hypothesis verb infinitive

Hypothesis Verb Wish in English

Hypothesis: An idea or suggestion that is based on known facts and is used as basis for reasoning or further investigation. And “Wish” is known as hypothesis verb when it is used with past tenses. Read the article below to know how to use hypothesis verb wish in different situations. 

Hypothesis Verb WISH

1: Wish + Infinitive: We use Wish + infinitive to ask something in a very formal situation.

•  I wish to see the manager, please. 
• If you wish to reserve a table, please call after five o’clock.

Wish + Object + Full infinitive:

• We don’t wish our name to appear in the report.
• I wish him to be here right now.

Note 1: Wish is a non-progressive verb and can’t use in progressive forms.

• I wish to see the manager, please. (Not I’m wish ing to see the manager, please).

Note 2: Wish + direct object are not normal without a following infinitive .

• I want/ would like an appointment with the manager. (Not I wish an appointment with the manager).

2: Wish + Object for Fixed Expressions: Wish is used with two objects in some fixed expressions of good wishes.

• We wish you a happy birthday.
• I wish you good luck in your final exam.
• We all wish you a speedy recovery.

3: Wish + Past indefinite tense for Present and Future Unreal: We use ‘wish’ with a that-clause (past indefinite) (that can be dropped in an informal style). In this case, Wish doesn’t mean ‘want’— it expresses regret that things are not different, and refers to present and future situations that are unreal, impossible or unlikely.

• I wish (that) I had a big car.
• I wish (that) I could speak French.
• Don’t you wish (that) you could fly?

4: Wish + Past Continuous Tense: We use ‘wish + Past Continuous Tense’ to express that we want to be doing a different action in the present or future.

• I wish it was raining, But it is not. (Present Continuous Tense)
• I wish you weren’t leaving tomorrow. (Future Tense)

Note: ‘Were ‘can be used instead of was in this structure, especially in a formal style.

•  I wish (that) I was a doctor. (Informal)
• I wish (that) I were a doctor. (Formal)

5: Wish + Past Perfect Tense for Past Unreal: ‘Wish + Past Perfect Tenses’ are used for wishes about the past OR that we want a situation in the past to be different.

• I wish you hadn’t said that. (It would be nice if you hadn’t said that)
• Now she wishes she had gone to college.

6. Hope + First form of the verb for the Future Possibility: Wish + Past tenses are not generally used for wishes about things that seem possible in future. We often use hope in this sense.  

• I hope you pass your exams.
• I hope you feel better tomorrow.

7: Wish + Would:

We use ‘Wish+ would+ Bare infinitive’ to express impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action. OR Sentence with wish+ would express regret or annoyance that something will not happen.

• I wish you would stop smoking. (You are smoking at the moment and it is annoying me.)
• I wish it would stop raining. (I’m impatient because it is raining and I want to go outside.)

Note 1:  Sentence with wish ….wouldn’t refer to things that do or will happen.

• I wish you wouldn’t keep making that stupid noise. (You will keep making ….)

Note 2: Wish+ Wouldn’t can be like an order or a request.

• I wish you wouldn’t drive so fast. (Similar to please don’t drive so fast)
• I wish you wouldn’t work on Sundays. (Why don’t you stop?)

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related posts

Simple present tense exercises with answers, what are action verbs in english, adverb clause of time and exercises, leave a comment cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

English Guide

Help center

To Hypothesize vs Hypothesizing Infinitives & Gerunds

Notes from a Native English Speaker

Infinitives: An infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually preceded by the word "to" (e.g., to swim, to eat, to learn). It can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb in a sentence. Infinitives are often used to express intentions, purposes, desires, or potential actions. Gerunds: A gerund is the -ing form of a verb (e.g., swimming, eating, learning). It’s different from a “present participle” which functions as a verb tense. A gerund can be the subject, object, or complement of a sentence.

When and How to Use Each Expression?

To hypothesize (Infinitive)

Purpose or Intention : Use the infinitive "to hypothesize" when you want to express a purpose, intention, desire, or potential action

I want to hypothesize about the possible outcomes of the experiment.

Hypothesizing (Gerund)

Activity or Experience : Use the gerund "hypothesizing" when you want to refer to the activity itself or the experience as a noun.

Hypothesizing helps scientists make predictions and design experiments.

Where can infinitives/gerunds be placed in a sentence?

To hypothesize is an important step in the scientific method.

• "*To hypothesize*" serves as the subject of the sentence.
• Infinitive phrase (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (an important step in the scientific method).

She wants me to hypothesize about the potential causes of the problem.

• "Me *to hypothesize* about the potential causes of the problem" is the object of the verb "wants."
• Noun (She) + verb (wants) + noun phrase (me *to hypothesize* about the potential causes of the problem).

We need a theory to hypothesize possible solutions.

• "*To hypothesize* possible solutions" modifies the noun "theory."
• Noun (We) + verb (need) + noun phrase (a theory *to hypothesize* possible solutions).

Hypothesizing requires critical thinking skills.

• "*Hypothesizing*" is the subject of the sentence.
• Gerund (subject) + verb (requires) + noun phrase (critical thinking skills).

I enjoy hypothesizing about the potential outcomes of scientific studies.

• "*Hypothesizing* about the potential outcomes of scientific studies" is the object of the verb "enjoy."
• Noun (I) + verb (enjoy) + gerund (*hypothesizing* about the potential outcomes of scientific studies).

She has a talent for hypothesizing complex theories.

• "For *hypothesizing* complex theories" is the object of the preposition "for."
• Noun phrase (She) + verb (has) + noun phrase (a talent for *hypothesizing* complex theories).

Verbs Taking Infinitives/Gerunds as Objects

Verbs Taking Infinitives as Objects

They plan to hypothesize different scenarios for the study.

He hopes to hypothesize a new hypothesis for his research.

She wants to hypothesize about the impact of climate change.

We decided to hypothesize multiple variables for our experiment.

They agreed to hypothesize alternative explanations for the results.

Verbs Taking Gerunds as Objects

He enjoys hypothesizing about the mysteries of the universe.

Scientists recommend continuous hypothesizing to advance knowledge.

I dislike the process of hypothesizing without sufficient evidence.

They avoid hasty hypothesizing by conducting thorough research.

Can you imagine yourself hypothesizing groundbreaking theories?

Verbs Taking Both Infinitives and Gerunds as Objects

I would like to hypothesize alternative explanations. I would like hypothesizing alternative explanations.

We started to hypothesize different hypotheses. We started hypothesizing different hypotheses.

He began to hypothesize about the potential outcomes. He began hypothesizing about the potential outcomes.

This content was generated with the assistance of AI technology based on RedKiwi's unique learning data. By utilizing automated AI content, we can quickly deliver a wide range of highly accurate content to users. Experience the benefits of AI by having your questions answered and receiving reliable information!

Infinitives – Uses, Definition & Examples

| Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

Not all verbs show action. Others function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

What is an infinitive? An infinitive is a type of non-finite verb usually formed using “to” and the base verb. To run, to teach, and to be are all examples of infinitives.

Learn about the definition and uses of infinitive verbs. I’ll show you the four main types of infinitives and their diverse functions in English sentences.

What Are Infinitives?

An infinitive in English grammar is usually made of to and the base form of a verb, as in to run or to eat.

This combination has a different function in the sentence, such as an adjective, adverb, or noun. Unlike a finite verb, an infinitive does not have a subject nor show tense.

For example:

• I want to see him.

The sentence uses the infinitive form of see, which is to see. It does not function as an actionable verb because the act of seeing is not really done.

In my own writing, I try and use bare infinitives as much as possible because I feel they make the story flow better. But it’s really a stylistic choice. Stick with me while I go over all types of infinitives.

What Are the 4 Types of Infinitives?

We usually think that the only infinitive form of a verb is to plus the base verb. But there are four main types you should know.

Split Infinitives

A split infinitive includes an adverb or adverbial phrase placed between to and the base form of the verb. One of the most celebrated split infinitives can be found in every episode of the famous show Star Trek:

• To boldly go where no one has gone before.

Notice how the order is to + single adverb + base verb. They do not say boldly to go or to go boldly because both are inaccurate.

But some grammar experts are divided on this. Some prescriptivists agree that they should be avoided, while others think they are acceptable.

If you want to keep your writing safe, it’s best to avoid them altogether. For instance, instead of saying this:

• The handbook will help you to conveniently fix the appliance.

You can say:

• The handbook will help you to fix the appliance conveniently.

But in some instances, split infinitives sound better in sentences. For example:

• She wants to choose meticulously her outfit.

This sentence sounds awkward. But when we use the split infinitive, it sounds smoother because it emphasizes the act of choosing.

• She wants to meticulously choose her outfit.

Full Infinitives

Full infinitives are the most common infinitives in writing, which take the base verb and the word to in front of them.

One famous full infinitive comes from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

• To be or not to be.

Don’t mistake an infinitive with a preposition phrase that starts with the common preposition to. Prepositional phrases do not have the base verb form after to but a noun, pronoun, or any modifier.

Here’s an example of a full infinitive in a sentence.

• To buy a house in the suburbs is my dream.

In this sentence, to buy is the full infinitive that functions as a subject of the sentence.

You might also find full infinitives after adjectives. For example:

• I’m happy to see you.

They may also be used with adverbs too and enough. For example:

• This sweatshirt is too small to keep me warm.

Bare Infinitives

Bare infinitives are more challenging to identify because they don’t have the word to. This special verb form can be spotted based on its structure, which includes the special verb, direct object, then the infinitive. For example:

• She let me use the espresso machine.

The special verb in this example is let, and the direct object is me. Use is the bare infinitive. Here is another example of a sentence with a bare infinitive.

• I don’t drink tea.

The main verb in the sentence is do , making drink a bare infinitive.

Negative Infinitives

The negative infinitive is formed using the word not with a to-infinitive or zero infinitive. That means it can have two basic structures.

• Not + base verb
• Not + to + base verb

Consider the sentence example below.

• I asked my mother not to go .

This statement uses a negative to-infinitive because it uses not with to and the base verb go.

Here are more examples of negative infinitives in sentences.

• Try not to use pretentious words.
• It’s a bad idea not to set up cameras outside your house.
• I do not drink milk.

A less common structure of negative infinitive is to + not + infinitive, although many grammarians do not recommend it. For example:

• My goal is to not stutter during my speech.

When to Use Infinitives

Infinitives of different forms also have different functions. Let’s discuss each.

Infinitives as Nouns

An infinitive can function as a noun or noun phrase. It names persons, places, things, or events. These words can function as subjects, subject complements, and direct objects. But infinitives cannot function as the object of prepositions like gerunds.

As a subject, an infinitive becomes the doer of the action. For example:

• To watch the band perform live is my biggest dream.

In this sentence, to watch is the subject.

Full infinitives can also be subject complements. They rename the subject and appear before a linking verb. For example:

• All I want is to eat tres leches.

To eat tres leches represents the subject All I want, and it comes before the linking verb is.

An infinitive can also be the object of the sentence, receiving the action verb. For example:

• I plan to throw her a party.

The direct object answers the verb with the word what. In this sentence, to throw her a party answers the question, “Plan what?”

Here are some common verbs that are followed by infinitives as objects.

Afford to go and agree to come are examples of phrasal verbs or the use of infinitives in phrases. These verbs usually have no actor between them and the infinitive direct-object phrase. For example:

• We agreed to attend the event.

Agreed to attend the event is a full infinitive phrase with no possible indirect object between them.

Infinitives as Adjectives

This type of verb can function as an adjective that modifies the meanings of nouns. Here are some examples of infinitives that act as adjectival modifiers.

• I need my mom to lecture me.

In this sentence, the infinitive to lecture modifies the noun mom.

• I need a chair to sit on while I’m studying.
• I want something to drink with my steak and fries.
• That’s a beautiful dress to wear to the party tonight.

Infinitives as Adverbs

As an adverb, an infinitive can also modify an adjective, verb, or a fellow adverb. This verbal offers additional information about the verb, often answering the question why. Consider this example.

• I was happy to meet your friend last night.

In this sentence, the infinitive to meet gives extra information about the adjective happy.

This sentence shows an infinitive before the main clause.

• To be a successful doctor, you must choose your specialization wisely.

Here are some examples of sentences with infinitives as adverbial modifiers.

• I got new glasses to see clearly.
• I promise to bring you new shoes on your birthday.
• She was very excited to hear the news about her father.

Infinitives After Auxiliaries

The infinitive can be used after modal verbs and semi-modal verbs. A modal verb is an auxiliary verb showing possibility, intent, necessity, or ability.

Below is an example of a sentence with a modal verb before an infinitive.

• I will buy a new book tomorrow.

In this sentence, the modal verb will comes before the infinitive buy.

This sentence uses a combination of a semi-modal verb or marginal modal before an infinitive.

• I used to watch her shows all the time.

Here are more sentence examples.

• We should follow the rules and regulations at work.
• There might be better policies.

Infinitives After Perception Verbs

Perception verbs, sense verbs, or stative verbs use bare infinitives of an active verb when the object takes an action. These perception verbs include hear, see, feel, taste, and more. The order is the main verb + object + bare infinitive. For example:

• I heard Dina arrive before Joey drove.

Here, the main verb is heard, followed by the object Dina and the bare infinitive arrive.

Here are more examples.

• I felt his hand brush mine.
• I watched you rock that dress last night.

Phrases With Most Relative Pronouns

Use the full infinitive after relative pronouns who, what, whom, where, and how. Do not use these pronouns with split and bare infinitives. For example:

• I don’t know what to get Jermaine for his birthday.

In this sentence, the relative pronoun is what and is followed by the full infinitive to get.

But why, as a relative pronoun, uses the bare infinitive, especially when making suggestions in interrogative form. For example:

• Why buy a new bottle when you can reuse the old one?

Infinitives With Let, Do, and Make

These verbs always use bare infinitives. Remember that make and let use a direct object. For example:

• Please let me live in peace.

In this sentence, let is the main verb. It’s followed by a direct object me and the bare infinitive live. But live is not the main action in the sentence.

Below are more sentence examples.

• I made my mother buy me new boots.
• She let me borrow her journal.

Infinitives Showing Intention or Purpose

We use infinitives to explain why a subject is doing something. The non-finite verb often replaces the phrase in order to to make the sentence more concise. For example:

• My brother left to meet with my dad.

In this sentence, the main verb is left. It is followed by the full infinitive to meet, which is the shortened version of in order to meet.

• I’m writing to let you know that the package has arrived.
• Do you go to school to pursue your dreams?

What Is a Continuous Infinitive?

Continuous infinitives express continuing action after an auxiliary or verb. This infinitive uses to be and the present participle form of a verb. For example:

• I happened to be eating my pancakes when Josh went inside the restaurant.

The continuous infinitive in the sentence is to be eating.

Here are more examples of sentences with continuous infinitives.

• The ship is said to be sailing around the world for months.
• It’s nice to be working with you on this thesis paper.
• You should be studying hard for a good future.

What Is a Perfect Infinitive?

The perfect infinitive uses the structure to have plus the past participle verb form. To have forgotten and to have written are examples of perfect infinitives.

Consider the sentence below.

• I am happy to have seen Laura and Mike’s new baby.

The perfect infinitive in the sentence is to have seen.

Here are more examples of sentences with perfect infinitives.

• I wish to have tried my best during the competition.
• He pretended to have seen the movie.
• Your gift should have arrived last week.

What Is a Perfect Continuous Infinitive?

A perfect continuous infinitive uses the perfect and continuous verb form to express an action that was in progress but is now complete.

Use to have been with the present participle of the verb when forming the perfect continuous infinitive. For example:

• I must have been turning it off the whole time.
• The group appeared to have been cheating on the test.

What Is a Passive Infinitive?

A passive infinitive is the passive form of an infinitive. We use it to highlight the receiver or the action instead of the doer. It is formed using to be and the past participle form of the verb. For example:

• I wish to be nominated as the president of the club.

The passive infinitive is to be nominated. This sentence emphasizes the receiver of the action, which is I .

Here are more examples of passive infinitives in sentences.

• Kids like to be complimented even if they don’t ask for it.
• Education should be prioritized by the government.
• I wish to be promoted soon.

What Is an Infinitive Phrase?

Infinitive phrases are verb phrases containing the infinitive form of a verb and other modifiers. For example:

• I want to bake the cookie dough.

The infinitive verb in the sentence is to bake. The complement is its direct object, the cookie dough. The complete infinitive phrase is to bake the cookie dough.

Are Infinitives Verbs?

Infinitives are non-finite verbs because they do not have subjects and don’t show tense. They function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

Other verb forms with different functions include the gerund and participle. Like infinitives, they either function as nouns or modifiers.

Do Infinitives Always Start with “To”?

Infinitives usually start with to. But others only include the base form of the verb, and they are called bare infinitives.

Use the bare infinitive or zero infinitive after modal verbs like may, can, might, could, should, and will. For example:

• Incorrect: I can to do this every day.
• Correct: I can do this every day.

You can also use the bare infinitive after perception verbs. For example:

• Incorrect: I saw you to leave the house.
• Correct: I saw you leave the house.

Infinitives don’t use to when paired with the main verbs let, make, and do. For example:

• Incorrect: Please let me to go to summer camp this year.
• Correct: Please let me go to summer camp this year.

They may also lose the word to on the second one when the sentence has a series of infinitives. For example:

• Incorrect: I want to finish my homework, to visit my friends, to watch the concert, and to have dinner with my family.
• Correct: I want to finish my homework, visit my friends, watch the concert, and have dinner with my family.

Let’s Practice Infinitives

Infinitives may have attributes of verbs, but they have different uses in sentences. These types of verbs are formed using the base verb or to and the base verb.

Within a sentence, infinitives can be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. They may indicate the purpose of an action, be a doer of the action, or act as the receiver of the verb.

Other non-finite verbs in the English language are gerunds and participles. Learn more about these verbals on our site so you can be a better English writer.

Grammarist is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

2024 © Grammarist, a Found First Marketing company. All rights reserved.

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Infinitives with and without to

The infinitive of a verb has two forms: the to -infinitive and the infinitive without to . The to -form consists of to plus the base form of the verb:

I want to speak to you.

We came here to work , not to play .

The form without to consists of the base form of the verb:

She made us wait for half an hour.

John lets the dog sleep on the sofa.

To -infinitive

We use the to -infinitive after a number of common main verbs. These include:

We arranged to see the bank manager and applied for a loan.

Mrs Harding asked us to call in on our way home.

Did you remember to post the letter to your mother?

He just wants everyone to be happy.

Some of these verbs are also often followed by -ing .

Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + - ing ?

Verbs followed by a to -infinitive

Verbs followed by an infinitive without to

We can use the to -infinitive in a clause with a verb that has no subject (a non-finite clause ). The to -infinitive focuses on the idea of an action or the results of an action, rather than the action in itself:

To work in a developing country had always been her ambition.

To get there before lunch, you would have to take the seven o’clock train.

Finite and non-finite verbs

Non-finite clauses

Perfect infinitive with to ( to have worked )

Infinitive without to

We use the infinitive without to after modal verbs can , could , may , might , will , shall , would , should , must :

She can sleep in the guest room tonight.

Will you need to rent a car during your stay?

We also use the infinitive without to after let , make and (optionally) help :

He lets us use some of his land to grow vegetables.

You can’t make a cat do anything it doesn’t want to do.

I just want to help you (to) understand the situation better.

Modality: introduction

Auxiliary verbs

Would rather

Typical errors

We don’t use the to -infinitive after modal verbs:

We might buy a new sofa.

Not: We might to buy a new sofa .

We don’t use the infinitive (with or without to ) after prepositions:

Lemon juice is useful for cleaning stained surfaces in the kitchen.

Not: … is useful for clean … or … for to clean …

Prepositions

Word of the Day

ride off into the sunset

to begin a new, happy life at the end of a story

Apples and oranges (Talking about differences, Part 2)

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

To add ${headword} to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

paper-free learning

• conjunctions
• determiners
• interjections
• prepositions
• affect vs effect
• its vs it's
• your vs you're
• which vs that
• who vs whom
• who's vs whose
• averse vs adverse
• 250+ more...
• apostrophes
• quotation marks
• lots more...
• common writing errors
• FAQs by writers
• awkward plurals
• ESL vocabulary lists
• all our grammar videos
• idioms and proverbs
• Latin terms
• collective nouns for animals
• tattoo fails
• vocabulary categories
• most common verbs
• top 10 irregular verbs
• top 10 regular verbs
• top 10 spelling rules
• improve spelling
• common misspellings
• role-play scenarios
• favo(u)rite word lists
• multiple-choice test
• Tetris game
• grammar-themed memory game
• 100s more...

Infinitive Form of a Verb

What is the infinitive form of a verb.

Table of Contents

Examples of Infinitives as Nouns

Examples of infinitives as adjectives, examples of infinitives as adverbs, bare infinitives (when not preceded by "to"), real-life examples of infinitive verbs, why the infinitive form of a verb is important.

• To dance was her passion.
• Dancing was her passion.
• He likes to hunt .
• He likes hunting .
• Give him an ornament to polish .
• Give him an ornament that he can polish .
• I need a volunteer to take the minutes .
• I need a volunteer who is prepared to take the minutes .
• The officer returned to help .
• The officer returned so he could help .
• He will complete the mission to set an example .
• He will complete the mission so he can set an example .
• I need to run every day.
• I must run every day.
• I run every day.

• He should go home.
• They might finish by Wednesday.

• Mark helped his friend finish .
• I watched them bake the bread.
• Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy . (Founding Father of USA Benjamin Franklin)
• Some guys like to fight on even playing grounds , and some guys like to cheat . (Boxer Deontay Wilder)
• Friends give you total freedom to be yourself . (Singer Jim Morrison)
• If one is wise, it is a profitable thing to seem foolish . (Greek tragedian Aeschylus)
• Sins, like chickens, come home to roost . (Author Charles W. Chesnutt)
• To succeed in life , you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone. (Singer Reba McEntire)
• He likes to knead the dough slowly .

(Reason 1) Use the infinitive form to name the verb.

• The verb to play has the participles playing and played.
• In the present tense, to be has the forms "am," "is," and "are."

(Reason 2) Split infinitives are okay.

(reason 3) an infinitive can usually replace "in order to.".

• Jack built a metal detector to find gold nuggets.
• Jack built a metal detector in order to find gold nuggets.
• In order not to offend anybody, in order not to seem to be partisan, the term "terrorist" is virtually outlawed in US-run news agencies. (Journalist Kevin Meyers)
• There is no need to actively avoid a split infinitive, which is often the most succinct, accurate, and natural way to convey your thought.
• If "in order to" adds no clarity and you're not looking for emphasis on the reason, delete "in order."

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

Learning Resources

more actions:

This test is printable and sendable

Help Us Improve Grammar Monster

• Do you disagree with something on this page?
• Did you spot a typo?

Find Us Quicker!

• When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.

You might also like...

Share This Page

If you like Grammar Monster (or this page in particular), please link to it or share it with others. If you do, please tell us . It helps us a lot!

Create a QR Code

Use our handy widget to create a QR code for this page...or any page.

< previous lesson

next lesson >

• Greek Texts
• Latin Texts
• Reference Works
• Core Vocabulary
• What's New
• How to contribute
• Editorial Board
• Contributing Teachers
• Contributing Students
• Content Editors
• Other Contributors
• Peer Review
• Site Design
• Terms of Use
• Commentaries In Development

edited by Meagan Ayer et al.

• The Infinitive

562. The Infinitive is a verbal noun whose range of use has been much enlarged. Originally a to or for dative, it retains that force in some of the most common constructions (§§  565 and  566,  below); the others are developed from this, but the connection is not always clear. The English infinitive with to is in many uses closely parallel.

a. As a verb, the Infinitive has voice and tense, though it does not distinguish person or number; it may take a subject in the accusative, and an object (accusative, genitive, or dative), like the rest of the verb to which it belongs; it is modified by adverbs and particles, including ἄν . As a noun it may in some uses take the article (neuter) and so be marked as having a noun construction in any case but the vocative.

563. The present, aorist, and perfect Tenses of the Infinitive distinguish kinds of action (as in the subjunctive, optative, and imperative, §§  475 , 483 , 484 ), not differences of time. The future puts the action in a time later than that of the principal verb.

a. When the infinitive represents a finite verb, it retains the tense and tense meaning of the form which it replaces (§  577,  below).

564. The negative with an infinitive is usually μή , except when the infinitive represents an original finite verb which had οὐ ; and even then after some verbs there is a tendency to change οὐ to μή (§  579. a,  below).

565. The Infinitive may be connected, as a to or for dative, with verbs, adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or with a whole phrase.

Tὴν χώρᾱν ἐπέτρεψε διαρπάσαι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν. He gave the land over to the Greeks to plunder (for plundering). Xen. Anabasis 1.2.19

πολλαὶ ἅμαξαι ἦσαν φέρεσθαι. There were many wagons to be carried off. Xen. Anabasis 2.1.6

οὐχ ὥρᾱ καθεύδειν οὐδʼ ἀμελεῖν ἡμῶν αὐτῶν. It is no time for sleeping or for being careless of ourselves. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.11

a. This Dative Infinitive has a wide range of meaning, from simple purpose to cases where it merely defines the application of a word or phrase. The dative force can usually be seen, but in or some other preposition may be necessary in translation:

Εἵλεσθε ἄρχειν μου. You chose ( them ) to rule over me. Plato Apology 28e

ἕτοιμος λέγειν ready to speak ( for speaking )

δεινὸς λέγειν skilled in ( with reference to ) speaking

οὐχ ἡδέα ἀκούειν not pleasant to hear. Demosthenes 4.38

οἷος ἀεί ποτε μεταβάλλεσθαι ( such ) as to be always changing Xen. Hellenica 2.3.45

ἱκανοὶ τᾱ̀ς ἀκροπόλεις φυλάττειν sufficient for guarding the citadels Xen. Anabasis 1.2.1

Κλέαρχος στυγνὸς ἦν ὁρᾶν. Klearchos was repulsive to see. Xen. Anabasis 2.6.9

οὔτοι συνέχθειν ἀλλὰ συμφιλεῖν ἐφῦν. I am not one ( was not born ) to join in hatred, but in love. Soph. Antigone 523

τοσούτου δέω ὁμολογεῖν so far am I from agreeing ( I lack so much with reference to agreeing ). Demosthenes 9.17

νόσημα μεῖζον ἢ φέρειν a trouble too great to bear ( greater than for bearing ). Soph. Oedipus the King 1293

b. Note the use with ἔχω :

Oὐδὲν εἶχε φράσαι. He had nothing to tell. Soph. Oedipus the King 119

This easily passes into the meaning he could tell nothing; hence ἔχω becomes practically equal to δύναμαι , taking an infinitive (most often a word of saying) with or without an object:

οὐδὲ δεῦρο ἰόντες ἐκ τῆς χώρᾱς οὐδὲν εἴχομεν λαμβάνειν. even when coming hither we could not take anything from the country. Xen. Anabasis 2.2.11

566. The Infinitive with ὡς or ὥστε is used

a. With adjectives in the comparative, or implying comparison.

Ὀλίγοι ὡς ἐγκρατεῖς εἶναι too few to have power Xen. Cyropaedia 4.5.15

βραχύτερα ἢ ὡς ἐξικνεῖσθαι too short to reach Xen. Anabasis 3.3.7

ἐλάττω ἔχοντα δύναμιν ἢ ὥστε τοὺς φίλους ὠφελεῖν having too little force to aid his friends (less than as for aiding) Xen. Hellenica 4.8.23

γέρων ἐκεῖνος ὥστε σʼ ὠφελεῖν. He is old for aiding you. Eur. Andromache 80

b. To denote result, especially an intended result; ὥστε is the usual word in prose, often preceded by a demonstrative; the idea of intention gradually fades out.

Eἶχον τὰ δρέπανα εἰς γῆν βλέποντα ὡς διακόπτειν. They had the scythes extending toward the ground ( as ) for cutting in two (whomever they came on). Xen. Anabasis 1.8.10

πελάσᾱς ὡς συναντῆσαι riding up so as to meet him. Xen. Anabasis 1.8.15

νυκτὸς ἰέναι, ὡς μὴ ὁρᾶσθαι to go by night so as not to be seen Xen. Anabasis 4.6.13

χρόνῳ ποτʼ ἐξέπρᾱξαν ὡς δοῦναι δίκην. At length they have wrought it out so as to pay the penalty. Soph. Antigone 303

Μηχαναὶ πολλαί εἰσιν ὥστε διαφεύγειν θάνατον. Many devices there are for escaping death. Plato Apology 39a

πάντας οὕτω διατιθεὶς ὥστε αὐτῷ φίλους εἶναι so disposing all ( putting all into such disposition ) as to be friendly to him Xen. Anabasis 1.1.5

ἔχω τριήρεις ὥστε ἑλεῖν τὸ ἐκείνων πλοῖον. I have triremes so as to catch their boat. Xen. Anabasis 1.4.8

δείνʼ ἐπηπείλει, ὥστʼ οὔτε νυκτὸς ὕπνον οὔτʼ ἐξ ἡμέρᾱς ἐμὲ στεγάζειν. He made dreadful threats, so that neither by night nor day did sleep cover me. Soph. Electra 779–781

The last example comes very close to the use of ὥστε with an indicative, denoting an actual result (§  639. a ).

c. Sometimes ὥστε with the infinitive states a condition or proviso (cp. §  567,  below).

Tῶν λοιπῶν ἄρχειν Ἑλλήνων, ὥστε αὐτοὺς ὑπακούειν βασιλεῖ to rule the rest of the Greeks, provided they would (so as to) themselves obey the king Demosthenes 6.11

567. The Infinitive after ἐφʼ ᾧ or ἐφʼ ᾧτε states a condition or proviso.

Oἱ δ ἔφασαν ἀποδώσειν ἐφʼ ᾧ μὴ κᾱ́ειν τᾱ̀ς οἱκίᾱς. And they said they would give back (the dead), on conditiοn off their not burning the houses. Xen. Anabasis 4.2.19

ἀφῑ́εμέν σε, ἐπὶ τούτῳ μέντοι, ἐφʼ ᾧτε μηκέτι φιλοσοφεῖν. we let you off, on this condition however, that you no longer seek wisdom. Plato Apology 29c

568. The Infinitive is used with πρίν ( before ).

Διέβησαν πρὶν τοὺς ἄλλους ἀποκρῑ́νασθαι. They crossed before the others answered. Xen. Anabasis 1.4.16

κάτειμι πρίν μοι μοῖραν ἐξήκειν βίου. I go down before my allotted term of life is over. Soph. Antigone 896

For πρίν with finite modes see §  644 .

a. Rarely πρότερον ἤ with the infinitive has the same meaning.

569. The Infinitive is used in some idiomatic phrases, partly offshoots of the dative infinitive (§  566. a & b,  above), partly standing nearer to the adverbial accusative (§  540 ). Among the most frequent are

Ὡς εἰπεῖν or ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν   so to speak (softening an expression that might seem too strong)

( ὡς ) συνελόντι εἰπεῖν in a word ( for one to say , taking it together )

ὡς εἰκάσαι   to make a guess

ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν  in my view, as it seems to me

ὀλίγου δεῖν   almost ( to lack little )

ἑκὼν εἶναι   willingly

τὸ νῦν εἶναι  for the present

τὸ κατὰ τοῦτον εἶναι   as regards him

570. The Infinitive is used as object with many verbs.

a. As the only object.

Πιθεῖν Τιτᾶνας οὐκ ἠδυνήθην. I could not persuade the Titans. Aesch. Prometheus Bound 206–208

ἔμελλε καταλῡ́ειν. He was intending to halt. Xen. Anabasis 1.8.1

εἰς Πῑσίδᾱς βουλόμενος στρατεύεσθαι wishing to make an expedition against the Pisidians Xen. Anabasis 1.1.11

φοβοίμην ἂν ἕπεσθαι. I should be afraid to follow. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.17

b. With μέλλω ( intend , am about ), the future infinitive is often used (also the present, sometimes the aorist).

Mέλλω ῡ̔μᾶς διδάξειν. I am about to explain to you. Plato Apology 21b

ἔμελλεν αὐτὼ καλώ τε κᾱ̓γαθὼ ποιήσειν. He was likely to make them what they should be. Plato Apology 20a

ἔμελλε καταλῡ́ειν. He was about to halt. Xen. Anabasis 1.8.1

μέλλω παθεῖν. I am about to suffer. Aesch. Prometheus Bond 625

In all other uses the future infinitive may be regarded as representing an indicative (§§  577 and  578,  below).

c. With another object.

Tοὺς ὁπλῑ́τᾱς ἐκέλευσεν αὐτοῦ μεῖναι. He bade the hoplites remain there. Xen. Anabasis 1.5.13

ἐποίησε Συέννεσιν μὴ δύνασθαι κατὰ γῆν ἐναντιοῦσθαι Κῡ́ρῳ. (The Spartan naval commander) made Syennesis unable to oppose Cyrus by land. Xen. Hellenica 3.1.1

αἱ ἡδοναὶ πείθουσι τὴν ψῡχὴν μὴ σωφρονεῖν. Pleasures urge the soul not to use self-control. Xen. Memorabilia 1.2.23

d. From such uses as the last the accusative came to be regarded[fn]A similar growth can be traced in English, in such a sequence as: (1) It is good for us to be here, (2) For us to be here is good, (3) For us to be here is a proof of our friendship. In (1) for us modifies good ; in (2) the same construction is possible, but one is inclined to take for us to be here as a clause, the subject of is good ; in (3) the last construction is the only one possible.[/fn] as the subject of the infinitive.

Ἐβούλετο τὼ παῖδε ἀμφοτέρω παρεῖναι. He wished both his sons to be near. Xen. Anabasis 1.1.1

Σωκράτης ἡγεῖτο θεοὺς πάντα εἰδέναι. Sokrates believed that the gods know everything. Xen. Memorabilia 1.1.19

Thus arose the infinitive clause with subject accusative, which received a wide extension, as in Latin.

571. The subject of an infinitive is omitted when it is the same as that of the leading verb; a modifier of the subject, whether predicative or attributive, then agrees with the subject of the leading verb.

Ὁ δʼ ὑπέσχετο ἀνδρὶ ἑκάστῳ δώσειν πέντε ἀργυρίου μνᾶς. And he promised that he would give five minae in money to each man (cp. §  577. a,  below). Xen. Anabasis 1.4.13

Πέρσης ἔφη εἶναι. He said he was a Persian. Xen. Anabasis 4.4.17

a. A predicate noun or adjective remains in the nominative when the infinitive, with subject omitted, has the article, or depends on a preposition.

Ὀρεγόμενοι τοῦ πρῶτος ἕκαστος γίγνεσθαι striving each to get ahead of the other ( to become first ) Thucydides 2.65.10

οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ δοῦλοι εἶναι ἐκπέμπονται ἄποικοι. Not on the basis of being subjects are colonists sent out. Thucydides 1.34.1

b. If the subject is omitted because indefinite or general, a predicate or attributive modifier of it is in the accusative.

Δίκαιον εὖ πρᾱ́ττοντα μεμνῆσθαι θεοῦ. It is just to remember God when one is prospering. Menander FCG 118

c. When the omitted subject is the same as the object of the leading verb, that object being in the genitive or dative, a modifier of the subject may be either in the same case or in the accusative.

Κῦρος παραγγέλλει Κλεάρχῳ λαβόντι ἥκειν ὅσον ἦν αὐτῷ στράτευμα, καὶ Ξενίᾱͅ ἥκειν παραγγέλλει λαβόντα τοὺς ἄλλους. Cyrus ordered Klearchos to come, bringing all the force he had; and he ordered Xenias to come, bringing the others. Xen. Anabasis 1.2.1

Κῡ́ρου ἐδέοντο ὡς προθῡμοτάτου γενέσθαι. they asked Cyrus to show himself as zealous as possible. Xen. Hellenica 1.5.2

572. With verbs meaning forbid , prevent , deny , escape , or aim in any way at a negative effect[fn]Cp. "You may as well forbid the mountain pines To wag their high tops, and to make no noise, When they are fretten with the gusts of heaven." Mer. of Ven., iv, 1.[/fn] the infinitive often has μή , though English omits the negative.

Ἀντέλεγόν τινες μὴ ἰἐναι πάντας. Some opposed, urging that all should not go. Xen. Anabasis 2.5.29

τὸν ἄνδρʼ ἀπαυδῶ μήτʼ ἐνδἐχεσθαι μήτε προσφωνεῖν τινα. This man I forbid any one to receive or address. Soph. Oedipus the King 236–238

ἐγὼ μόνος ἠναντιώθην μηδὲν ποιεῖν παρὰ τοὺς νόμους. I alone opposed doing anything contrary to the laws. Plato Apology 32b

μῑκρὸν ἐξέφυγε μὴ καταπετρωθῆναι. He barely escaped being stoned to death. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.2

καταρνεῖ μὴ δεδρᾱκέναι τάδε; Do you deny that you have done this? Soph. Antigone 442

a. Mὴ with an infinitive becomes μὴ οὐ if the leading verb has a negative, or is in a question implying a negative.

Oὐδὲν ἐδύνατο ἀντέχειν μὴ οὐ χαρίζεσθαι. He could not hold out at all against granting the favor. Xen. Cyropaedia 1.4.2

τί δῆτα μέλλεις μὴ οὐ γεγωνίσκειν τὸ πᾶν; Why then do you delay (i.e., do not delay) to tell the whole? Aesch. Prometheus Bound 627

τί ἐμποδὼν μὴ οὐχὶ ἀποθανεῖν; What is to hinder (i.e., οὐδὲν ἐμποδών ) our being put to death? Xen. Anabasis 3.1.13

b. Most of these verbs admit also the simple infinitive without μή or μὴ οὐ :

Tί κωλῡ́ει καὶ τὰ ἄκρα ἡμῖν κελεύειν Κῦρον προκαταλαμβάνειν; What hinders our bidding Cyrus occupy the heights also for us? Xen. Anabasis 1.3.16

c. With verbs of hindering and the like the infinitive may also have the article τοῦ , as a from genitive (§  509 ).

Κωλῡ́σειεν ἂν τοῦ κᾱ́ειν ἐπιόντας. He would prevent them from this attacking and burning. Xen. Anabasis 1.6.2

573. Some of the above infinitives, even those plainly dative in origin, occasionally have τό , especially in poetry.

Oὗτοί εἰσιν μόνοι ἔτι ἡμῖν ἐμποδὼν τὸ μὴ ἤδη εἶναι ἔνθα πάλαι σπεύδομεν. These alone are still in the way of our being at once where we have so long been eager to be. Xen. Anabasis 4.8.14

τὸ βίᾱͅ πολῑτῶν δρᾶν ἔφῡν ἀμήχανος. act in defiance of the state I can not. Soph. Antigone 79

καρδίᾱς δ ἐξίσταμαι τὸ δρᾶν. yet from my heartʼs purpose I withdraw to do it. Soph. Antigone 1105–1106

φόβος ἀνθʼ ὕπνου παραστατεῖ, τὸ μὴ βλέφαρα συμβαλεῖν. Fear instead of sleep stands near, that I close not my eyes. Aesch. Agamemnon 15

The τό seems to bring these infinitives into connection with the specifying accusative (§  537 ), which is in effect much like a looser for dative, such as we translate by with reference to (§  523. a ).

574. The Infinitive without or with τό is used as the subject of many verbs also as a predicate noun or an appositive.

Γράμματα μαθεῖν δεῖ καὶ μαθόντα νοῦν ἔχειν. One must learn letters, and after learning them have sense. Menander FCG 96

ἐδόκει μοι ταύτῃ πειρᾶσθαι σωθῆναι. It seemed to me best to try to save myself in this way. Lysias 12.15

ἀγαθοῖς ῡ̔μῖν προσήκει εἶναι. It befits you to be brave. Xen. Anabasis 3.2.11

τοῦτο ῡ̔μῶν δέομαι, μήτε θαυμάζειν μήτε θορυβεῖν. This I ask of you, neither to be surprised nor to make a disturbance. Plato Apology 17c–d

a. Instead of an impersonal verb with the infinitive as subject, a personal construction is often used with the infinitive depending on the verb or adjective.

Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ πόρρω δοκοῦμέν μοι αὐτοῦ καθῆσθα ι. (instead of οὐ δοκεῖ καθῆσθαι ) For in fact we seem to be encamped not far from him. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.12

δίκαιός εἰμι ἀπολογήσασθαι. (instead of δίκαιόν ἐστιν ἀ ) It is right that I make my defense. Plato Apology 18a

575. The Infinitive with τοῦ or τῷ may be used in any genitive or dative construction that is suitable to its meaning.

Nέοις τὸ σῑγᾶν κρεῖττόν ἐστι τοῦ λαλεῖν. For young people silence is better than talking. Menander FCG 387

ἄρξαντες τοῦ διαβαίνειν being first in crossing Xen. Anabasis 1.4.15

ἐκτὸς εἶ τοῦ μέλλειν ἀποθνῄσκειν αὔριον. you are free from the prospect of dying tomorrow. Plato Crito 46e–47a

τὸ δὲ τῇ ἐπιμελείᾱͅ περιεῖναι τῶν φίλων καὶ τῷ προθῡμεῖσθαι χαρίζεσθαι, ταῦτα ἔμοιγε μᾶλλον δοκεῖ ἀγαστὰ εἶναι. But the excelling his friends in attentiveness and in his eagerness to do favors, this rather to my mind appears admirable. Xen. Anabasis 1.9.24

οὐ πρὸς τῷ πόλεις ἀνῃρηκέναι τίθησι τὰ Πῡ́θια; Besides having destroyed states, does he not conduct the Pythian festival? Demosthenes 9.32

ἐπὶ τῷ συνοίσειν ταῦτα πεπεῖσθαι λέγειν αἱροῦμαι. I choose to speak because of my conviction that these measures will be for your interest. Demosthenes 4.51

κινδυνεύσαιτʼ ἂν τῷ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἀλλοτριωθῆναι. You would be endangered by the fact that the Hellespont has become anotherʼs. Demosthenes 9.18

576. An Infinitive with τοῦ is sometimes used to express purpose.

Μίνως τὸ λῃστικὸν καθῇρει τοῦ τᾱ̀ς προσόδους μᾶλλον ἰέναι αὐτῷ. Minos put down piracy, that his revenues might come to him better. Thucydides 1.4

This may be regarded as a genitive of cause; ὑπέρ or ἕνεκα is sometimes put with it.

577. An infinitive clause, with or without the article, often represents a sentence with a finite verb; the original sentence is thus changed to a noun and made part of another sentence, in one of the constructions above described. Most often such an infinitive is the subject or object of a verb of saying or thinking —that is, a verb meaning say , tell , hear , learn, or think, believe , know , and the like. In such infinitive clauses

a. The original tense and tense meaning are retained, the time (if the original verb was an indicative) being relative to that of the principal verb. The future infinitive is found chiefly in this use. An imperfect or pluperfect indicative, as these tenses are not made in the infinitive, is represented by the present or perfect—the infinitive of the same tense-system.

b. If the original sentence had οὐ , that is usually retained, but is sometimes changed to μή (§  579. a,  below).

c. If an original indicative or optative had ἄν , that is retained. Thus ἄν with an infinitive shows that the infinitive represents an indicative or optative with ἄν (§  579,  below).

578. The infinitive representing a finite verb often stands as object with certain verbs of saying or thinking :

Ἐγώ φημι ταῦτα φλυᾱρίᾱς εἶναι (representing ταῦτα φλυᾱρίαι εἰσί ) I say that this is nonsense. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.18

ἀντιλέγειν φῇς τοῖς βουλομένοις ἡμᾶς ἀπολέσαι. You say you spoke against ( ἀντέλεγον , 577. a,  above) those who wished to destroy us. Lysias 12.26

οὐκ ἔφη ὀμεῖσθαι. he said he would not take an oath ( οὐκ ὀμοῦμαι ). Xen. Hellenica 1.3.11

ὀμόσαντες ὅρκους ἦ μὴν μὴ μνησικακήσειν taking oaths that they would verily maintain amnesty for the past ( οὐ μνησικακήσω , οὐ being here changed to μή because of the idea of will implied in an oath). Xen. Hellenica 2.4.43

Nομίζω ῡ̔μᾶς ἐμοὶ εἶναι καὶ πατρίδα καὶ φίλους. I think you are ( ῡ̔μεῖς ἐστε ) to me both country and friends. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.6

οἰόμενοι τὰ πάντα νῑκᾶν καὶ Κῦρον ζῆν thinking they were completely victorious and Cyrus was alive ( νικῶμεν , ζῇ ). Xen. Anabasis 2.1.1

ῡ̔μᾶς ἔγωγε ἀκούω τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐκ παίδων κλέπτειν μελετᾶν. I hear that you Spartans practise stealing from childhood ( μελετᾶτε ). Xen. Anabasis 4.6.14

πείσεσθαι προσδοκῶν expecting that he will suffer ( πείσομαι ) Demosthenes 6.18

ἆρα προσδοκᾶν αὐτοὺς τοιαῦτα πείθεσθαι οἴεσθε; Do you suppose they expected ( προσεδόκων ) to be suffering like this? Demosthenes 6.20

a. So also as the subject (with λέγεται and the like, §  574,  above), as appositive, and in the personal construction (§  574. a,  above).

Ἐλέγετο Κύρῳ δοῦναι χρήματα πολλά. She was said to have given Cyrus a large sum. Xen. Anabasis 1.2.12

τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς εἰς πόλεμον ὡμολόγητο διαφερόντως τῑμᾶν. He was acknowledged to honor exceptionally those who were good for war. Xen. Anabasis 1.9.14

καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ πόρρω δοκοῦμέν μοι αὐτοῦ καθῆσθαι. For we seem to me to be encamped by no means far from him. Xen. Anabasis 1.3.12

b. Future infinitives with ὥστε fall under this head, scarcely differing at all from ὥστε with a future indicative (§  639. a ).

Mωρίᾱ τηλικαύτην ἡγεῖσθαι πόλιν οἰκεῖν τὸ μέγεθος ὥστε μὴ δεινὸν πείσεσθαι. It is folly to think the state we live in is so great that we shall suffer nothing serious. Demosthenes 9.67

579. An Infinitive with ἄν represents an indicative or optative with ἄν (§​​​​​​​§  461 , 467 , 479 , 480 ), the context alone determining which.

Ἀκούω Λακεδαιμονίους τότε ἐμβαλόντας ἂν καὶ κακώσαντας τὴν χώρᾱν ἀναχωρεῖν ἐπʼ οἴκου πάλιν. I hear that the Spartans in those times, after invading and ravaging the land, would then withdraw toward home again ( ἀνεχώρουν ἄν , §  461. a ). Demosthenes 9.48

Κῦρος ἄριστος ἂν δοκεῖ ἅρχων γενέθαι. It seems likely that Cyrus would have been an unusually good ruler ( ἄριστος ἂν ἐγένετο , §  467. c ). Xen. Economics 4.18

ἆρα αὐτοὺς λέγοντος ἄν τινος πιστεῦσαι οἴεσθε; Do you think they would have believed any one if he said it? ( λέγοντος ἄν τινος ἐπίστευσαν; ) Demosthenes 6.20

Σὺν ῡ̔μῖν μὲν ἂν οἶμαι εἴναι τῑ́μιος. With you I think I should be in honor ( τμιος ἂν εἴην , §  479 ). Xen. Anabasis 1.3.6

ἐπίστευε μηδὲν ἂν παρὰ τᾱ̀ς σπονδᾱ̀ς παθεῖν. He was confident that he would suffer nothing contrary to the agreement ( οὐδὲν ἂν πάθοιμι ). Xen. Anabasis 1.9.8

a. Some of the above examples illustrate the tendency to change original οὐ to μή with the infinitive after words meaning swear , promise , hope , and the like; the notion of will in the verb seems to affect the negative. For exclamatory and imperative infinitives see §​​​​​​​  492 . For farther treatment of indirect discourse see §§  657  –  664 .

Suggested Citation

• Credits and Reuse
• English Index
• Greek index
• Introduction
• Pronunciation
• Accents and Accentuation
• Proclitics and Enclitics
• Punctuation
• Contraction
• Consonants with Iota
• Cases, Stems and Articles
• Ο-Declension: Nouns
• Α-Declension Nouns
• Adjectives of the Vowel Declension
• Contracted Vowel Stems
• Consonant Declension Nouns
• Labial and Dental Stems in -π, -β, -τ
• Dental Stems in -τ, -δ, -θ
• Neuter Stems in -τ
• Masculine Stems in -ντ
• Stems in -εσ, -ασ
• Stems in -ι and -υ
• Stems in -υ, -ῡ
• Stems in -ευ, -αυ, -ου
• Stems in -ω and -ο
• Irregular Nouns
• Consonant Declension Adjectives
• Comparatives in -ων
• Stems in -εσ
• Adjectives of Three Endings
• Participial Stems
• Adjectives: great, much and mild
• Comparison of Adjectives
• Numeral Adjectives
• Personal Pronouns
• Indefinite and Reciprocal Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns
• Interrogative and Indefinite Pronouns
• Correlative Pronouns
• Derivation and Formation of Adverbs
• Correlative Adverbs
• Verb Inflection and Stems
• The Ω-Conjugation: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-Conjugation Present System: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-conjugation Future System: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-Conjugation Aorist System: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-conjugation Perfect Active System: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-Conjugation Perfect Middle System: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-Conjugation Passive System: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• Principal Parts of the Ω-Conjugation: Vowel Verbs, Not Contracting
• The Ω-Conjugation: ΘῩ- AND ΛῩ-
• The Ω-Conjugation: Contract Verbs
• The Ω-Conjugation: Vowel Verbs Contracting in the Present
• The Ω-Conjugation: Liquid Verbs
• The Ω-Conjugation: Liquid Future and Aorist Paradigm
• The Ω-Conjugation: Α-Perfect Liquid Verbs
• The Ω-Conjugation: Η-Passive Liquid Verbs
• The Ω-Conjugation: Liquid Verbs Perfect Middle System
• The Ω-Conjugation: Mute Verbs
• The Ω-Conjugation: Mute Verbs, Perfect Middle System
• The Ω-Conjugation: Mute Verbs, Futures in -ῶ
• The Ω-Conjugation: Mute Verbs, Formative-Vowel or Thematic Aorist
• Verbal Adjectives in -τος and -τεος
• The Μι-Conjugation
• The Μι-Conjugation: Verbs in -νῡμι
• The Μι-Conjugation: Verbs in -ημι with stem in -α:η-
• The Root-Aorist
• The Root-Perfect
• The Μι-Conjugation: Δίδωμι, Tίθημι, Ἵημι
• Verb Conjugation Overview
• Irregular And Defective Μι- Verbs
• Middle and Passive Forms with Peculiar Meaning
• Methods of Word Formation
• Derivation of Words
• Verbal Adjectives
• Verbal Nouns
• Denominative Verbs
• Denominative Adjectives
• Denominative Nouns
• Composition
• Compound Verbs
• Compound Nouns and Adjectives
• Simple Sentences
• Indicative Sentences
• Subjunctive Sentences
• Optative Sentences
• Imperative Sentences
• Undeveloped and Incomplete Sentences
• Verb Agreement and Voice
• Cases of Nouns
• The Nominative
• The Genitive
• The Accusative
• Special Idioms of Predication
• The Article
• Participles
• Verbal Adjectives in -τεος
• Prepositions
• Compound Sentences
• Parataxis and Hypotaxis
• Complex Sentences
• Ὅς and Ὅστις Clauses
• Other Relative Clauses
• Ὅτι, Διότι, and Οὕνεκα Clauses
• Clauses with Ὅτε, Ὁπότε, Ἐπεί, Ἡνίκα, Ὁπηνίκα
• Clauses with Ἕως, Ἔστε, Mέχρι, Ἄχρι
• Ὅπως Clauses
• Ὥστε Clauses
• Ἵνα Clauses
• Πρίν Clauses
• Indirect Discourse
• Abbreviations

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

Definition of hypothesize verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

hypothesize

• The causes can be hypothesized but not proved.
• We can only hypothesize that the cases we know about are typical.
• Let us try to hypothesize a particular market situation.
• There are particular problems that arise when hypothesizing about the origins of the universe.

Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!

Nearby words

Search form

• Highest rated
• Verb phrase generator
• Test your grammar

The forms of the infinitive

An infinitive can be a to -infinitive or a bare infinitive (without to ). There is no difference in meaning between them; some structures require a to -infinitive, while others call for a bare infinitive:

I ought to call them. ( to -infinitive) I had better call them. (bare infinitive)

In the negative, not usually comes before the infinitive:

I ought not to call them. I had better not call them.

In some cases, the verb in the main clause is negative, not the infinitive:

I want to call them. I don't want to call them.

As the infinitive has no tense, it does not in itself indicate the time of the action that it refers to. However, it can have aspect, which shows the temporal relationship between the action expressed by the infinitive and the time of the preceding verb. There are four types of infinitive, each of which has an active and passive form:

Simple infinitive

The simple infinitive refers to the same time as that of the preceding verb :

I was glad to see her. He must be very happy. I 'll arrange a meeting with the manager. My son's football coach is said to be  very strict.

Continuous infinitive

The continuous infinitive refers to the same time as that of the preceding verb and expresses an action in progress or happening over a period of time:

I 'm glad to be sitting here. You must be joking . This time next week, I 'll be lying on the beach in Croatia. Vincent was reported to be staying in Paris at that time.

Perfect infinitive

The perfect infinitive refers to a time before that of the preceding verb :

I 'm glad to have studied at that school. They must have forgotten about the deadline. By next week, they 'll have finished painting the rooms. Lucy was assumed to have left the day before.

Perfect continuous infinitive

The perfect continuous infinitive refers to a time before that of the preceding verb and expresses an action in progress or happening over a period of time:

I 'm glad to have been living in Barcelona for the last ten years. He must have been waiting for ages. Soon, he 'll have been running for four hours. The organisers were thought to have been preparing for days.

Passive infinitives

Passive forms are also possible:

Your composition has to be typed . (passive simple infinitive) The spy's phone was believed to be being tapped . (passive continuous infinitive, rarely used) This sonnet must have been written by Shakespeare. (passive perfect infinitive) The picture is believed to have been being painted for years. (passive perfect continuous infinitive, rarely used)

Rate this page

Related topics.

For timeline diagrams, quotes and exercises, check out our e-book The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar

About | Copyright

Grammaring – A guide to English grammar | Copyright © 2009-2024

An Artificial Intelligent English Learning Platform

Infinitives

The infinitive is a grammatical structure that plays a significant role in English grammar. It consists of the base form of a verb preceded by the word ‘ to.’ Hence, the formula of infinitives is “to + base form of a verb.” Infinitives express a purpose or action in sentences and are used in many ways.

In this article, we will discuss the meaning and function of infinitives. Through examples and exercises, you’ll learn what an infinitive looks like, when and where to use them, and some tips on avoiding common mistakes related to their usage.

What are Infinitives?

Infinitives are a distinct type of verb or verbal with three functions. First, it takes the form of a noun and can function as a subject, direct object, or subject complement of a sentence.

For example:

• Subject: To live free from fear is a basic human right.
• Direct Object: I have to run .
• Subject Complement: His goal is to graduate on time.

The second role of an infinitive is acting as an adjective. As an adjective, it needs to be placed close to the noun it describes.

• The proper authority to approach is the local police station.
• We have a project to finish before the summer break.

Lastly, an infinitive can also act as an adverbial that modifies a verb in a sentence. Adverbs have many types, but when an infinitive acts as an adverb, it only answers why the main verb must be done. Hence, infinitives function as an adverbial of purpose.

• We study how to perform CPR correctly to save lives in an emergency.
• The kids cleaned their room to please their parents.

Full Infinitives: To + Base Form of a Verb

Full infinitives are the most common type of infinitive. It follows the formula “to + base form of a verb.”

The table below summarizes the functions of full infinitives.

Bare Infinitives: The Invisible ‘To’

The tricky part of learning infinitives is understanding and identifying bare infinitives. Bare infinitives are simply the base form of a verb without the word “to” preceding it.

The table below shows the function and examples of bare infinitives:

Split Infinitives: To + Adverb + Base Form of a Verb

Split infinitives have an adverb or adverbial phrase inserted between the “to” and the verb. This type of infinitive is considered improper in formal writing.

Here are five examples of split infinitives:

• He wanted to quickly finish the project. → He wanted to finish the project.
• She needed to slowly explain the instructions. → She needed to explain the instructions.
• He tried to carefully open the box. → He tried to open the box.
• She cared to deeply understand the problem. → She cared to understand the problem deeply.
• He wished to silently observe the situation. → He wished to observe the situation.

Passive Infinitives: To be + Past Participle

Passive voice refers to the subject of a sentence acted upon by a verb. Passive infinitives are formed with “to be” followed by a past participle.

Here are five examples of passive infinitives:

• I was hoping to be given a discount for the purchase.
• The students were expected to be tested on the material.
• The candidate prayed to be chosen for the job.
• She wished to be invited to the party.
• The team hoped to be awarded the trophy.

Continuous Infinitives: To be + Present Participle

Continuous infinitives are formed with “to be” followed by a present participle. They are used to express ongoing or continuous action.

Here are five examples of continuous infinitives:

• Abi would prefer to be watching a movie instead of studying.
• She hoped to be running a marathon one day.
• The board members thought it would be a disaster to be losing the contract.
• Joji wished to be cooking instead of washing the plates.
• You need to be surfing right now while the waves are good.

Examples of Infinitives

Here are twenty examples of infinitives used in sentences:

• The doctor called to tell you that your test results are in.
• He changed his clothes to be more comfortable in jogging.
• Xian continued his routine to improve his habits.
• The artist created a masterpiece to express her feelings.
• The team followed the coach’s instructions to win the game.
• It rained, so I had to bring my umbrella.
• He helped his friend to move the furniture.
• Marcia lives to make her dreams come true.
• She looked for a job to support her graduate studies.
• The electrician needed to repair the wiring in the house.
• The company offered a bonus to motivate their employees.
• He opened the window to let some fresh air in.
• The children played outside to enjoy the sunny day.
• She remembered to get her passport for the trip.
• The situation seemed to be getting worse.
• He stopped talking to listen to what she had to say .
• We tried to find a solution to the problem.
• The students used their phones to take notes in class.
• He walked to the store to buy some groceries.
• My father worked to provide for our family.

Infinitives Exercises with Answers

Part I. Choose which among the infinitives in the options best completes the sentences below.

1. Rita bought a cake and needs _____________ it equally among ten children.

A. to decide

B. to prepare

D. to divide

2. ______________ is a goal many people strive for in life.

A. To achieve

B. To improve

C. To dance

3. After my exam, I need ________________ my room which has been a mess for days.

A. To protect

B. To design

D. To paint

4. If you want to build your wealth, you need ______________ your money accordingly.

A. to consider

B. To manage

D. To count

5. Angela said I needed _______________ my feelings so that she could understand me better.

A. To express

B. To indicate

Part II. Use the base form of the verb given per item to construct sentences according to the type of infinitives required. Model answers will be given.

A. BASE VERB: IMPROVE 1. FULL INFINITIVE: 2. SPLIT INFINITIVE: B. BASE VERB: USE 3. CONTINOUS INFINITIVE: 4. FULL INFINITIVE: C. BASE VERB: PROTECT 5. BARE INFINITIVE: 6. PASSIVE INFINITIVE:

Part II. MODEL ANSWERS

A. BASE VERB: IMPROVE 1. FULL INFINITIVE: The baker thought to improve the quality of the pastries he sells. 2. SPLIT INFINITIVE: To successfully improve his product, he researched and tried different recipes. B. BASE VERB: USE 3. CONTINUOUS INFINITIVE: The accountant needs to be using spreadsheets constantly. 4. FULL INFINITIVE: She needs to use spreadsheets to analyze her report. C. BASE VERB: PROTECT 5. BARE INFINITIVE: Your knowledge could protect you from being fooled. 6. PASSIVE INFINITIVE: My cat needs to be protected from potential dangers that may exist in my home, like electrical cords and toxic plants.

Infinitives List

Common verbs strictly followed by an infinitive, advice for esl students & english language learners.

English grammar, like any language, is a complex subject to study. Understanding and applying grammar rules can be challenging, especially for English language learners. However, your success in learning the language is dependent on your learning plan.

First, know that there are different levels of language proficiency. Knowing your status allows you to align it with your study materials and learning strategy. To keep your motivation, select beginner-friendly materials instead of university textbooks when starting. In doing so, you will feel less intimidated by the topics you should learn.

Second, focus on the basics: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Learn how to use them correctly in sentences and understand their meaning. It will help you build a strong foundation for your English language learning journey. Divide those topics into subtopics and learn each concept and rule one by one.

Third, find a reliable source of learning materials. Online resources such as websites, blogs, and YouTube videos are mostly free. LillyPad’s blog, for example, is a great resource for English language learning materials. Additionally, you can find books and other printed materials in your local library or bookstore.

Fourth, practice speaking the language with native speakers or other English learners. It will help you understand how to use the language correctly in conversations and improve your pronunciation.

Finally, be patient with yourself and don’t give up. Learning a language takes time and effort, so set realistic goals and celebrate your achievements along the way.

Additionally, it is important for learners to properly understand regular verbs and phrasal verbs .

Common Errors Made by English Learners

Learning a new language can be difficult, and English is no exception. Even experienced English learners make mistakes when speaking or writing in the language. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by English learners:

Learning Strategies and Best Practices for Infinitives

A holistic approach to learning a language makes it easier to understand and remember. The five macro skills, reading, listening, viewing, speaking, and writing, should be developed and used in the learning process for better language acquisition. The table below lists activities you can do when learning linking verbs:

Infinitives Frequently Asked Questions

An infinitive is a verb form or verbal that is not conjugated and usually appears with the word “to” before it. It can function as a noun, adjective, or ad verb. Its function is to express an action or state of being.

Split infinitives are generally not considered proper grammar in formal writing, but they are accepted in informal writing.

A full infinitive follows the formula “to + base form of a verb.” In contrast, bare infinitives omit the word “to,” making it tricky to identify. On the other hand, split infinitives deviate from the full infinitive formula by inserting an adverb between “to” and the verb.

The main difference between a gerund and an infinitive is that a gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun, while an infinitive is a verb form that functions as an adjective, adverb, or noun. Moreover, only gerunds function as the object of a preposition.

Infinitives can be identified by their use of the word “to” before the verb. For example, in the sentence “I want to go,” the infinitive is “to go.” The 10 most common infinitives are “to be,” “to have,” “to do,” “to say,” “to make,” “to go, ” “to take,” “to come,” “to see,” and “to know.”

Answer Some verbs strictly take an infinitive, and those are: afford, agree, appear, arrange, ask, beg, care, claim, consent, decide, demand, deserve, expect, fail, forget, help, hesitate, hope, learn, manage, mean, need, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, struggle, swear, threaten, volunteer, wait, want, and wish.

Learn from History – Follow the Science – Listen to the Experts

For learners of all ages striving to improve their English, LillyPad combines the most scientifically studied and recommended path to achieving English fluency and proficiency with today’s most brilliant technologies!

What’s the one thing that makes LillyPad so special? Lilly! Lilly’s a personal English tutor, and has people talking all over the world! Lilly makes improving your English easy. With Lilly, you can read in four different ways, and you can read just about anything you love. And learning with Lilly, well that’s what you call liberating!

Additionally, the platform incorporates goal-setting capabilities, essential tracking & reporting, gamification, anywhere-anytime convenience, and significant cost savings compared to traditional tutoring methodologies.

At LillyPad , everything we do is focused on delivering a personalized journey that is meaningful and life-changing for our members. LillyPad isn’t just the next chapter in English learning…

…it’s a whole new story!

Do you want to improve your English? Visit www.lillypad.ai .

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram !

© 2023 LillyPad.Ai

Past Tenses for Hypothetical Meaning (It's Time and Would Rather)

In this second part of this series on Past Tenses for Hypothetical Meaning, we are going to look at the structure "It's time ..." and "I'd rather ...".

Remember that in the first lesson , in English, we can use the past tense to express an imaginary or hypothetical situation, in the past, present or future time. This is also true for today's two structures.

IT IS (IT'S) TIME + PAST SIMPLE

We can use IT'S TIME + PAST SIMPLE to talk about an action that should have already been done. The context determines whether it was a short or long time ago, but the feeling of the message is the same, that there is a sense of urgency and that the action really needs to happen now.

For example:

It's time you washed your dishes. I can see cockroaches in the sink.

In this sentence, the speaker is telling someone to wash their dishes. Because there are cockroaches in the sink, we know that the dirty dishes have been in the sink for a long time. Ideally, the dishes should washed on the same night as they are used, or at most, the day after.

This structure follows this form:

THAT is optional and is almost always left out. Just make sure to include a subject (the person performing the following action) and make sure that the verb is in the past simple.

Here are some further examples with paraphrases:

It's time we left . The last train leaves in 15 minutes. (= We really need to go now or we will have to pay $60 for a taxi.)

It's time we bought a webcam. I really cannot miss another Zoom meeting. (= The speaker has missed several important work meetings while working from home, and the boss is starting to get angry.)

It's time you did something about the leaking roof. (= The leak started 3 months ago, and there has already been 2 big storms. The carpet in the living room is ruined.)

We can further emphasise the urgency by adding HIGH or ABOUT to IT'S TIME. HIGH is typically used in British English (and can sound a little formal) and ABOUT more often used in general.

It's high time the government punished companies who failed to meet environmental regulations.

It's about time you arrived . I was just about to go in the cinema without you.

IT'S ABOUT TIME is extremely common and can almost be considered a fixed expression. It is typically used without the subordinate clause (the entire clause that follows THAT) because it is very clear from context what the action is.

(David has just arrived. Sally has been waiting 45 minutes for him.) Sally: It's about time ! Do you know how long I've been waiting for you? David: I'm really sorry. The traffic is was crazy.

It's important not to confuse IT'S TIME + PAST SIMPLE with IT'S TIME + TO INFINITIVE. IT'S TIME + TO INFINITIVE is used to talk about doing an action at the right time or correct time. There is no sense of urgency in this structure. Note the different structure, as there is no THAT clause or subject following TIME. For example:

Well, it's 5 o'clock. It's time to call it a day and go home. (= the typical work day is from 9am to 5pm. Now that it is 5pm, it's a good time to go home.)

Ok boys! Come in the house. It's time for you to have a shower. (= mum instructing her children. There is no sense of urgency here.)

WOULD RATHER / WOULD SOONER / WOULD PREFER

We can use all three structure to talk about preference. Preference assumes that there is a choice between 2 or more options and this structure lets us know which one we prefer or would like. There are various constructions here, so pay attention carefully to each particular form and meaning.

WOULD RATHER/SOONER + PAST SIMPLE

We use this to indicate the speaker's preference about somebody else. The PAST SIMPLE indicates that the action (or preference) has not happened yet. WOULD RATHER (often contracted to 'd) is followed by THAT, which is often omitted, then a subject + past simple.

I would rather (that) you didn't smoke in here. Please go outside. (= YOU, the second person, is about to light a cigarette, and your preference is that you would like the person to smoke outside.)

Lucy would sooner (that) her husband spent time with her tonight than saw his friends. (to show the other option in the sentence, use THAN + past simple)

I'm sorry, but we 'd rather you didn't join us at the company picnic this year.

WOULD RATHER/SOONER + PAST PERFECT

We use this to indicate the speaker's preference about somebody else. The difference here is that the other person has already performed the action, and the speaker is expressing their preference about what has already happened, and so that it doesn't happen again in the future.

I would rather you hadn't smoked in here. (= YOU, the second person, has already finished smoking in here, and the speaker is disappointed and says you shouldn't have, and not to do it again in the future.)

Thomas would sooner his parents had consulted him first about their family trip to Bali. (= Thomas' parents finished organising a trip to Bali without talking to Thomas. Thomas is unhappy about this.)

WOULD RATHER/SOONER + BASE VERB

We use this to indicate the speaker's own preference in the present time. WOULD RATHER is immediately followed by a BASE VERB (no that or subject like the previous structure).

I would rather go out tonight than stay home and study. (to show the other option in the sentence, USE THAN + base verb)

He 'd sooner walk to work than spend time in traffic.

The boys would rather see an action movie than a romantic comedy. (you can omit the verb after that THAN if it's the same verb as before)

WOULD PREFER

We can use the following forms to indicate the speakers preference about somebody else. Similar to WOULD RATHER/SOONER, the PAST SIMPLE indicates that the action (or preference) has not happened yet.

WOULD PREFER IT IF + SUBJECT + PAST SIMPLE (slightly more common)

WOULD PREFER (THAT) + SUBJECT + PAST SIMPLE (slightly less common)

I would prefer it if we stuck to the subject than talked about your personal life. (as the second subject WE contains a foreign person, not the speaker, we need to use past simple afterwards)

I would prefer that we stuck to the subject than talked about your personal life. (Has the same meaning as the previous. We can use THAN + past simple to introduce the second option)

James would really prefer it if the teacher didn't talk so much about her cat and stuck to the subject. (Similar meaning to the first two examples. As the verb is positive, we can use AND + past simple to introduce the other option.)

As with WOULD RATHER/SOONER, we can use PAST PERFECT with WOULD PREFER to talk about an action that has already happened.

I 'd prefer it if the tour guide hadn't spent so long talking about that one monument. (= This example refers to a specific tour that has already happened. The speaker is clearly unhappy about one part of it.)

WOULD PREFER + TO INFINITIVE

We can use this to talk about the speaker's own preference in the present time.

I would prefer to go out tonight than stay home and study. (We can use THAN + base verb to indicate the other option.)

He 'd prefer to backpack around Asia than go shopping in New York. (We often contract would to 'd.)

The class would prefer to go on an excursion than stay at school.

FINAL POINTS

1. don't forget the would.

These structures (especially would rather) is very common in everyday English. Almost any time we make plans with our friends or decide what to eat, this structure inevitably appears.

A: What do you feel like for dinner? Do you want to go out? B: Nah, I 'd rather stay home and get a delivery.

No doubt you have heard or even used this yourself, but it is really easy to forget to say WOULD or the contraction 'D. Often, it's really easy not to hear it as well. That being said, it is absolutely necessary to include because it is part of the grammar structure. Without it, you may change the meaning, or it may be completely wrong. See the following point.

2. WOULD OR NOT?

So what happens when you omit WOULD?

If it's the WOULD RATHER or WOULD SOONER structure, then the sentence would completely wrong without the WOULD.

I 'd rather you not told her about it. (= correct)

I rather you not told her about it. (= wrong)

If we are using the WOULD PREFER structure, then the meaning changes. Compare the following:

I would prefer to have Italian food tonight than Chinese. (= referring to a specific event happening now or in the future)

I prefer to have Italian food than Chinese. (= This is present simple used to talk about habits and routines, or what you do generally.)

3. PAST TENSE OR PRESENT TENSE

Sometimes it can be quite confusing to know when to use PAST SIMPLE or a BASE VERB (infinitive without to) with WOULD RATHER (and SOONER and PREFER). According to the above, we use PAST SIMPLE when the speaker expresses his preference about somebody else. And we use the BASE VERB when the speaker is talking about their own preference. More often than not, it's quite clear when there's only two people in the conversation (i.e. Roger and John in the example below).

Roger would rather John didn't eat with his mouth open.

Roger would rather have pizza tonight.

What happens when there are 3 or more participants or groups of participants in the conversation?

Let's have a look at a couple of examples.

Susan and John would rather stay out late on Friday than on Thursday. (= The speakers are talking about their own preference.)

Susan and John would rather Timmy didn't stay out so late every night. (= The speakers are talking about Timmy.)

Timmy would rather his parents didn't nag him so much. (= The speaker is talking about his parents.)

Timmy would rather he and his father played more football together. (= The speaker is talking about himself and his father. Because the subject of the preference contains a foreign person, we have to use a PAST TENSE.)

Timmy would rather play football together. (= The speaker is talking about himself.)

I hope that makes sense!

Remember that we often use the PAST TENSE to talk about hypothetical or imaginary situations in English. WISH, IT'S TIME and WOULD RATHER are three common structures that follow this idea. We will also see this concept used when we talk about CONDITIONAL grammar, so stay tuned for that!

It's time to call it a day!

(fixed expression to mean "stop what you are doing because you think you have done enough or do not want to do any more")

Recent Posts

Past Tenses for Hypothetical Meaning (Wish and If Only)

More Advanced Uses of Relative Clauses

Modifying Adjectives and Adverbs

• English Grammar
• Parts of Speech
• Infinitives

Infinitives - Meaning, Definition, Types, How to Use and Examples

Infinitives are a form of verbs that are formed by adding the word ‘to’ in front of the verb. They can work as nouns , adverbs , or adjectives in a sentence . Explore the article to learn more about the meaning and definition of an infinitive, the types of infinitives, how to use infinitives in sentences, and the difference between infinitives, participles and gerunds . Also, go through the examples given in the article to understand better.

Table of Contents

What is an infinitive verb – meaning and definition, types of infinitives, some verbs that always take the bare infinitive, some verbs that always take the full infinitive, functions of an infinitive verb – usage and examples, infinitive verbs as nouns, infinitive verbs as adjectives, infinitive verbs as adverbs, how do you use an infinitive in a sentence, continuous infinitives.

• Split infinitives

Passive Infinitives

Difference between infinitives, participles and gerunds, check your understanding of infinitive verbs, frequently asked questions on infinitive verbs.

An infinitive verb is a verb form that takes a ‘to’ before the base form, as in ‘to make’, ‘to bring’, ‘to exercise’, etc. It is a term that is also used to refer to the base verb that does not function as the verb in the sentence. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines an infinitive as “the basic form of a verb, such as be or run . In English, an infinitive is used by itself, for example, swim in She can swim (this use is sometimes called the bare infinitive), or with ‘to’ (the to-infinitive) as in She likes to swim ”. An infinitive is defined as “a verb form normally identical in English with the first person singular that performs some functions of a noun and at the same time displays some characteristics of a verb, and that is used with to (as in I asked him to go ) except with auxiliary and various other verbs (as in No one saw him leave )”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Infinitive verbs are divided into two based on how they appear in a sentence. The two types of infinitives are,

• Bare infinitives
• Full infinitives

Bare infinitives are verbs that are used in their base form and do not function as a verb. They occur after verbs such as ‘see’, ‘watch’, ‘hear’ and ‘feel’ and also after modal verbs such as ‘need’, ‘can’, ‘should’, ‘must’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘would’, ‘could’, and ‘will’. Full infinitives (also called to-infinitives) are verbs that take a ‘to’ before them and do not function as a verb. Both bare infinitives and full infinitives can be employed in the same sentence.

Look at the following example.

I want to see you cook.

You will see that there are three action words in this sentence – ‘want’, ‘see’ and ‘cook’. Among these, which one do you think is the main verb and the infinitive? Well, ‘want’ is the main verb, ‘to see’ is the full infinitive and ‘cook’ is the bare infinitive.

Some verbs such as ‘make’, ‘do’ and ‘let’ always take the bare infinitive form of the verb. For example,

• Let me know if you need some help.
• Windy does not like brinjal and bitter gourd.
• The teacher made the students speak about their trip in one minute.

There is a list of verbs in English that are always followed by the ‘to-infinitive’ when they have a verb form following them. Here is the list of 35+ verbs. Check it out.

An infinitive verb can perform three main roles – the roles of a noun, an adverb and an adjective. Let us learn how this particular form is used in sentences.

When infinitive verbs are used as nouns, they answer the question ‘what’. Make sure you use the full infinitive form when the infinitive is employed as a noun in the sentence. A famous example is ‘To err is human; to forgive is divine’. Here are a few more examples.

• To reach after sunset felt meaningless, but it was still worth the long trek.

In the above sentence, ‘to reach’ is the infinitive that takes the place of the subject in the sentence.

All we wanted was to rest.

In this sentence, ‘to rest’ is the infinitive that works as the object of the verb ‘was’.

Adjectives are words that modify nouns. When infinitive verbs modify or add extra information about the noun in a sentence, it is said to be an adjective.

• We are expecting someone to help us.

Here, in this sentence, ‘to help’ is the infinitive that provides more information about the pronoun ‘someone’.

I haven’t bought all the ingredients to bake the cake.

In the above sentence, ‘to bake’ modifies the noun phrase ‘all the ingredients’.

Adverbs provide more information about the verb, adverb or adjective in a sentence; so does an infinitive verb that takes the place of an adverb. In this case, they explain why the particular action is being performed. Let us understand how this works with the help of a few examples.

I would like to eat some chocolates.

In this example, ‘to eat’ is the infinitive verb that tells what the subject ‘I’ likes to do.

Theola wanted to dance at the party.

‘To dance’ is the infinitive verb that functions as an adverb in the sentence.

Apart from these, bare infinitives are used when suggestions are made in the form of questions using ‘why’.

For example,

• Why ask if you have already decided?
• Why make a fuss over everything?

Infinitives can be used in sentences in three ways, such as,

• Continuous infinitives
• Passive infinitives

A continuous infinitive is one where the infinitive is formed using the verb ‘be’ followed by the present participle form of the verb you intend to use.

• You must be joking ; I don’t think Derrick will want a bicycle.
• He might be participating in the Annual Accapella Competition this year.

Split Infinitives

A split infinitive has an adverb or adverbial phrase in between the ‘to’ and the base form of the verb in a to-infinitive. This is done, in most cases, to bring emphasis or since it does not make sense when you place the adverb anywhere else.

• This will help you to immediately understand how to work on the application.
• The students need to spontaneously and clearly present their ideas in a group discussion.

When an infinitive is written in the passive voice , it is referred to as a passive infinitive. Take a look at the following examples to understand how it works.

• I have been waiting to be given a chance to showcase my talents.
• All lights and fans have to be turned off when you leave the classroom.

You can also go through the article on infinitive phrases to learn the difference between an infinitive and an infinitive phrase. Furthermore, try out the exercises in the article ‘ Infinitive exercises ’ to check your understanding of infinitive verbs.

Identify if the underlined words are infinitives or prepositional phrases.

1. Tharini wants to watch a movie.

2. We are going to the market .

3. I will help you make the lasagne.

4. We were expecting to take the 9:20 train to Chennai.

5. Will you come with me to the hospital ?

6. Riya wished to buy her friends tickets to the Rangers’ game.

7. Fiona tried to inform the police about the burglary in her apartment but her brother asked her not to.

8. You need to strictly follow the medication to get healthy.

9. The children ran to their buses as soon as the bell rang.

10. Can you teach me to play ?

Check the answers to explore if you have the infinitive and the prepositional phrases in the given sentences.

1. Tharini wants to watch a movie. – Infinitive verb

2. We are going to the market . – Prepositional phrase

3. I will help you make the lasagne. – Infinitive verb

4. We were expecting to take the 9:20 train to Chennai. – Infinitive verb

5. Will you come with me to the hospital ? – Prepositional phrase

6. Riya wished to buy her friends tickets to the Rangers’ game. – Infinitive verb

7. Fiona tried to inform the police about the burglary in her apartment but her brother asked her not to. – Infinitive verb

8. You need to strictly follow the medication to get healthy. – Infinitive verb

9. The children ran to their buses as soon as the bell rang. – Prepositional phrase

10. Can you teach me to play ? – Infinitive verb

What is an infinitive verb?

An infinitive verb is a verb form that takes a ‘to’ before the base form, as in ‘to make’, ‘to bring’, ‘to exercise’, etc. It is a term that is also used to refer to the base verb.

What is the definition of an infinitive verb?

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines an infinitive as “the basic form of a verb, such as be or run. In English, an infinitive is used by itself, for example, swim in She can swim (this use is sometimes called the bare infinitive), or with ‘to’ (the to-infinitive) as in She likes to swim”. An infinitive is defined as “a verb form normally identical in English with the first person singular that performs some functions of a noun and at the same time displays some characteristics of a verb, and that is used with to (as in I asked him to go) except with auxiliary and various other verbs (as in No one saw him leave)”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

How many infinitive verbs can you use in a sentence?

You can use more than one infinitive verb in a sentence. When you do so, one would be the bare infinitive, and the other would be the full infinitive. For example, I want to see you cook, where ‘to see’ is the full infinitive and ‘cook’ is the bare infinitive.

What is the difference between a to-infinitive and a prepositional phrase?

The to-infinitive performs the function of a noun, adverb or adjective; whereas, a prepositional phrase plays the role of an adverb or an adjective in a sentence. The to-infinitive has a verb following ‘to’; on the other hand, a prepositional phrase has a modifier or a noun following ‘to’.

Give 5 examples of sentences with infinitives.

• Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

Online Language Dictionaries

Perfect tenses, continuous (progressive) and emphatic tenses, compound continuous (progressive) tenses, conditional, subjunctive.

*Blue letters in conjugations are irregular forms. ( example ) *Red letters in conjugations are exceptions to the model. ( example )

Report a problem.

The Infinitive or the Gerund? Cognitive Linguistics in Teaching English Post-verbal Complementation

• First Online: 19 November 2020

Cite this chapter

• Agnieszka Kaleta 4  

Part of the book series: Second Language Learning and Teaching ((SLLT))

411 Accesses

The goal of this chapter is to test the efficacy of a new method of teaching/learning English post-verbal complementation to Polish students of English. The method is based on a Cognitive Linguistic approach to grammar, which has brought to light motivated and highly structured nature of English post-verbal complementation. As has been argued by cognitively oriented linguists, syntactic categories such as the infinitive or the gerund are form-meanings pairings, which entails that their distribution is not random or arbitrary but semantically motivated. The chapter explores the applicability of this thesis to foreign language pedagogy. The main hypothesis is that the cognitive linguistic conception of English clausal complementation may be turned into a channel for more effective teaching/learning of verb patterns in a foreign language classroom. This hypothesis is subjected to empirical verification in an effects-of-instruction quasi-experimental test.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Achard, M., & Neimeier, S. (2004). Cognitive linguistics, second language acquisition, and foreign language teaching . Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Book   Google Scholar  

Achard, M. (2008). Teaching construal: Cognitive pedagogical grammar. In P. Robinson & N. C. Ellis (Eds.), Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition (pp. 432–455). New York: Routledge.

Google Scholar  

Bielak, J., & Pawlak, M. (2013). Applying cognitive grammar in the foreign language classroom: Teaching English tense and aspect . Kalisz, Poland: Springer.

Cadierno, T., & Eskildsen, S. W. (Eds.). (2015). Usage-based perspectives on second language learning . Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

De Knop, S., Boers, S. F., & De Rycker, T. (Eds.). (2010). Fostering language teaching efficiency through cognitive linguistics . Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Duffley, P. J. (1992). The English infinitive . London: Longman.

Duffley, P. J. (2000). Gerund versus infinitive as complements of transitive verbs in English: The problems of ‘tense’ and ‘control’. Journal of English Linguistics, 28, 221–248.

Article   Google Scholar  

Duffley, P. J. (2006). The English gerund-participle: A comparison with the infinitive . Berkeley: Peter Lang Publishing.

Ellis, N. C. (1999). Cognitive approaches to SLA. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 19, 22–42.

Ellis, N. C. (2002). Frequency effects in language acquisition: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 143–188.

Ellis, N. C. (2005). At the interface: Dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 305–352.

Ellis, N. C. (2006a). Cognitive perspectives on SLA: The associative-cognitive CREED. AILA Review, 19, 100–121.

Ellis, N. C. (2006b). Selective attention and transfer phenomena in L2 acquisition: Contingency, cue competition, salience, interference, overshadowing, blocking, and perceptual learning. Applied Linguistics, 27 (2), 164–194.

Ellis, N. C., Römer, U., & O’Donnell, M. B. (2016). Usage-based approaches to language acquisition and processing: Cognitive and corpus investigations of Construction Grammar . Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.

Givón, T. (1980). The binding hierarchy and the typology of complements. Studies in Language, 4, 333–377.

Goldberg, A. E. (1995). Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure. Cognitive theory of language and culture . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Goldberg, A. E. (2006). Constructions at work: The nature of generalization in language . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goldberg, A. E., Casenhiser, D. M., & Sethuraman, N. (2004). Learning argument structure generalizations. Cognitive Linguistics, 143, 289–316.

Holme, R. (2009). Cognitive linguistics and language teaching . UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kaleta, A. (2012). The English gerund vs. the to-infinitive: The case of aspectual constructions. Selected Papers from UK-CLA Meetings , 1 , 323–341. Retrieved from http://www.uk-cla.org/proceedings .

Kaleta, A. (2014). English sentential complementation: A usage-based approach . Piotrków Trybunalski: Naukowe Wydawnictwo Piotrkowskie.

Langacker, R. W. (1987). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Volume 1 : Theoretical prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Langacker, R. W. (1991). Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Volume II : Descriptive applications . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Langacker, R. W. (2002). Concept, image, symbol. The cognitive basis of grammar . Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Langacker, R. W. (2008a). The relevance of Cognitive Grammar for language pedagogy. In S. De Knop & T. De Rycker (Eds.), Cognitive approaches to pedagogical grammar: A volume in honour of René Dirven (pp. 7–35). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Langacker, R. W. (2008b). Cognitive Grammar. A basic introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Littlemore, J. (2009). Applying cognitive linguistics to second language learning and teaching . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Pütz, M., Niemeier, S., & Dirven, R. (2004). Applied cognitive linguistics I: Theory and language acquisition . Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Robinson, P., & Ellis, N. C. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition . New York, London: Routledge.

Smith, M. B. (2008). The semantics of complementation in English: A cognitive semantic account of two English complement constructions. Language Sciences, 31 (4), 360–388.

Smith, M. B., & Escobedo, J. (2001). The Semantics of to infinitive vs. gerund complement constructions in English. In M. Adronies, Ch. Ball, H. Elston, & S. Neuvel (Eds.), The main session: Proceedings from the main session of the Thirty-seventh Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society CLS37 (pp. 549–563). Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.

Taylor, J. R. (2002). Cognitive Grammar . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tomasello, M. (1998). Return of constructions. Journal of Child Language, 25, 431–442.

Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Traugott, E. C. (1992). The syntax of Old English. In R. Hogg (Ed.), The Cambridge history of the English language, Volume I: The beginnings to 1066 (pp. 168–289). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Turewicz, K. (2000). Applicability of Cognitive Grammar as a foundation of pedagogical/ reference grammar . Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.

Tyler, A. (2012). Cognitive linguistics and second language learning. Theoretical basis and experimental evidence . New York, London: Routledge.

Verspoor, M. (2000). Iconicity in English complement constructions—Conceptual distance and cognitive processing levels. In K. Horie (Ed.), Complementation: cognitive and functional perspectives (Converging evidence in language and communication research 1) (pp. 199–225). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Wierzbicka, A. (1988). The semantics of grammar . Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Jan Kochanowski University, ul. Słowackiego 114/118, 97-300, Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland

Agnieszka Kaleta

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Agnieszka Kaleta .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Faculty of Humanities, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

Grzegorz Drożdż

Barbara Taraszka-Drożdż

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Kaleta, A. (2020). The Infinitive or the Gerund? Cognitive Linguistics in Teaching English Post-verbal Complementation. In: Drożdż, G., Taraszka-Drożdż, B. (eds) Foreign Language Pedagogy in the Light of Cognitive Linguistics Research. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58775-8_4

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58775-8_4

Published : 19 November 2020

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-58774-1

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-58775-8

eBook Packages : Education Education (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Conjugation verb hypothesise

• hypothesise

Model : race

Auxiliary : have , be

Other forms: hypothesise oneself / not hypothesise

Contractions

• I hypothesise
• you hypothesise
• he/she/it hypothesises
• we hypothesise
• they hypothesise
• I hypothesised
• you hypothesised
• he/she/it hypothesised
• we hypothesised
• they hypothesised

Present continuous

• I am hypothesising
• you are hypothesising
• he/she/it is hypothesising
• we are hypothesising
• they are hypothesising

Present perfect

• I have hypothesised
• you have hypothesised
• he/she/it has hypothesised
• we have hypothesised
• they have hypothesised
• I will hypothesise
• you will hypothesise
• he/she/it will hypothesise
• we will hypothesise
• they will hypothesise

Future perfect

• I will have hypothesised
• you will have hypothesised
• he/she/it will have hypothesised
• we will have hypothesised
• they will have hypothesised

Past continous

• I was hypothesising
• you were hypothesising
• he/she/it was hypothesising
• we were hypothesising
• they were hypothesising

Past perfect

• I had hypothesised
• you had hypothesised
• he/she/it had hypothesised
• we had hypothesised
• they had hypothesised

Future continuous

• I will be hypothesising
• you will be hypothesising
• he/she/it will be hypothesising
• we will be hypothesising
• they will be hypothesising

Present perfect continuous

• I have been hypothesising
• you have been hypothesising
• he/she/it has been hypothesising
• we have been hypothesising
• they have been hypothesising

Past perfect continuous

• I had been hypothesising
• you had been hypothesising
• he/she/it had been hypothesising
• we had been hypothesising
• they had been hypothesising

Future perfect continuous

• I will have been hypothesising
• you will have been hypothesising
• he/she/it will have been hypothesising
• we will have been hypothesising
• they will have been hypothesising
• let's hypothesise
• hypothesising
• hypothesised
• to hypothesise

Perfect participle

• having hypothesised

Helping millions of people and large organizations communicate more efficiently and precisely in all languages.

writing speech part

How to use the verb "to be" in English

The English verb to be is one of the most important verbs for learners to know. It has many different uses, including as a helping verb, and its conjugation is very irregular. There's a lot for English learners to know!

Here's a complete guide to using the verb to be in English.

In this post:

Meaning of the verb to be Conjugations of the verb to be

Simple present

Simple past, negation of simple present and simple past, simple future, conditional, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, negation of simple future, conditional, and perfect tenses.

Auxiliary verb to be Questions with to be

What is the purpose of the verb to be ?

In English, to be is used for a lot of different meanings, such as:

• Describing: Lily is serious. My shirt is blue.
• Locating: Eddy is at home. Your phone is on the table.
• Identifying: Junior is Eddy's son. My name is Bea.
• and many more!

What are the conjugations of the verb to be ?

To be is challenging because it’s an irregular verb, which means you will need to memorize the different conjugations. Luckily, there are some tips and tricks to make it easier to study! 

The simple present forms of to be are the first forms you need to know. As you can see in the table, the forms for I and he/she/it are unique, and all the other forms have are the same:

When a sentence uses one of these present tense forms, it is common to combine the pronoun and the verb to form a contraction . This happens a lot in speaking, too!

To be in the simple past looks different than present tense, but it actually follows a similar pattern! The forms for I and he/she/it are both was , and all the other forms are the same:

To make a negative simple present or simple past sentence with to be , use the word not after the form of to be :

The simple future in English is formed with the modal verb will followed by the infinitive to be . Since modals don’t ever change based on the subject of the sentence, the simple future of to be is the same for all subjects: will be !

To form conditional verbs in English, use would + the bare form of the verb. So the conditional of to be is always would be ! 🎉

The present perfect is created by using a present tense form of to have + the past participle been . Since been is the past participle for all conjugations, you just need to make to have agree with the subject. The third person singular (he/she/it) form of to have is has , and all other subjects use have .

The English past perfect is formed from the past tense of to have (which is always had ) + the past participle been . That means you need just one form for all subjects: had been !

The future perfect is another tense where every form of to be is the same. 🙌 This tense is made of the modal verb will + the bare form have + the past participle been .

The conditional perfect in English also uses the same form for all subjects: the modal verb would + the bare form have + past participle been .

For the tenses that are made from multiple words, put the not after the first word to make the sentence negative.

Auxiliary verb to be

All of the previous examples showed to be as a main verb of the sentence, where the word be has a specific meaning. 

To be is also used as an auxiliary verb that helps form other tenses. Here are some examples:

Progressive: [form of be ] + present participle

Passive: [form of be ] + past participle, questions with to be.

If you know the conjugations of to be , you can also use them to ask questions! Here are the most common types of questions and resources to study them more:

Yes/no Questions

Q: Are you brothers? A: Yes, we are brothers.

Q: Have you been here before? A: No, I have not been here before.

Wh- Questions

Q: Where will she have been by the end of your trip? A: She will have been to England and France.

Q: Who was your favorite teacher? A: My favorite teacher was Oscar.

Tag questions

They are astronauts, aren’t they ? She was not tall, was she ?

Be confident using to be !

Learning the meanings and forms of to be will help you understand and use English more effectively. Practice these verbs a little at a time, and you'll soon *BE* a be-verb rockstar!

Related Posts All Posts

What will german be like 100 years from now, 8 slang words you'll hear in spain.