THE INFINITIVE

There are two kinds of infinitive:

a) the to-infinitive
to stay, to speak
b) the bare infinitive
stay, speak

FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE

Tense Active Voice Passive Voice
Present (to) play (to) be played
Present Continuous (to) be playing -
Perfect (to) have played (to) have been played
Perfect Continuous (to) have been playing -

Examples:
The file appears to have been misplaced.
He is not old enough to be allowed to stay out late.
The little dog seems to have lost its master.
Aren’t you supposed to be looking after your sister at the moment?
The accident is believed to have been caused by reckless driving.

We use the to-infinitive:

● after verbs such as: advise, agree, decide, expect, hope, manage, offer
promise, refuse, seem, want
He agreed to meet us tonight.

● after be + adjective (glad, happy, nice, sorry, pleased, annoyed)

It is nice to be back home.

● after verbs such as: know, learn, remember, ask, want to know when there is
a question word after them
I don’t know how to answer this question.

● after would love / like / prefer

I’d love to see you tonight.

● with too and enough

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 It’s too cold to go outside.
Joe isn’t old enough to vote.

adjective / adverb + enough + to - infinitive

enough + noun

He’s clever enough to solve the problem.

We’ve got enough money to go on holiday this year.

(not) + adjective + enough + to – infinitive

We are old enough to vote.
We are not old enough to vote.

too ........ + to – infinitive

He is too weak to lift the suitcase.

too .......... for somebody / something + to – infinitive

The suitcase is too heavy for him to lift.

● to express purpose.
I went to the florist’s to buy some flowers.

●We use the bare infinitive after:

⁕ modal verbs
You can go home now.
⁕ after the verbs let, make, hear and see.
My parents let me have a party for my birthday last week.
Let me go or I’ll make you regret it.

● In the expressions: to tell you the truth, to begin with, to be honest, to sum up, etc.
to begin with, I’d like to introduce our new manager, Mr Jones.

Write what each word is followed by: F.I. (full infinitive) or B.I. (bare infinitive) .
1 want .......................... 6 would love ....................... 11 will .........................
2 make .......................... 7 see ........................... 12 promise ...........................
3 hope ........................... 8 must ....................... 13 let .............................
4 can ............................ 9 agree ...................... 14 offer ...............................

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5 hear ............................ 10 should ..................... 15 ask ..............................
6 may ............................ 11 manage .................... 16 would like .........................

Say what your parents (don’t) let or (don’t) make you do.
e.g. My parents don’t let me watch TV late at night.
My parents make me study hard.

♦ watch TV late at night ♦ tidy my room

♦ study hard ♦ invite friends home
♦ go to parties at the weekend ♦ wear anything I want
♦ have breakfast every morning ♦ play music loud
♦ sing in the bathroom ♦ make the bed every morning
♦ play computer games ♦ wear make-up

☻ Fill in the gaps with one of the following verbs.

climb • help • go • open • buy • post • stay • take • wash • ask

1 I think I will .......................... some flowers for my mother.

2 Bill went to the post office ........................ some letters.
3 Let me ........................... you with your homework.
4 I want ............................. a mountain before I’m thirty.
5 We must ............................. the car today. It’s very dirty.
6 He’s too young ............................... in the house alone.
7 I don’t know how ............................ the windows in this room.
8 I couldn’t ................................. on holiday last summer.
9 Can I ................................. you a question, please?
10 They made her ................................ the money out of the safe.

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I would like Lucy to stay here.
the girls
her

● Rephrase the following, as in the example.

1 You must help me.
I want you to help me.
2 They mustn’t leave now.
I don’t want ...............................................................................................
3 She must eat her dinner.
I want .........................................................................................................
4 He must visit Aunt Linda.
I want ........................................................................................................
5 You mustn’t talk to strangers.
I don’t want ..............................................................................................
6 Fiona mustn’t go on holiday by herself.
I don’t want ..........................................................................................
7 They must do their homework now.
I want .....................................................................................................
8 You must go to bed now.
I want .....................................................................................................
9 He must mend his bike.
I want .....................................................................................................
10 You mustn’t make a mess.
I don’t want ..........................................................................................
11 Gary mustn’t make so much noise.
I don’t want ...........................................................................................
12 She mustn’t go to the disco.
I don’t want ............................................................................................
13 Tara must wear warm clothes.
I want .....................................................................................................
14 She must cook dinner.
I want ....................................................................................................
15 You mustn’t touch the stove.
I don’t want ..........................................................................................

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 ● Rewrite the sentences, using the words given.
1 He arrived early. (I saw)
I saw him arrive early.
2 I didn’t want to stay at home. (They made me)
........................................................................................................................
3 She got out of the car. (We watched)
........................................................................................................................
4 They allowed me to telephone my lawyer. (They let)
........................................................................................................................
5 They left at eleven o’clock. (I heard)
.........................................................................................................................
6 The policeman told me to empty my pockets. (The policeman made)
.........................................................................................................................
7 The dog jumped through the window. (I saw)
.........................................................................................................................
8 Maybe the school will ask me to pay extra. (Do you think the school will make)
..........................................................................................................................
9 She unlocked the door. ( We heard)
..........................................................................................................................
10 He left early in the morning. ( I saw)
...........................................................................................................................

● Put the words in the correct order, making appropriate changes.

1 plane catch she a have
She has a plane to catch.
2 lot of a housework there be do
There is a lot of housework to do.
3 who something eat want?
..........................................................................................................................
4 smoke he young be too
..........................................................................................................................
5 come expect Jane I
..........................................................................................................................
6 delighted hear I be the news
..........................................................................................................................
7 have books some I read
..........................................................................................................................
8 illness surprised hear I be his of
.........................................................................................................................
9 nothing children the have do
..........................................................................................................................
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10 letters I write some have
...........................................................................................................................
11 shopping some he do have
...........................................................................................................................
12 nothing say have I
..........................................................................................................................
13 always much eat have you too
..........................................................................................................................
14 outside cold eat it too be
...........................................................................................................................

● Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form.

1 Oh no! I forgot .............................. (send) Aunt Mary a birthday card.
2 They decided ................................... (explore) the cave.
3 The clowns made the children ............................ (laugh) with their tricks.
4 I would love ................................. (stay) here for a while.
5 Will Dad let us .............................. (go) to the party?
6 Andra refused .............................. (carry) the heavy bag.
7 I would like ............................. (go) to the Hamamatsu Kite Festival.
8 Maria could ............................. (count) to fifty when she was three years old.
9 Josh wants .......................... (buy) his mother some flowers for Mother’s Day.
10 Will she agree ......................... (give) Mike a helping hand?
11 We decided ............................. (stay up) and watch the firework display.
12 You really must ............................ (read) this newsletter.
13 They hope .............................. (finish) the project on time.
14 Mum made Anna ........................... (tidy) her room.
15 It is a pity .............................. (waste) your time.

● Complete the responses using too or enough.

1 Can she win the race? (fast)
Yes, she’s fast enough.
2 Can he buy this car? (cheap)
No, ....................................................................................
3 Can he wear this jacket? (small)
No, .....................................................................................
4 Can she carry the bags? (heavy)
No, .....................................................................................
5 Can Dana jump over that fence? (tall)
Yes, ...................................................................................
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6 Can he hear the music? (loud)
Yes, .....................................................................................
7 Can he touch the ceiling? (short)
No, .....................................................................................
8 Can he run fast? (fat)
No, ......................................................................................
9 Can Maria eat all the cake? (big)
No, ......................................................................................
10 Can he lift the car? (heavy)
No, ......................................................................................
11 Can he make people laugh? (funny)
Yes, .....................................................................................
12 Can he sleep in this bed? (small)
No, .......................................................................................

● Rewrite the sentences using too or enough.

1 Don’t wear a T-shirt. It’s cold outside.
It’s too cold outside to wear a T-shirt.
2 It’s very hot today. Let’s go to the beach.
It’s ........................................................................................
3 We’re not going to the party yet. It’s early.
It’s ........................................................................................
4 You can’t touch the ceiling. You’re short.
You’re not ............................................................................
5 You can buy this sweater. It’s cheap.
This sweater is .....................................................................
6 You can walk to school alone. You aren’t too young.
You’re ...................................................................................
7 They can buy a luxury yacht. They’re rich.
They’re .................................................................................
8 You can lift this box. It’s light.
This box ................................................................................

● Rewrite the sentences using too.

1 This music is so slow that I can’t dance to it.
This music is too slow for me to dance to.
2 The bird is so weak that it can’t fly.
.............................................................................................
3 She’s so busy that she can’t come out with us.
.............................................................................................
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4 The car was so expensive that he couldn’t buy it.
.............................................................................................
5 These shoes are so small that they don’t fit me.
..............................................................................................
6 The book is so boring that she can’t read it.
..............................................................................................
7 I was so tired that I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
..............................................................................................
8 The coffee was so strong that he couldn’t drink it.
..............................................................................................

● Where did you go yesterday, and why did you go to each place?

1 Chemist’s 2 Post Office 3 Cinema 4 Hairdresser’s

5 Car Rental Agency 6 Park

hire a haircut
buy tennis
have a film
play some letters
post a car
see some medicine

1 I went to the chemist’s to buy some medicine.

2 ...................................................................................................................
3 ...................................................................................................................
4 ...................................................................................................................
5 ...................................................................................................................
6 ...................................................................................................................

● Complete the sentences using too much, too many or enough.

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1 We’ve been so busy today we didn’t even have enough time for lunch.
2 I’d like to go to the cinema, but I haven’t got .............................. money.
3 I can’t drink this soup. It’s got ................................ salt in it.
4 Doctors say that .............................. sugar is bad for you.
5 We didn’t really enjoy the party; there were far .............................. people there.
6 We couldn’t make an omelette because we didn’t have ............................... eggs.

- ING FORM

The gerund is used:

a) As the subject, object or complement of a clause
Playing golf helps me relax but I find watching it on television rather boring.

b) after prepositions
He left without saying a word.

c) after certain verbs: admit, appreciate, avoid, can’t help, can’t stand, consider, deny,
detest, feel like, give up, imagine, involve, keep, (don’t) mind, miss, postpone, put off,
prevent, recommend, resist, risk, suggest
They admitted stealing the files.

d) after dislike, enjoy, hate, like, love, prefer, to express general preference.
She prefers eating out.

e) after spend and waste

Don’t waste too much time surfing the Net.

f) after adjust to, admit to, confess to, get used to, look forward to, object to\
She confessed to being surprised by her success.

g) after I’m busy, it’s no use, it’s (no) good, it’s (not) worth, what’s the use of, there’s no
point (in), have difficulty(in), in addition to, as well as, have trouble, have a hard time
What’s the use of crying? It was your fault.

h) Some verbs can be used with either –ing form or to infinitive, with no change in
meaning

She started singing / to sing.

i) Verbs taking to-infinitive or –ing form with a change of meaning.

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 FORGET
He forgot to switch off the TV. (forget to do sth)
I’ll never forget meeting Sarah for the first time. (forget a past event)

REMEMBER
I hope you’ll remember to deliver the parcel. (remember to do sth)
I remember delivering the parcel yesterday. (recall a past event)

MEAN
He means to move house. (intend to)
This job means working from home. (involve)

REGRET
I regret to inform you that your application has been rejected. (be sorry to)
Jack regrets buying the car. (have second thoughts about sth already done)

WOULD PREFER (specific preference)

I’d prefer to have a word with you.
PREFER+ -ING (general)
I prefer working from home.
PREFER + to-infinitive + rather than + short infinitive
He prefers to paint the flat on his own rather than hire a professional.

TRY
Try to eat less junk food. (attempt)
Try cutting down on fat. You might get thinner. (do sth as an experiment)

FORMS OF THE –ING FORM

Present - (A) playing / (P) being played
Perfect - (A) having played / (P) having been played

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