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

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.”

Derived Forms

• inˈfinitively, adverb
• infinitival, adjective

Other Words From

• in·fin·i·tive·ly adverb

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

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.

From Nautilus

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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.

agree	forget	love	refuse
choose	hope	need	seem
decide	intend	plan	struggle
expect	learn	pretend	tend
fail	like	promise	want

 

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

Slight correction: "chacune des langues qu'on peut parler"
Langue is feminine, and you need to use the infinitive because it's like "to speak/can speak"

— Kevin Laprise🔌🤔 (@kevlap017) July 23, 2021

Funny. The only time(s) I am ever disappointed in myself is when I stop doing a BuzzFeed quiz.
(Oh what a difference infintive vs -ing makes 🙃)https://t.co/zImfjQslnd

— Platypus!!!!! (@Platypus4Ever) November 5, 2019

 

What other words are related to infinitive?

• verb
• to
• basic
• auxiliary verb
• grammar
• split
• usage

Quiz yourself!

True or False?

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