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View synonyms for infinitive

infinitive

[ in-fin-i-tiv ]

noun

  1. : infin.
    1. in English, the simple or basic form of a verb, with no endings to indicate the verb’s subject or tense, such as come, take, eat, be: used after auxiliary verbs or preceded by the word to, and sometimes functioning as a noun, such as He must be, I want to eat, To love is to understand. Compare finite verb ( def ).
    2. a verb form found in many other languages that has a similar function, such as French venir “to come” or Latin esse “to be.”


adjective

  1. consisting of or containing an infinitive: : infin.

    an infinitive construction.

infinitive

/ ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv; ˌɪnfɪnɪˈtaɪvəl /

noun

  1. a form of the verb not inflected for grammatical categories such as tense and person and used without an overt subject. In English, the infinitive usually consists of the word to followed by the verb
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


infinitive

  1. The simple or dictionary form of a verb : walk , think , fly , exist . Often the word to marks a verb as an infinitive: “to walk,” “to think,” “to fly,” “to exist.”


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Derived Forms

  • infinitival, adjective
  • inˈfinitively, adverb
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Other Words From

  • in·fin·i·tive·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of infinitive1

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Late Latin infīnītīvus “indefinite”; equivalent to in- 3 + finite + -ive
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Compare Meanings

How does infinitive compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

The infinitive form of the verb allows the subject—the builders doing the building—to lurk in the shadows, but they are always there.

Perhaps speke (better speken) is an infinitive in l. 350, but it may also be the pt.

This ending terminates the past participles of verbs whose infinitive ends in e.

An example of the present infinitive used after aprs (cf. il est parti aprs avoir bu un verre d'eau).

The use of tre for aller when followed by an infinitive is inelegant, though the construction is sometimes used by good writers.

Instead of the infinitive moods and plural numbers ending in -n as in Holland, the former end in -a, the latter in -ar.

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More About Infinitive

What is an infinitive?

An infinitive is the basic form of a verb, having no tense and not being conjugated. In English, an infinitive is preceded by the word to.

In English, the infinitive form of the verb is the one you will see listed in dictionaries like this one. When infinitives are used in sentences, they follow auxiliary verbs, as in I should try,  or function words, as in I want to sleep.

Infinitives can serve other purposes as well, such as acting like nouns (To err is human), adjectives (I have no place to sleep), or adverbs (We eat to live).

Why is infinitive important?

The first records of the term infinitive come from around 1425. It comes from the Late Latin word infīnītīvus, meaning “indefinite.” Infinitives are used in many languages, even in very old languages like Latin.

In English, infinitives are usually made of two words such as to run or to know. In other languages, infinitives are a single word, such as the Latin dare (“to give”), the French faire (“to do”), and the Spanish hablar (“to speak”). English speakers are often taught the infinitive form of a verb before learning how each verb is conjugated.

Did you know ... ?

You may have heard that in English you shouldn’t “split” the infinitive, that is, you shouldn’t put a word between to and the infinitive form of the verb. This is a false rule that came about a few hundred years ago from a desire to make English more like Latin. English is English, though, and it’s being able to split infinitives is a feature of the language, not a fault. You can read more about this in “What Is A Split Infinitive?

What are real-life examples of infinitive?

The following chart lists some verbs in their infinitive form.

agreeforgetloverefuse
choosehopeneedseem
decideintendplanstruggle
expectlearnpretendtend
faillikepromisewant

 

We often use infinitives in everyday speech, though we don’t often talk about them, unless we’re talking about language.

 

What other words are related to infinitive?

Quiz yourself!

True or False?

In English, an infinitive verb has no tense and has not been conjugated.

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infinitivalinfinitive clause