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
Hello! Could you please elaborate the difference between these two sentences?
I like to go to the park.
I like going to the park.
Hello arcebelando,
The first thing to note is that there is a lot overlap between these two forms and the distinction in use is more a tendency than a hard and fast rule.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
So, we have "infinitive of purpose", are they any other specific infinitives? "Infinitives of...."?
I hope that makes sense, thank you
Hello Mister Chris,
I can't think of any other 'infinitive of ...' off the top of my head, but please note that it can be used in many, many ways.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hi support team
I'm struggling with the two sentences below. Could you help me please?
all they need to do is call off strikes which are unnecessary and benefit no one. ( this sentence is written by Minister of Britain education).
all they need to do is "to" call off strikes which are unnecessary and benefit no one.( this is my sentence)
I think using "to" is necessary. Am I wrong? If I'm, tell me the reason.
Hi Amir__760__,
Both sentences are grammatically fine. I think "to" can be omitted because it is given earlier in the sentence (All they need to do ...).
In comparison, in the following sentence the "to" is necessary, and cannot be omitted: All they need is to call off strikes ... .
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello!
Could you please help me with the following:
Could you please tell me which one (if any) is correct:
1. I went to the shop yesterday to buy some chocolate.
2. I went to the shop to buy some chocolate yesterday.
As far as I remember, time phrases usually go to the end of a sentence, but I am hesitant concerning this one.
I appreciate your huge help a lot and yhank you very much for helping me with this issue beforehand!!!
Hello howtosay_,
Both of these are fine. You could also start the sentence with 'Yesterday' and it would also be correct.
There's quite a bit of flexibility with time adverbials (as well as many other types of adverbials). The Cambridge Dictionary Grammar has a useful page on adverb position that I'd recommend having a look at.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hello!
Could you please explain if it is possible to use "in order" in such a way:
"She told me the lies in order I go there" or "I've gone to the bank in order they cannot pay by my credit card"? I'm very hesitant about this structure.
Thank you so much for your precious work and thank you for answering this post beforehand!!!
Hello howtosay_,
Those are not correct, I'm afraid.
The most common way to use this is to say 'in order to' and follow it with a base verb:
You can also use the construction 'in order that', usually followed by a modal verb:
It's quite a formal expression; so that is much more common and function in a similar way.
You can read more about these forms here:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/so-that-or-in-order-that
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello howtosay_,
Those are not correct, I'm afraid.
The most common way to use this is to say 'in order to' and follow it with a base verb:
You can also use the construction 'in order that', usually followed by a modal verb:
It's quite a formal expression; so that is much more common and function in a similar way.
You can read more about these forms here:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/so-that-or-in-order-that
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
From the book 'THE ALCHEMIST': "What he needed to do was review all he had learned...". Why not 'to review'? Thanks.
Hi Lorenzo311,
It could also be "to review". That would be grammatically correct too.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Are these infinitives an adverb modifying the adjective to add information?
He was willing to carry the bags for me.
I am happy to win.
I do not think they are modifying the verb and showing the reason.
Hi Liam_Kurt,
Yes, right! They are modifying the adjective. They aren't infinitives of purpose.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
I just found out that they are reduced clauses from another website
Like: He was excellent (for us) to work with.
So are these infinitives changing what they're doing?
He was excellent for us to work with(It's modifying a noun)
He was excellent to work with(It's modifying an adjective)
Hi Liam_Kurt,
Yes, right. I would just add that these constructions are not always reduced clauses (e.g. I am happy to win).
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear Sir,
Could you please tell me whether I should say: (1) Only after washing the dishes did she have time to relax or (2) Only after washing the dishes had she time to relax. I am unsure whether I should make an inversion by changing the place of a subject and a verb or make an inversion as in question by "did".
With regards
Hi Zuzanna,
For most verbs the way to invert is (1) - by adding an auxiliary verb (if there isn't one already) and putting it before the subject.
However, the verb "have" as a main verb is sometimes used without an auxiliary verb where one is normally used, for example in the negative sentence "I haven't any time" and the question "Have you any time?" (instead of the usual structures "I don't have any time" and "Do you have any time?"). These sound more formal than usual, and are relatively uncommon. So, your sentence (2) is acceptable too, but with the same note that it sounds a bit formal.
I hope that helps to understand it.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
i have a doubt about the infinitives , sometimes i notice that the "TO" which is part of the infinitive, feels more like a preposition in some of the examples of this topic, and it happens because am translating the sentence to spanish and if i translate the infinitive literally it doesn't bring a full idea; for instance:
in this follwing sentence i feel that the "TO" is more like a preposition:
They gave him an opportunity to escape.
in this ohter sentence, wich is not of any of the previous examples , i feel that the infinitive is more factual.
His health appeared to be better.
please help me with this , thanks in advance.
Hello jorgepavlo,
You'll know better than me, but, for example, I'd translate 'an opportunity to escape' as 'una oportunidad de escapar' (though please let me know if you think that's not a good translation). You're right in thinking that in Spanish, the preposition 'de' is needed, but note that the preposition is followed by an infinitive. In English, we skip the preposition and go straight to the infinitive.
In fact, if 'to' were a preposition, then the form after it would have to be an '-ing' form (*'an opportunity to escaping') because prepositions require subsequent verb forms to be in the '-ing' form in English. This is one of the few rules that has no exceptions in English!
As for 'appear', I'm not sure what you mean by 'more factual', but here too, the 'to' is definitely and infinitive form.
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello! I'm a biginner so if I make any mistake, could you please correct me? Here it's my question: "Don't seek for anything to happen as you wish it would." In this centences, I don't know if 'to-inf' is to express purpose or it follow the structure "seek for sth to inf"? Thank you!
Hi thankyouuu,
It's the second reason - it's part of the structure. :)
We don't correct user's comments here, but you are welcome to post any questions if you have them. Thanks!
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you!
Could you please tell me wheter I should say: I'd prefer tea to coffee or I'd prefer tea rather than coffee. I mean is there any difference if I use "to" or "rather than"?
Hi Zuzanna,
Both are correct and there's no difference in meaning. You may be interested in this page from the Cambridge Dictionary, which has some more examples and explains some typical errors: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/prefer
I hope it helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear Team,
Reading the subtitles of a Danish series on Netflix, I came across something like "It pays off to have a network of contacts". Is it acceptable to use an infinitive after a phrasal verb? Thank you.
Hello Verbis,
I expect that you might be able to hear someone say this, and it's certainly completely intelligible, but strictly speaking, it's not correct.
As far as I know, when 'pay off' means 'to result in success', it's an intransitive verb, i.e. it has no object, and so it's not correct to say 'it pays off to have' or 'it pays off having' or anything like that.
I hesitate to make a generalisation about all phrasal verbs, but off the top of my head, I'd say they should not have an infinitive as an object, but rather an '-ing' form. Please note, however, that I might not be thinking of exceptions to this -- there are so many possibilities! -- and, more importantly, it's quite possible that people's grammar is a little loose at times. After all, phrasal verbs are a typical feature of informal speech, which sometimes breaks grammatical rules.
Hope this helps clarify it for you.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello, I was wondering if the following sentence has ambiguity in structures:
We need more money to buy what we want.
I think this sentence can only be interpreted or classified as infinitive of purpose as follows:
To buy what we want, we need more money.
Can this to-infinitive clause ‘to buy what we want’ be used to modify a noun phrase ‘more money’?(as an adjectival infinitive)
Thank you for your reply in advance:)
Hello Hailey,
This looks like an infinitive of purpose to me as well. While it is possible to use an infinitive adjectivally after 'money' (e.g. 'She has lots of money to burn' or 'If only the school had more money to spend on books'), here I'd say it's quite clear the it expresses purpose.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
I'm confused by the construction of the sentence "to choose from" here. I think "from" needs an object here such as "I'm from England, but there is not and so it's confusing me
Second, does the relative infinitive have a modal meaning?
...diffrerent option to choose from = ...different option can/need/should/will choose from.
We often use 'would' to describe different options to choose from.
Hi Plokonyo,
In the sentence, the object of 'to choose from' appears earlier in the sentence - 'different options to choose from'. You may see sentences or clauses that end with prepositions for this reason. Here are some more examples:
Yes, we can interpret a modal meaning. It depends on the words and context. For example:
In the sentence you mentioned, 'can' makes the most sense.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Can any tell me why we can use 'to' and why we need to use it;
Example:
1. I want to talk to her. = "to talk to"
2. I want to help her. = "to help"
Hello Jaja,
'To talk' and 'to help' are infinitive forms. They are used because they follow the verb 'want' and the pattern for 'want' is:
want + to verb (infinitive)
The second 'to' in the first sentence is a preposition which is attached to the verb 'talk'. You can talk to someone, talk with someone or talk about something.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear Mr. Kirk
Would you please help me to explain the grammar point of " expressing the purpose/ aim/ goal / duty...."?
Ex: The purose of Asian Games is to promote the solidarity among ......
The Purpose of Asian Games is promoting the solidarity among ......
My question is that which is correct or both are correct.
Thank you very much.
Hello wazina,
Most of the time the sentence with the infinitive ('to promote solidarity') is going to be better than the other one. We use an infinitive of purpose for just this reason, i.e. to explain the purpose of something.
It may be acceptable in some circumstances to use the other form ('promoting solidarity') here, and it would, for example, be the better form if the sentence began with this idea: 'Promoting solidarity is the purpose of ...'
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nevi,
'to be milked' is a passive infinitive. I'd call it a kind of infinitive of purpose in the sentence you ask about because it clearly expresses the purpose of the first part of the sentence, though some grammars might disagree with this idea.
Although I wouldn't say it's incorrect, this sentence sounds a little unnatural to me. I would probably say 'Sylvie is bringing the cow home for it to be milked' or 'so that it is milked' instead. We tend to use a 'for' structure (as in my first alternative) when talking about a purpose that speaks about the action of another person, and 'so that' is another way of talking about purpose.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Nevi,
I said that it's a kind of an infinitive of purpose to try to show that it doesn't fit the usual description of how an infinitive of purpose works. If there's a precise term for the infinitive in use here, I'm afraid I don't know what it is.
I can understand your concern about the ambiguity, but I don't see the sentence as ambiguous at all. It is very unusual for someone to speak of a woman 'being milked' (and quite inappropriate as well, I might add), but not at all for a cow to be milked. With this in mind, I don't see any ambiguity, and if the sentence is considered within a likely context, even less so. This is a good example of how syntax and lexical usage converge to produce meaning.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nevi,
You can use either the active or passive infinitive here without any difference in meaning:
This is true of any sentence like this provided the verb is transitive; inttransitive verbs do not occur in the passive, of course. Thus you can say both of these:
but you have to use the active form with a verb like go:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Nevi,
No, the choice of form here (to clean or to be cleaned) does not change who is performing the action.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Mussorie,
In your first sentence, it's probably a single action with a result in the present. (The result is that the car is now repaired.) We would need to know the context when somebody said this sentence to know for sure.
In your second sentence, the meaning is similar to 'receiving' or 'getting'. No, we can't replace it with 'taking' because the correct phrase is 'have (my) hair cut', not 'take (my) hair cut'. Also, this meaning of 'have' is not specific to the continuous form. It can be used in other verb forms too (e.g. I have my hair cut every month).
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mussorie,
Yes, it's a complement of the adjective 'busy', though I'm not sure I'd call it an 'object' complement since 'is' is a linking verb.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team