Grammar Tips & Articles »

infinitive verb

This Grammar.com article is about infinitive verb — enjoy your reading!


1:04 min read
3,085 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

Every verb has a base infinitive form. We think of the infinitive as the verb with the preposition to in front of it: as in to have, to hold, to love, to honor, to cherish. Infinitives appear in the language in three ways: (1) they appear alone to show some of the tenses, as in I write, You write, We write, They write; (2) they join auxiliary verbs to form other tenses or conditions, as in I will write, He could write; and (3) they are used to form infinitive phrases, which can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. The term infinitive phrase is elsewhere defined.

Controversy rages over whether you may split an infinitive by putting other words between the to and the infinitive verb. The short answer is yes. The so-called rule against split infinitives is simply not a rule. For a thorough discussion and a press release by the Oxford English Dictionary, study the section on Verbs in Parts of Speech on Grammar.com.

The following, which appear in New Fowler, are correct:

That's when you have to really watch yourself. —Quarto, 1981 (UK).

It led Cheshires to finally abandon publishing fiction at all. —B. Oakley, 1985 (Australia).

The goal is to further exclude Arafat. U.S. News & World Report, 1986 (United States).

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "infinitive verb." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Dec. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/infinitive-verb>.

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free Writing Tool:

    Instant
    Grammar Checker

    Improve your grammar, vocabulary, style, and writing — all for FREE!


    Quiz

    Are you a grammar master?

    »
    Identify the sentence with correct use of the past perfect continuous tense:
    A We had eaten when she called.
    B They had been working on the project for several hours before they took a break.
    C She was visiting her grandparents all weekend.
    D I have been finished my assignment.

    Improve your writing now:

    Download Grammar eBooks

    It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.