _{to do}

cruel

useful

important

Attribute

1. This is a chance not to be missed.

2. There’s nothing to worry about.

3. He was the last to realize the danger.

4. There was much to tell you

5. She was the first to guess what he was driving at.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Continuous infinitive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

The infinitive is used after:

1. class nouns (a doctor, a book, a room, etc.);

2. abstract nouns (time, hope, desire, love, hate, beauty, help, etc.);

3. expressions of quantity (much, little, plenty, no more, a great deal, etc.);

4. pronouns (somebody, something, anybody, anything, anyone, someone, nothing, no one, nowhere, etc.);

5. the adjective last;

6. ordinal numerals (the first, the second, the third, etc.)

Adverbial Modifier of Purpose

1. You must be a good player to be captain of the team.

2. You’d better wait outside so as to be at hand if someone wants you.

Indefinite infinitive active

After the conjunctions in order, so as or without any conjunctions at all.

Adverbial Modifier of Result

1. The opportunity was too good to be missed.

2. He was old enough to be her father.

3. He was not such a man as to break his promise.

4. He wasn’t so sure as to get mixed up in this business.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

1. After the adverbs too, enough.

2. After so…as, such…as.

Adverbial Modifier of Manner/Comparison

1. He opened his mouth as if to speak.

2. She seemed more anxious to listen to the troubles of others than discuss her own.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

After the conjunctions as if, as though, than.

Adverbial Modifier of Attendant Circumstances

1. He left her never to come back again.

2. Ann turned to look at me with those candid blue eyes of hers.

3. They arrived at the inn only to learn that nobody was waiting for them.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Sometimes after the adverb never or the particle only.

Parenthesis

To begin with, I had an accident last week.

Indefinite infinitive active

To cut a long story short

To tell the truth

To put it mildly

To say nothing of

To be quite frank, etc.

Construction

Function

Sentence Pattern

Verbal Form

Verbs and Expressions Introducing the Construction

Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction

Complex Object

1. I felt the blood rush into my cheeks.

Indefinite infinitive active

Verbs of sense perception: to hear, to feel, to watch, to observe, to notice, to find, etc.

2. I believe him to be honest with us.

3. The doctor found his heart to have stopped two hours before.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Verbs of mental activity: to know, to think, to consider, to believe, to suppose, to expect, to imagine, to find, to feel, to trust, etc.

4. I didn’t mean him to do that so soon.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Verbs denoting wish or intention: to want, to wish, to desire, to mean, to intend, to choose, etc.

5. He reported the meeting to be over.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Verbs of declaring: to report, to pronounce, to declare, etc.

6. I hate him to say so.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Verbs denoting feeling or emotion: to like, to dislike, to love, to hate, cannot bear, etc.

7. I won’t have you speak like that.

8. Ms. Effin could hardly suffer Jane to appear in her house.

9. The sound of somebody’s steps made him raise his head.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Verbs denoting permission, inducement or compulsion: to ask, to tell, to order, to allow, to suffer, to have, to let, to make, to cause, to get, etc.

Prepositional Complex Object

I rely on you to come in time.

Indefinite infinitive active

After rely on/upon

Subjective-with-the-Infinitive Construction

Subject +

Compound Verbal Modal Predicate

1. The girl was often heard singing that tune.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Continuous Infinitive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Perfect continuous infinitive

The verbs denoting sense perception: to hear, to see, to observe, to notice, etc. in the passive voice.

The verbs denoting mental perception: to know, to think, to consider, to believe, to suppose, to expect in the passive voice.

The verb to make in the passive voice.

The verbs to say, to report in the passive voice.

The following pairs of verbs: to seem and to appear, to happen and to chance, to prove and to turn out.

The expressions: to be likely, to be sure, to be certain.

The For-to-Infinitive Construction

Complex Subject

1. For him to ask this would be a mistake.

2. It is a shame for you to waste so much money.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Continuous Infinitive

Perfect infinitive active/passive

Perfect continuous infinitive

The element for + pronoun or a noun is included into the member of the sentence.

Complex Predicative

1. That was for him to find out.

2. To leave her is for me to die.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Complex Object

1. We all waited for her to speak.

2. Sui was impatient for Mrs. Jackobs to leave.

3. I don’t think it very strange for him to behave this way.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Complex Attribute

1. The best thing for you to do here is to apologise.

2. There was really nothing for him to do here.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive

Complex Adverbial Modifier of Purpose

1. He stepped aside for me to pass.

Indefinite infinitive active

Complex Adverbial Modifier of Result

1. The temptation was too great for me to resist.

2. She spoke loud enough for Ronan to hear.

Indefinite infinitive active/passive