Level: beginner
Verbs with to-infinitives
We use the to-infinitive after certain verbs (verbs followed by to-infinitive), particularly verbs of thinking and feeling:
| choose decide expect forget |
hate hope intend learn |
like love mean plan |
prefer remember want would like/love |
They decided to start a business together.
Remember to turn the lights off.
and verbs of saying:
| agree | promise | refuse | threaten |
We agreed to meet at the cinema.
Promise to call me every day.
Some verbs are followed by a direct object and then the to-infinitive:
| advise ask encourage expect |
intend invite order persuade |
remind tell want warn |
would like/love would prefer |
He encouraged his friends to vote for him.
Remind me to give Julia a call.
- Verbs with to-infinitive 1
- Verbs with to-infinitive 2
Infinitive of purpose
We also use the to-infinitive to express purpose (to answer why?):
He bought some flowers to give to his wife.
He locked the door to keep everyone out.
We can also express purpose with in order to and in order not to:
We started our journey early in order to avoid the traffic.
They spoke quietly in order not to wake the children.
or so as to and so as not to:
We started our journey early so as to avoid the traffic.
They spoke quietly so as not to wake the children.
- Infinitive of purpose 1
- Infinitive of purpose 2
Level: intermediate
Adjectives with to-infinitives
We use the to-infinitive after certain adjectives:
| able unable anxious |
due eager keen |
likely unlikely ready |
prepared willing unwilling |
Unfortunately, I was unable to work for over a week.
I'm really tired. I'm ready to go to bed.
Sometimes the to-infinitive gives a reason for the adjective:
| amazed delighted disappointed |
glad happy pleased |
proud relieved sad |
sorry surprised unhappy |
We were happy to come to the end of our journey.
(= We were happy because we had come to the end of our journey.)
John was surprised to see me.
(= He was surprised because he saw me.)
We often use it + be followed by an adjective to give opinions:
| clever difficult easy |
foolish hard kind |
nice possible impossible |
right wrong silly |
It's easy to play the piano, but it's very difficult to play well.
He spoke so quickly that it was impossible to understand him.
We use the to-infinitive with these adjectives to give opinions about people:
| clever foolish |
kind nice |
right wrong |
silly |
She was right to complain about that hotel.
You were clever to find the answer so quickly.
We use the preposition for to show who these adjectives refer to:
| difficult | easy | hard | possible | impossible |
It was difficult for us to hear what she was saying.
It is easy for you to criticise other people.
With the other adjectives, we use the preposition of:
It's kind of you to help.
It would be silly of him to spend all his money.
- Adjectives with to-infinitive 1
- Adjectives with to-infinitive 2
Level: advanced
Nouns with to-infinitives
We use the to-infinitive as a postmodifier (see noun phrases) after abstract nouns like:
| ability attempt chance |
desire failure need |
opportunity refusal wish |
They gave him an opportunity to escape.
He was annoyed by her refusal to answer.
I have no desire to be rich.
There is no need to shout.
We often use the to-infinitive as a postmodifier after indefinite pronouns:
When I am travelling I always take something to read.
I was all alone. I had no one to talk to.
There is hardly anything to do in most of these small towns.
- Nouns with to-infinitive 1
- Nouns with to-infinitive 2
Comments
Hello The LearnEnglish Team,
I have a couple sentences to clear up.
My goal is to have become a doctor in seven years.
My goal is to become a doctor in seven years.
I read in a book that we use the present perfect infinitive (to have become) to talk about an action that will/might take place before a specified time in the future. However, using the simple infinitive (to become) looks okay too.
Are both sentences okay?
I hope that I am posting on the correct page. If not, I apologize.
Agent_009
Hello Agent_009,
Yes, both sentences are fine. The first means 'some time before seven years' and the second means 'when seven years has passed'. You might use the second if you know that it will definitely take seven years - for example, you have a seven-year course of study ahead of you. You might use the first if you do not know how long it will take, but see seven years as being the maximum possible time you will take.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
What a rally to win / What a rally to win a set/match / What a match to win =
=It is used in excalamatory sentences, which is why it is typically used in commentary and speeches.
Is it possible to use this structure when I have enough time to think about it? Beacuase I heard Federer say: It was incredibly hard shot to hit. It was a post match interview at Wimbledon.
Thank you for your reading my comment! It is the last think I am curious to know about it!
Hello Dominik9966,
That is possible, but it is a different construction to the 'What a... to...' that you asked about in your first question!
The infinitive can be used after adjectives in this way:
It is easy to do.
We were stupid to try that.
You can also include a noun:
It is an easy thing to do.
We were stupid idiots to try.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you very much Peter!
Can I ask you for one more help?
1) What a shot to win a rally = exclamatory (e.g. tennis matches)
2) ..incredibly hard shot to hit = when do I usually use this structure?
My last question is focused on previous post :)
Wawrinka beats Federer to win MC tournament.
1) You said it is similar to infinitiv of purpose. Does it really work the same way even though it isn´t 100% infinitiv of purpose? I wish to know it to be 100% sure when I can use it.
Thank you once again! :)
Hello Dominik9966,
The structure here is [adjective + to infinitive]. In some contexts it is similar in meaning to an infinitive of purpose, which can be a useful way to think of it, but it is a different structure. The use of this is similar to a gerund subject:
Swimming in this river is easy.
It's easy to swim in this river.
Hitting that shot was incredibly hard.
It was an incredibly hard shot to hit.
I'm not sure what else I can tell you. I suspect that there is a similar structure in your own language, if that language is Czech. Certainly there is a similar structure in other European languages, including Slavic languages such as Polish.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
What about the infinitives without To....... Like let etc
I am really happy to find this page.
Could you help me please how this form of TO works? I haven´t found it in any book. :(
Here are examples:
What a rally to win. (IN TENNIS - commentator during a match)
What a rally to win a set/match (the same)
What a match to win. (IN TENNIS - commentator during a match)
Wawrinka beats Federer to win Monte Carlo tournament.
I have already written similar post on WR forum but I was told I had better to ask for help here.
Thank you very much for your time!
Hello Dominik9966,
You have several examples here. The first three are examples of the 'to infinitive' used to signify the achievement of doing something. It is used in excalamatory sentences, which is why it is typically used in commentary and speeches.
What a rally to win / What a rally to win a set/match / What a match to win.
The meaning here is 'what a (wonderful/amazing) rally that was, and how great an achievement it was that the player won it. We can use other question words in the same structure:
How great an achievement to finish the marathon! / How long it took to write this book!
You other example is a little different. Here we have an example of the 'to infinitive' used to express purpose:
Wawrinka beats Federer to win Monte Carlo tournament.
The meaning here is similar to 'in order to':
Wawrinka beats Federer in order to win Monte Carlo tournament.
I hope that clarifies it for you.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you for clarifying!
1)
How long it took to write this book!
Is it still the same? I can not image saying it differently. What makes it tougher for me to understand it is I don´t find it as the same example as: What a rally to win. I am missing an adjective. I thought it was possible to say it like: "What a rally to win" every time I can add an adjective e.g. "What an (amazing/wonderful) rally to watch" but your sentence: How long it took to write this book is a bit different. There isn´t possible to add an adjective!
2)
Federer beats Wawrinka to win MC tournament.
So it works the same way as inf. of purpose does? So there is no need for me to create a new category for this, is it?:)
Thank you in advance :)
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