THE INFINITIVE

               

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The Infinitive

To a smart girl men are no problem - they're the answer

1. As the subject of a clause, at the beginning of a sentence.

* To sleep is the only thing I want after my double shift waiting tables at the neighborhood café.

* To know you is to love you.

2. After these verbs: accept, afford, agree, arrange, consent, demand, intend, fail, hesitate, manage, mean, plan, promise, pretend, refuse, seem, strugle, swear, threaten, volunteer, wait, want, wish, would like.

* We continue to shape our personality all our life.

* To know oneself, one should assert oneself. (purpose infinitive)

To know oneself, one should assert oneself.
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To know oneself, one should assert oneself
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* There's nothing to do? I'll find something for you to do !! ; mom said ... (after noun / pronoun).

*  I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know? (after nouns deriving from verbs followed by infinitive.

* It's good to be difficult to know. Too many people are too easy to know.

 

It's good to be difficult to know. Too many people are too easy to know.
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Recognize an infinitive when you see one.

To sneeze, to smash, to cry, to shriek, to jump, to dunk, to read, to eat, to slurp—all of these are infinitives. An infinitive will almost always begin with to followed by the simple form of the verb, like this:

To + Verb = Infinitive

Important Note: Because an infinitive is not a verb, you cannot add s, es, ed, or ing to the end. Ever!
Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:

To sleep is the only thing Eli wants after his double shift waiting tables at the neighborhood café.

To sleep functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence.

                   No matter how fascinating the biology dissection is, Emanuel turns his                            head and refuses to look. (To look functions as a noun because it is the                          direct object for the verb refuses).

Wherever Melissa goes, she always brings a book to read in case conversation lags or she has a long wait. (To read functions as an adjective because it modifies book).

                   Richard braved the icy rain to throw the smelly squid eyeball stew into the                    apartment dumpster. (To throw functions as an adverb because it explains                    why Richard braved the inclement weather).

Infinitive with its own subject

The structure for + noun / pronoun + infinitive is very common in English. This structure is used when an infinitive needs its own subject.

Compare:

I will be happy to do the housework. (= I will do the housework.)

I will be happy for Ann to do the housework. (= Ann will do the housework.)

My dream was to get a good job. (= I wanted to get a good job.)

My dream was for him to get a good job. (= I wanted him to get a good job.)

● Note that we use object pronouns after for.

I will be happy for them to help you. (NOT I will be happy for they to help you.)

● This structure is common after adjectives expressing wishes and other personal feelings.

She is anxious for her daughter to get a good job.

He said that he would be delighted for us to come and stay.

● For structures with preparatory it are also common.

It is important for the meeting to start at six.

Is it necessary for him to start work this week?

Note that this structure is not possible after likely and probable.

She will probably arrive this evening. OR It is probable that she will arrive this evening. (BUT NOT It is probable for her to arrive this evening.)

In order to y so as to

In order to y so as to se utilizan para expresar la finalidad, purpose en inglés. Vamos a ver estos dos y el contraste con to infinitive, además de so that.
1. To   =   In order to   =   So as to + INFINITIVE
Remember that in order to and so as to are more formal than to, but the meaning is the same. So depending on the situation, if formal or informal, you will use to or in order to/so as to. 
Examples: I’m buying butter to make a cake (informal).

When the purpose is negative, we use “not“, in order not to and so as not to. But we don’t use not to.

2. So that + Subject + Verb Example: if you are walking at night, wear white so that cars can see you.

"So that" means "para que" + subject (para que los coches te puedan ver). On many occasiones we use modal verbs after the subject, in this case “can“.  Now it’s your turn. Practise with these sentences:

 Join these pairs of sentences with to-infinitives: in order to, so as to, so that or in case. 

1. I’m buying paint to/ in order to/ so as to paint my hall door.
2. He left his rifle outside in order not to/ so as not to frighten his wife.
3. I wore boots in order not to / so as not to get my feet wet.
4. Don’t let him play with scissors in case he cuts himself/ so that he can’t cut himself.
5. I’ll post the card today so that it will be there on Billy’s birthday.
6. I’ll take off my shoes in order not to/ so as not to make any noise.
7. I’m saving up to/ in order to/ so as to buy a helicopter.
8. I said it at the top of my voice so that everybody could hear it.
9. Aeroplanes carry parachutes so that the crew can escape in case of fire.

How do we know when an infinitive is an adverb or a noun?

For example, He lives to swim and water-ski. (To swim functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb live).

I am going to the pond to fish. (to fish is functioning as an adverb modifying the verb go).

Chen has learned to tap dance. (To tap functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb learn)

Recognize an infinitive even when it is missing the to.

An infinitive will almost always begin with to. Exceptions do occur, however. An infinitive will lose its to when it follows certain verbs. These verbs are feel, hear, help, let, make, see, and watch.
The pattern looks like this:

Special Verb + Direct Object + Infinitive - to

Here are some examples:

As soon as Theodore felt the rain splatter on his hot, dusty skin, he knew that he had a good excuse to return the lawn mower to the garage.

Felt = special verb; rain = direct object; splatter = infinitive minus the to.

When Danny heard the alarm clock buzz, he slapped the snooze button and burrowed under the covers for ten more minutes of sleep.

Heard = special verb; alarm clock = direct object; buzz = infinitive minus the to.

Although Dr. Ribley spent an extra class period helping us understand logarithms, we still bombed the test.

Helping = special verb; us = direct object; understand = infinitive minus the to.

Because Freddie had never touched a snake, I removed the cover of the cage and let him pet Squeeze, my seven-foot python.

Let = special verb; him = direct object; pet = infinitive minus the to.

Since Jose had destroyed Sylvia's spotless kitchen while baking chocolate-broccoli muffins, she made him take her out for an expensive dinner.

Made = special verb; him = direct object; take = infinitive minus the to.

I said a prayer when I saw my friends mount the Kumba, a frightening roller coaster that twists and rolls like a giant sea serpent.

Saw = special verb; my friends = direct object; mount = infinitive minus the to.

Hoping to lose her fear of flying, Rachel went to the airport to watch passenger planes take off and land, but even this exercise did not convince her that jets were safe.

Watch = special verb; passenger planes = direct object; take, land = infinitives minus the to.

To split or not to split?

This is one thing that keeps bugging me, and maybe there's a direct answer.
Grammatically, which one is more correct of these two? Does it make a difference?

I tried not to do that.
I tried to not do that.

As some others have said, both are correct, and it is not wrong to say

I tried to not do that.

However, that is not the full story. Searching the Corpus of Contemporary American for various phrases (not to hold vs to not hold; not to know vs to not know; not to go vs to not go) reveals that the not to <verb> form is far more common:

 Searching the British National Corpus gives an even clearer bias - there, not to <verb> dominates by about 99%.
So in general usage, it is clear that not to <verb> is preferred by most writers.

Even if ambiguity does arise, my statement is that you can go right ahead and say "I tried to not do that" if you and your audience are fine with it (or maybe even if your audience isn't fine with it but you choose to ;). In fact, I might recommend it.

The general rule is that no word should separate the to of an infinitive from the simple form of the verb that follows. If a word does come between these two components, a split infinitive results. Look at the example that follows:

Wrong:	Sara hopes to quickly finish her chemistry homework so that she can return to the more interesting Stephen King novel she had to abandon.
Right:	Sara hopes to finish her chemistry homework quickly so that she can return to the more interesting Stephen King novel she had to abandon.

Some English teachers believe that thou shall not split infinitives was written on the stone tablets that Moses carried down from the mountain. Breaking the rule, in their eyes, is equivalent to killing, stealing, coveting another man's wife, or dishonoring one's parents. If you have this type of English teacher, then don't split infinitives!
Other folks, however, consider the split infinitive a construction, not an error. They believe that split infinitives are perfectly appropriate, especially in informal writing.
In fact, an infinitive will occasionally require splitting, sometimes for meaning and sometimes for sentence cadence. One of the most celebrated split infinitives begins every episode of Star Trek: "To boldly go where no one has gone before ...." Boldly to go? To go boldly? Neither option is as effective as the original!
When you are making the decision to split or not to split, consider your audience. If the piece of writing is very formal and you can maneuver the words to avoid splitting the infinitive, then do so. If you like the infinitive split and know that its presence will not hurt the effectiveness of your writing, leave it alone

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What Is an Infinitive Phrase?

An infinitive is a verb form that typically begins with the word to. An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive, plus any modifiers and complements. Infinitives and infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in a sentence. As nouns, infinitives and infinitive phrases can act either as subjects, direct objects, or predicate nominatives.

Noun as Subject Examples:

To dance is thrilling for me.

(To dance is the infinitive. It functions as a noun in the sentence, acting as a subject.)

To see the northern lights in person is incredible.

(To see is the infinitive, and to see the northern lights in person is the infinitive phrase. The infinitive phrase functions as a noun phrase in the sentence, acting as a subject.)

Noun as Direct Object Examples:

Cory wants to sing.

(To sing is the infinitive. It functions as a noun in the sentence, acting as a direct object.)

My dog needs to take a walk.

(To take is the infinitive, and to take a walk is the infinitive phrase. The infinitive phrase functions as a noun phrase in the sentence, acting as a direct object.)

Noun as Predicate Nominative Examples:

My favorite experience on the trip was to hang-glide.

(To hang-glide is the infinitive. It functions as a noun in the sentence, acting as a predicate nominative that identifies experience.)

Jay’s greatest aspiration was to climb Mount McKinley.

(To climb is the infinitive, and to climb Mount McKinley is the infinitive phrase. The infinitive phrase functions as a noun phrase in the sentence. It acts as a predicate nominative, identifying aspiration.)

Adjective Examples:

Pablo is an important person to know.

(To know is the infinitive. It functions as an adjective in the sentence, modifying person.)

Grizzly bears are impressive animals to see in the wild.

(To see is the infinitive, and to see in the wild is the infinitive phrase. The infinitive phrase functions as an adjective phrase in the sentence, modifying animals.)

Adverb Examples:

To sleep, bats hang upside down.

(To sleep is the infinitive. It functions as an adverb in the sentence, modifying hang.)

To identify the location of objects around them, dolphins use echolocation.

(To identify is the infinitive, and to identify the location of objects around them is the infinitive phrase. The infinitive phrase functions as an adverb phrase in the sentence, modifying use.)

Infinitive Phrases Versus Prepositional Phrases

The word to appears in infinitive phrases and can also appear in some prepositional phrases. To distinguish between these two types of phrases, pay attention to the word that directly follows to. If it is a verb, then the phrase is an infinitive phrase. Prepositional phrases do not contain verbs.

Infinitive Phrase Examples:

Infinitive Phrase: Thomas wants to take swimming lessons.

Prepositional Phrase: I brought my niece to the theater.

Split Infinitives

A split infinitive is an infinitive that has a word or words appearing between the to and the verb that follows it. Avoid split infinitives by keeping the to and the verb together. To correct a split infinitive, move words such as modifiers to a different location in the sentence.

Split Infinitive Examples:

Original: I need to definitely see that movie!

Revised: I definitely need to see that movie!

 Noun + to-infinitive clause

Would you please give me some more examples of the formulation noun + to-infinitive, such as permission to enter in the sentence: We were refused permission to enter the building? Is there any rule governing noun + to-infinitive? Many thanks.

There is no rule as such. All we can say is that the to-infinitive clause is used after certain abstract nouns to show what action they relate to. So we can say

 There is no rule as such. All we can say is that the to-infinitive clause is used after certain abstract nouns to show what action they relate to. So we can say:

• She has the ability to achieve good grades at university.
   
• I had an urge to put salt into his tea when he wasn't looking.

But to-infinitive clauses do not always follow abstract nouns. If we think of synonyms of ability, such as skill or aptitude, then the structures which these nouns elicit are: aptitude for + noun / verb-ing and skill in verb-ing. Compare the following:

• He shows an aptitude for (working with) figures and is destined to become an accountant.
   
• She demonstrated no little skill in bringing the boat into the harbour in such a rough sea.

It is a matter of learning which prepositional structures are required after which nouns.

Here are some more common abstract nouns which are often followed by a to-infinitive clause:

chance / opportunity	desire / inclination	need	reason
failure	refusal	promise	readiness	way

• You will have a chance / an opportunity to try out all sorts of water sports on this adventure holiday.
   
• I had no desire / inclination to attempt white-water rafting. I found it far too scary.
   
• There is no need / reason to stay in bed. You are not ill.
   
• His failure to gain a certificate was ascribed to pure laziness.
   
• They fulfilled their promise to buy their daughter a pony.
   
• Her readiness to sample everything that was put in front of her on the dining table resulted in her becoming a very good cook.
   
• His refusal to listen to my advice resulted in a drink-driving conviction.
   
• There was no way to stop him getting behind the steering wheel when under the influence of alcohol.

NB: way can be followed by of + verb-ing as well as to + infinitive:

• There was no way of stopping him from getting behind the steering wheel when under the influence of alcohol.

Note also that many of these nouns have related adjectives or verbs which are followed by to-inifinitive clauses:

1. He was permitted to smoke just one cigar after supper.
    
2. She felt unable to speak to her father after the divorce.
    
3. He had re-married and desired to have a child with his new wife.
    
4. Nobody felt inclined to argue with the gunman.
    
5. You don't need to be a millionaire to be happy.
    
6. Everybody else was laughing but I failed to appreciate the joke.
    
7. He is such a bad driver that I refused to get into his car.
    
8. I promised to lend him my golf clubs in time for the competition
    
9. I am always ready to eat blueberry pie with whipped cream.

I'm not a pretty boy who came to town and burst out of the gate, which is a good thing, because if I was, I probably wouldn't have been good enough then. I probably wouldn't have lasted. So I was very lucky not to be pretty.