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 amirfd,
'base form' and 'bare infinitive' and 'infinitive without 'to'' all refer to the same form. It would certainly be easier if thre were just one term, but I'm afraid that's just not the case!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello.
Infinitive: "to + base form of a verb" or "base form of a verb"?
Different references have different definitions.
Hello amirfd,
There isn't much consistency, I'm afraid. It can be either both words ('to' + base form) or just one word (base form). Here we generally speak of a 'to' infinitive or a 'bare infinitive' to try to make things clear, but it's also a good idea to look for examples to be sure.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. Please describe following question. (with reason)
The friendly atmosphere of the school ............... .
1.made there a pleasure studying
2.where it was a pleasure studying
3.made it a pleasure to study there
4. that it was made a pleasure to study there
Hello amirfd,
What do you think the correct answer is? We are happy to help you learn, but we ask that you explain to us what you think the answer is and why so that we can better help you.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello
He gives me.
_OR_
He gives to me.
Please explain
Hello INS-PRAKASH,
Both 'give me' and 'give to me' are correct and the meaning is the same. However, there should be a direct object:
give me [something]
give [something] to me
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you
Thanks a lot.
Hi
In the sentence, "I want to play cricket", is "cricket" an object of "to play"? Can to-infinitives have objects as transitive verbs have?
Similarly, can to-infinitives be used as objects of transitive verbs? For example, in the sentence, "We want to play", is "to play" an object of the verb "want"?
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