The Infinitive

Recognize an infinitive when you see one.

To sneeze, to smash, to cry, to shriek, to jump, to dunk, to read, to eat, to slurp—all of these
are infinitives. An infinitive will almost always begin with to followed by the simple form of
the verb, like this:

to + verb = infinitive

Important Note: Because an infinitive is not a verb, you cannot add s, es, ed, or ing to the
end. Ever!

Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:

To sleep is the only thing Eli wants after his double shift waiting tables at the neighborhood
café.

To sleep functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence.

No matter how fascinating the biology dissection is, Emanuel turns his head and refuses to
look.

To look functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb refuses.

Wherever Melissa goes, she always brings a book to read in case conversation lags or she has
a long wait.

To read functions as an adjective because it modifies book.

Richard braved the icy rain to throw the smelly squid eyeball stew into the apartment
dumpster.

To throw functions as an adverb because it explains why Richard braved the inclement
weather.

Recognize an infinitive even when it is missing the to.

An infinitive will almost always begin with to. Exceptions do occur, however. An infinitive
will lose its to when it follows certain verbs. These verbs are feel, hear, help, let, make, see,
and watch.

The pattern looks like this:

special verb + direct object + infinitive - to

Here are some examples:

As soon as Theodore felt the rain splatter on his hot, dusty skin, he knew that he had a good
excuse to return the lawn mower to the garage.

Felt = special verb; rain = direct object; splatter = infinitive minus the to.

When Danny heard the alarm clock buzz, he slapped the snooze button and burrowed under
the covers for ten more minutes of sleep.

Heard = special verb; alarm clock = direct object; buzz = infinitive minus the to.

Although Dr. Ribley spent an extra class period helping us understand logarithms, we still
bombed the test.

Helping = special verb; us = direct object; understand = infinitive minus the to.

Because Freddie had never touched a snake, I removed the cover of the cage and let him pet
Squeeze, my seven-foot python.

Let = special verb; him = direct object; pet = infinitive minus the to.

Since Jose had destroyed Sylvia's spotless kitchen while baking chocolate-broccoli muffins,
she made him take her out for an expensive dinner.

Made = special verb; him = direct object; take = infinitive minus the to.

I said a prayer when I saw my friends mount the Kumba, a frightening roller coaster that
twists and rolls like a giant sea serpent.

Saw = special verb; my friends = direct object; mount = infinitive minus the to.

Hoping to lose her fear of flying, Rachel went to the airport to watch passenger planes take
off and land, but even this exercise did not convince her that jets were safe.

Watch = special verb; passenger planes = direct object; take, land = infinitives minus the to.

To split or not to split?

The general rule is that no word should separate the to of an infinitive from the simple form
of the verb that follows. If a word does come between these two components, a split infinitive
results. Look at the example that follows:

Sara hopes to quickly finish her chemistry homework so that she can return to the
Wrong:
more interesting Stephen King novel she had to abandon.
Sara hopes to finish her chemistry homework quickly so that she can return to the
Right:
more interesting Stephen King novel she had to abandon.

Some English teachers believe that thou shall not split infinitives was written on the stone
tablets that Moses carried down from the mountain. Breaking the rule, in their eyes, is
equivalent to killing, stealing, coveting another man's wife, or dishonoring one's parents. If
you have this type of English teacher, then don't split infinitives!
Other folks, however, consider the split infinitive a construction, not an error. They believe
that split infinitives are perfectly appropriate, especially in informal writing.

In fact, an infinitive will occasionally require splitting, sometimes for meaning and
sometimes for sentence cadence. One of the most celebrated split infinitives begins every
episode of Star Trek: "To boldly go where no one has gone before ...." Boldly to go? To go
boldly? Neither option is as effective as the original!

When you are making the decision to split or not to split, consider your audience. If the piece
of writing is very formal and you can maneuver the words to avoid splitting the infinitive,
then do so. If you like the infinitive split and know that its presence will not hurt the
effectiveness of your writing, leave it alone.

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Both gerunds and infinitives can be the

object of a verb::
I like writing in English.
I like to write in English.

But...
Only gerunds can be the object of a
preposition::
We are talking about writing in English.

It is often difficult to know when to use a gerund and when to use an infinitive. These
guidelines may help you:

Gerunds are often used when actions are real, concrete

or completed::
I stopped smoking.
(The smoking was real and happened until I
 stopped.)

Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal,

abstract, or future::
I stopped to smoke.
(I was doing something else, and I stopped; the
smoking had not happened yet.)

Cloze Exercise: Gerunds and Infinitives

Yuri was in his first year at university, studying History. He was

rather a lazy student, and he tended to avoid (work) WORKING
whenever he could. In the middle of the semester, his history
professor gave out an assignment, due in two weeks. Yuri intended
(do) TO DO the assignment, but he postponed (write) WRITING it
for a week. The following week, he forgot (do) TO DO it. The night
before the assignment was due, he suddenly remembered it, and rushed to the
library. He tried (read) TO READ as much as possible on the topic, but there
wasn't enough time. Yuri considered (ask) ASKING for more time to do his paper,
but the History professor was known to be very tough on students, so finally he
decided (cheat) TO CHEAT and copy his paper from somewhere else. He found
an old article on the same topic, and quickly typed it out. The next day, he
submitted the paper.
The following week, he was alarmed (see) TO SEE the professor approaching
him, looking angry.
"Is this your own work, or did you copy it?" asked the professor. Yuri denied
(copy) COPYING the paper.
"If you expect me (believe) TO BELIEVE that, you must be very stupid," said the
professor. "Every word is taken from an article I wrote myself five years ago. Did
you really think I would forget (write) WRITING it?"

Yoko w anted to go abroad

1. Yoko / want / go / abroad

Her mother suggested going to Canada.

2. Her mother / suggest / go / to Canada

She decided to visit B.C.

3. She / decide / visit / BC

She considered studying in Vancouver.

4. She / consider / study / in Vancouver

How ever, she hated to live in big cities.

5. However, she / hate / live / in big cities

6. Finally, she / choose / go / to Victoria Finally, she chose to go to
Victoria.

1 want gerund infinitive both

2 need gerund infinitive both
3 begin gerund infinitive both
4 enjoy gerund infinitive both
5 finish gerund infinitive both
6 would like (or would love) gerund infinitive both
7 hope gerund infinitive both
8 start gerund infinitive both
9 expect gerund infinitive both
10 quit gerund infinitive both
1 plan gerund infinitive both
2 continue gerund infinitive both
3 intend gerund infinitive both
4 mind gerund infinitive both
5 mean gerund infinitive both
6 like gerund infinitive both
7 decide gerund infinitive both
8 promise gerund infinitive both
9 postpone gerund infinitive both
10 offer gerund infinitive both
1 agree gerund infinitive both
2 put off gerund infinitive both
3 refuse gerund infinitive both
4 love gerund infinitive both
5 seem gerund infinitive both
6 keep (or keep on) gerund infinitive both
7 appear gerund infinitive both
8 pretend gerund infinitive both
9 hate gerund infinitive both
10 consider gerund infinitive both

1 learn (or learn how) gerund infinitive both

2 can't wait gerund infinitive both
3 can't stand gerund infinitive both
4 think about gerund infinitive both
5 can't afford gerund infinitive both
6 discuss gerund infinitive both
7 try gerund infinitive both
8 stop gerund infinitive both
9 forget gerund infinitive both
10 talk about gerund infinitive both