3.3. Part of a compound verbal modal predicate

The infinitive in this function comes after a modal verb:

• I can swim.

• She may know it.

3.4. Part of a compound verbal aspect predicate

The infinitive is used in this function after verbs denoting the beginning, continuation or cessation of an action. The verbs include: begin, start, cease, continue:

• It began to rain.

For more details about these verbs see the Gerund section.

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3.5. Object

The infinitive is very often used in this function. We find it:

1. used directly after verbs;

2. with an object between the infinitive and the verb;

3. used after predicative adjectives;

4. preceded by a wh-word;

5. introduced by it.

manage mean

deserve

desire

expect

fail

fight

forget

grow

help

1) Verbs followed directly by the infinitive:

afford

need

neglect

offer

opt

plan

pledge

prepare

pretend

promise

refuse

resolve

scorn

agree

aim

arrange

ask

attempt

beg

care

choose (= 'decide') hesitate claim hope

consent intend

dare learn

decide live

demand long

• He asked to come with us.

• Do not hesitate to ask questions if you have any

• He chose to pay no attention to what she said.

• This never failed to infuriate her.

• He opted to support the movement.

• I tend to go to bed rather late.

• [struggled to stay awake.

• She did not live to see the end of the war.

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Most of these verbs can be used with the passive infinitive:

• She refused to be deceived.

• He deserves to be promoted.

The verbs claim, pretend, tend are quite often used with the perfect infinitive:

• He claimed to have been there.

• He pretended to have heard nothing. Notes:

1) The verb afford is always preceded by a modal verb:

• I can't afford to take such risks.

2) The verb arrange is used in the following patterns:

• They arranged to meet at four o'clock.

• I will arrange to meet you at the airport (= 'You will be met by someone').

• I will arrange for Jack to meet you at the airport (= 'Jack will meet you').

• We will arrange with somebody else to buy these tickets.

3) The verb care followed by the infinitive is normally used in negative or interrogative sentences:

• I don't care to see this show.

• Would you care to have a drink with me?

4) For the use of dare, need, and help see Infinitive. Forms.

2) Verbs followed by an object + the infinitive:

advise	defy	help	pay	teach
allow	enable	inspire	permit	tell
ask	encourage	instruct	persuade	train
beg	expect	invite	press	trust
cause	forbid	lead	prompt	urge
challenge	force	leave	recommend	use
compel	get	order	remind	warn

I encouraged her to tell the truth.

Verbals

• She challenged me to race her to the corner.

• I defy anyone to say that I am wrong.

• It has led me to change my attitude.

• They paid him to be silent.

• She reminded me to lock the door.

• It prompted me to visit the doctor.

• I trust them to solve the problem.

Notes:

1) As is clear from (1), the verbs ask, beg, expect and help can also be followed directly by a full infinitive:

• He begged (us) to be allowed to stay.

2) Special attention should be paid to the verbs allow and permit. Structures like *It allows to make the following conclusions are incorrect. If there is no notional object, a formal one should be inserted:

• It allows us /one to make the following conclusions.

3) The verb get is a causative verb, a synonym of the verbs make and have. Unlike the latter, it is used with a full infinitive. Depending on the context get can mean 'persuade', 'ask' or 'tell':

• He got Ann to help them.

• She got the maid to clean the room.

3) The infinitive is widely used as the object of the following predicative adjectives: glad, happy, lucky, surprised, sorry, curious, afraid, reluctant, pleased, etc:

• I am curious to know the news.

• He is afraid to go there.

The perfect infinitive is sometimes used here to emphasize that the event preceded the emotional state:

• I was happy to have been invited.

• He was lucky to have been given the job.

• She was sorry to have missed the opportunity.

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Verbals

Note: With afraid we can use both the infinitive and the gerund, but the meaning changes. For more details see the Gerund section.

4) We can often use a full infinitive after a wh-word. The verbs used with this structure include:

ask explain know reveal tell

decide forget learn say think

describe guess realize see understand

discover imagine remember teach wonder

discuss

• I do not know how to open the door.

• J can not decide whether to go or not.

• He asked me which bus to take.

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5) We can use the verbs consider, think, find, presume, believe, hold, judge and make with the pronoun it followed by an adjective or noun and a full infinitive:

• He thought it his duty to help them.

• I find it hard to believe the story.

• This made it possible to accept the invitation.

• He made it a rule to get up at seven o'clock.

It here is introductory and introduces the real object, which is the infinitive.

6) There are a number of verbs with which we can use either the infinitive or the gerund, but with a change of meaning that can be slight or rather considerable. These verbs include:
a) remember, forget;
b) like, love, prefer, hate;
c) dread, regret;
d) to be afraid;
e) advise, intend, recommend;
f) cannot bear;
g) mean;
h) try

i) understand. The verbs will be dealt with in the Gerund section.

7) With the verbs come, go and find we can use either the infinitive or participle I depending on what we want to express. Detailed treatment of the difference will be given in the Participle section.