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 Luke warm
Re: 1, the verb 'claim' is often followed by a noun or a phrase beginning with a 'to' infinitive. 'to be' is not adjectival here. The same is true of 'learn' in sentence 4.
I'm afraid that sentences 2 and 3 are grammatically incorrect. If you put 'is' before 'to be' in 3, then the phrase 'to be aware ...' is a nominal (noun-like) complement of the verb 'is'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello everyone! I'm often confused...
I mean, i dont really know when i should use a verb in ing form and when to+infinitive.
For example: I'm really tired. I'm ready to go to bed.
I'm really tired. I'm ready going to be.
This one is just for example, there are many. So what is the difference?
Thanks
Hello amanrihana,
There are some verbs which are followed by to + infinitive and others which are followed by -ing.
I'm afriad there's no way to tell what any particular verb is followed by – you just have to memorise the patters.
Fortunately, we have pages on these to help you:
Verbs followed by the infinitive
Verbs followed by the '-ing' form
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello
Sir You have explained before that there is no need to differentiate if Nonfinite is working as modifier or a noun, we just need to figure out correct use of infinitive/infinitive phrase vs ing phrase.
But still since i want to understand exactly why and how we are using an infinitive/ing thus following questions, please help/just verify:
-I want to sing (answers what) noun, correct
-I heard him sing/singing- as adjective modiying objective pronoun
-I study to learn(answers why/infinitive of purpose ) - Adverbial modifier of verb study
- he teaches people just to help - Adverbial modifier (answers why) not an adjective of people
-I want him to sing a song- Adjective modifier/adj clause. Providing more info about objective pronoun him.
-Doctor prescribed him to take medicine - Adjective modifier 'him'(unnatural English but just to understand from grammars point of view)
-He is prescribed to take medicine - Adjective modifier of he/predicate nominative.
-Different prospects are studied to learn more about the universe - Adverbial modifier fo studied.
thankyou
Sir, My approach is if it answers what(as verbs object) then its a noun, if it answer why when who which how what about a noun/pronoun than an adjective, if modifies an adjective or verb by answering why what when how than is an adverb, is this correct?
Also can participles work as adverbial modifiers, i read pariticiples cannot be adverbial modifiers but i think it can for eg. He came screaming(adverb) into the room, he is feeling ignored(adverb) or he died aged(adverbial modifier) 80, so we cam use participles as adverbial mod. right?
Thanks
Hi All,
I have to report daily activities in writing, normally I put the start and finish time of the activities my question is how do you report past activities in a clear and simple way. For example:
A) 08:00-09:00 Team briefing, report to the site manager and obtain access to the building.
B) 08:00-09:00 briefed team, reported to the site manager and obtained access to the building.
Many thanks,
Hi xandrsx,
To report your earlier activities in this way, the normal form is to use the past simple without a subject, as you do in the second version (B). It's possible to use some nouns as well (Team Briefing).
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear Peter and Kirk,
I wonder whether the following two sentences containing the verb "lead" are acceptable and if so which of the two sentences would be more common in written English:
1. Her advice leads him to accept himself.
2. Her advice leads to him accepting himself.
I would be very grateful if you could explain the difference between "lead somebody to do something" and "lead to somebody doing something" with reference to the above sentence.
Thank you very much!
Best wishes
Magnus
I have the same confusion and i often make mistakes...
Hello Magnus
In most situations, the expressions would effectively mean the same thing, though they have a slightly different focus. 1 suggests that he takes the advice and actively accepts himself, whereas 2 is less specific and focuses more on the result; it could be, for example, that he resisted accepting himself for a long time, but then finally did so in the end.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
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