What are Infinitives

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It is formed with to + base form of the verb. Ex: to buy, to work.

Infinitive Examples

Infinitives can be used as:

an object following the verb:

Jim always forgets to eat

a subject at the beginning of a sentence:

To travel around the world requires a lot of time and money.

an adverb modifying a verb:

You promised to buy me a diamond ring.

an adjective modifying a noun:

Tara has the ability to succeed.

Some verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:

Do you want to call your family now?

Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive:

I convinced Catherine to become vegetarian.

He advised me to sell all my shares of stock.

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without causing a change in meaning:

Will you continue working after you give birth?

Will you continue to work after you give birth?

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a change in meaning:

He stopped drinking coffee. (He never drank coffee again.)

He stopped to drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank some coffee.)