ГРАММАТИКА ЭКЗАМЕН / 5 The Infinitive

The Infinitive

The infinitive is used after:

• (can/can’t) afford, agree, aim, appear, arrange, ask, claim, consent,

decide, decline, demand, expect, fail, hesitate, hope, hurry, learn, manage, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, tend, threaten, volunteer, want, wish, etc.:

He threatened to dismiss the strike leader.

The shop refused to accept the customer’s credit card.

• would like, would love, would prefer (to express specific preference):

I’d love to live in a more spacious apartment.

• certain nouns:

What a surprise to see him there! It’s a great chance to talk to him.

• after too/enough constructions:

I was foolish enough to believe her.

• with ‘it + be + adjective + of’:

It was nice of Joe to congratulate us on our anniversary.

• be + the first/second/next/last/best etc

You will be the first to break the news’.

• so + adjective + as

Would you be so kind as to help me?

• Only

She went there only to find that the meeting had been called off.

• for + noun/pronoun + to inf.

For Mary to behave like that was very unusual.

• who, what, which, where, when, how, whether (except why)

I found where to buy fruit cheaper.

Bare infinitive

The infinitive is used without to in the following cases:

• after auxiliary verbs;

• after modal verbs (except ought to, have to, be to) and modal expressions

had better, would rather, would sooner:

She’d sooner die than forgive.

• after verbs of sense perception (to see, hear, feel, watch, notice, observe,

listen to, etc.) in the construction Complex Object:

I heard him arrive.

However, in passive sentences with these verbs we use a to-infinitive:

She was noticed to hesitate.

• after causative verbs (to let, make, have).

They made me reduce my expenditures

However, in passive sentences with the verb to make we use a to-infinitive:

He was made to rewrite his introduction letter.

• after the verb to know in the meaning “to experience, to observe” (usually

used in the perfect form):

Have you ever known him tell a lie?

• after phrases with but (cannot but, do anything but, do nothing but,

couldn’t but):

He cannot but accept it.

• in “why-(not)” sentences:

Why not let me help you?

• if two infinitives are joined by ‘and’ or ‘or’, the to of the second infinitive

can be omitted:

I want to call Mr Smith and fax or send him a message.

• if two or more to-infinitives are linked by the conjunctions but, except, than, as (well as), like, the particle to is most frequently used with the first infinitive only:

I have to feed the animals as well as look after the children.

NB: but, except always take the bare infinitive in the construction do+ everything/anything/nothing+ but/except+ do:

He does nothing but complain.

FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE

	Active	Passive
Indefinite	to write I want(ed) to see you.	to be written I like to be asked questions.
	It denotes an action simultaneous with or posterior to that expressed by the finite verb
Continuous	to be writing Mike is lucky not to be having problems now.	---------------------
	It denotes an action in progress simultaneous with or posterior to that expressed by the finite verb
Perfect	to have written I’m glad to have talked to you.	to have been written I’m glad to have been given a present.
	It denotes a completed action prior to that expressed by the finite verb
Perfect Continuous	to have been writing I’m glad to have been talking to you for an hour.	-------------------------
	It denotes an action of some duration prior to that of the finite verb.