12 Infinitive and -ing (to) be (to) speak

having spoken speaking

forms of verbs working (to) be speaking
(to) have spoken

Key considerations
There are many different contexts where we have to make a choice between
an infinitive or -ing form of the verb, and the rules which guide us may seem
arbitrary to learners. We need to be wary of focusing on too many of these rules
at once; learners usually prefer to have their attention drawn to these, rule by
rule, over a period of time.

Mistakes in choosing between infinitive and -ing forms rarely lead to serious
misunderstandings. However, most learners make a lot of mistakes and they
....:... are often penalised for these mistakes in examinations .
d1rect ob;ects
pp 297-8 Academic grammars sometimes treat full infinitives after verbs as objects. Course
materials, however, usually consider them as a separate category.

Infinitives

What do they look like?

The infinitive is the simplest form of the verb. It is exactly the same as the 'base'
form that follows I, you, we and they in the present simple tense of all verbs
other than be (e.g. I drink, they believe). We refer to these verbs as infinitives
when they are not part of the tense of a verb.

Sometimes the infinitive follows to, and we call this the 'full infinitive' or the
....:... 'infinitive with to' (e.g. to ask in He wanted me to ask a question.) .
bare infin,t:q;s
pp 179-81 Throughout this book we follow most course materials in using the term
'infinitive' to refer to this two-word form.

What do they do?

We use infinitives:

• to add more information to what is expressed in certain verbs, verb+ object

combinations, adjectives and nouns, or expressions including these .
• to explain the reason for something or its purpose or function.
• as subjects and complements.
• in certain tense forms.

170
 Infinitive and -ing forms of verbs I 171

Where do they come in sentences?

After certain verbs
We can use an infinitive after certain verbs. Some common examples are: agree,
appear, arrange, attempt, decide, expect, fail, hope, need, offer, promise, refuse,
want, wish.

wanted to meet him.

They hoped to ge_t______L_b_a_ck_ea_r._o_ly_.__,

We sometimes use an infinitive after a verb to explain the reason for doing
something.

I went to see her. They called to invite us.

We also use infinitives to express desires or wishes.

I long to travel. They hope to see you.

After certain verb + object combinations

We can use an infinitive after certain verb + object combinations. Some
common examples are:

advise, allow, ask, cause, enable, encourage, forbid, force, instruct, invite,
order, permit, persuade, prefer, recommend, remind, require, teach, tell, tempt,
warn.

Who asked Valentine to come to the party?

The police required everyone to stay in the room.

After certain adjectives

We can use an infinitive after certain adjectives. Some of the commonest
adjectives in this category are those which describe:

• personal feelings or attitude (e.g. anxious, determined, delighted, eager).

• aspects of possibility, probability, necessity or ability (e.g. certain, crucial,
imperative, likely, possible).

I'm sorry to be a nuisance.

Is it necessary to make so much noise?

172 1 Infinitive and -ing forms of verbs

We sometimes use these adjectives with a phrase beginning/or.

Is it possible for everyone?

We also use an infinitive after these phrases.

Is it possible for everyone to be here early tomorrow?

After too + adjective/much or many+ noun

We use an infinitive after too+ adjective, too+ much/many+ noun.

I'm too old to learn new tricks.

There's too much information to digest.

After adjective + enough or enough (+ noun)

We use an infinitive after adjective+ enough, enough(+ noun).

I'm fit enough to play.

Have you got enough (money) to get home?

After certain nouns and noun expressions

We can use infinitives after nouns which express something about:

• personal feelings or attitude (e.g. desire, wish).

• aspects of possibility, necessity and ability (e.g. ability, capability,
possibility, need).

!1 have no desire to hurt you.

l

! There's a great need to improve our service.

We also use infinitives after certain other nouns.

He made an attempt to escape.

The nouns we follow with infinitives are restricted in number, and often we follow
them with infinitives only in set expressions (e.g. I have no wish to ... , make an
attempt to ... ). We often only teach this use of infinitives idiomatically, in these
expressions.

After a direct object

We use infinitives to explain the reason for something, or to answer the
question Why?

He borrowed the drill to put up more shelves. (direct object: the drill)
In this case we can also use in order to (in order to put up more shelves).
 Infinitive and -ing forms of verbs I 173

We also use the infinitive to explain the purpose or function of something.

I think it must be something to eat. (direct object: something)

I need a more substantial table to work at. (direct object: a more substantial table)

When we define something's intrinsic function, we often use for ... -ing instead
of an infinitive.

A corkscrew is a thing for opening wine bottles.

After 'question words' in indirect questions

We often use infinitives after question words such as how, what, when, where,
who, which, why, whether. 111dtrcct
(jlJCS!IOilS
I don't know how to respond. p 2fili

She hasn't decided whether to stay in or not.

We only use the infinitive after question words when the main verb and the ....;:.
verb in the infinitive have the same subject. We can say I don't know how to 111:1111 vr:rtJ:,
pp 107 10
respond because I am the person who will respond. We can't say: *I don't know
how you to respond.

We also use the infinitive in expressions which imply a question word.

I don't know the way to respond. (... how to respond.)

I don't know the right person to ask. (... who to ask.)

Subjects and complements

l
We can use an infinitive as the subject of a clause when it refers to an activity.
-·-·,>·r<:'>
To eat would be stupid ifyou are still planning to swim. J ?'I?
-----
To travel hopefully is better than to arrive.
Although this use is perfectly correct, we often prefer not to begin sentences
with an infinitive, particularly in more casual, spoken contexts.

We frequently begin the sentence with it instead. In this case the infinitive is
part of the complement.

It would be stupid to drink anything ifyou are planning to drive home.

We use an infinitive as a complement in expressions like the following:

Your best bet is to wait.

We can also use an infinitive as a complement in pseudo-cleft sentences.

sent en cPs
p 321
What you need is to relax.