The infinitive answers the question. Infinitive in English. Negative form of the infinitive

Instruction

You can determine the infinitive by the question. Find a verb and ask a question to it. If this is a verb in an indefinite form, then it will answer the question “what to do?”, “what to do?”. For example, grow, bake, flood, breed, lie down.
There is always a soft sign at the end of such verbs.

It is difficult to distinguish the infinitive from the personal form if the word is written in transcription. The record of the finals of these forms is the same: [tutor "itsa] (studies) - [tutor" ita] (studies). In this case, pay attention to , the vowel before [-ca] or the context where you can ask a question. If this work is not feasible, then both forms are appropriate.

The indefinite form of the verb is included in the compound nominal predicate. In this case, the sentence contains two heterogeneous verbs. To determine which of them is the infinitive, you need to designate the grammatical basis. The predicate will consist of two verbs. The one that contains the lexical meaning is the infinitive, it needs a soft sign. So, in the sentence "Students will be able to work out additionally" the predicate "will be able to work out." And the indefinite form is "to work out."

The indefinite form of the verb can act as secondary members of the sentence. In such cases, it can be determined by following the logic of reasoning. Ask a question of the indirect case from the predicate to the infinitive. If possible, then in this case it is an addition. For example, in the sentence “The coach told us to do a warm-up”, the word “do” will be an object (said what?). In this case, reason like this: the action indicated in the verb “ordered” is performed by the coach, and others will perform it. So this is not a predicate, because the sentence is simple.

Circumstances expressed in the indefinite form of the verb most often answer the questions “for what purpose?”, “For what reason?”. In the sentence “I came to the gym to train”, we ask the question “I came for what purpose?” to the infinitive.
For the definition, ask a question from a noun. In the sentence “I am fluent in the ability to play the guitar,” the infinitive is the definition: the ability (what?) To play.

If you want to learn a language, start with verbs. After all, it is this part of speech that occupies the largest place in all reference books and dictionaries of any language, including English. Despite the fact that the verb has several forms, in these very dictionaries it is usually given in its simple (initial) form, and for good reason. After all, the infinitive in English, perhaps, is used more often than others. It is about him that we will talk today.

First, let's figure out what an infinitive is.

An infinitive in English is an indefinite or initial form of a verb that names actions and can function as both a noun and a verb. The infinitive refers to non-personal verb forms, that is, to English forms that do not have a number, person, tense or mood.

The infinitive has certain features that characterize and distinguish it from any other kind of verb:

1. The infinitive is preceded by the particle to, which, however, may be omitted in certain cases. However, if the particle is present almost always, it stands just before the infinitive.
2. The infinitive answers the questions "what to do?", "what to do?"

Infinitive in English: forms

If in Russian there is only one infinitive form, in English there are six of them. Table for clarity:

The passive infinitive in Continuous and Perfect Continuous is simply not used. Other forms are used extremely rarely, with the exception of the simple one. In the absence of such forms in Russian, they are usually translated in a simple form.

Infinitive turns

The infinitive construction in English is divided into 3 following types:

1. Complex object, also known as The Objective Infinitive Construction.
2. Complex subject (Complex subject) or The Subjective Infinitive Construction (Subjective infinitive construction). The subject infinitive is usually used with passive verbs.
3. The For-to-Infinitive construction or infinitive construction with a preposition

Despite such a variety of infinitive phrases, they are not always used. The object infinitive phrase is the most used phrase in the list, followed by the subject infinitive phrase.

Functions of the infinitive in a sentence

In a sentence, the infinitive can act as almost any member of the sentence.

1. As a subject:

1. And the verb part of the compound predicate:

1. In the definition function:

It is worth noting that the word that defines a noun in Russian may not always look like a standard definition.

1. Purpose condition:

Often, unions can be used before the infinitive in this case: in order to (in order to) and so as (to):

Usage with particle to

The infinitive with the particle to is used in 99 percent of cases. For example:

1. An objective infinitive phrase almost always requires the particle to. This infinitive phrase is characterized by verbs that express:

• Desire: want (want), wish (wish), desire (want):

• Mental activity: think (think), believe (believe), expect (expect), suppose (assume):

• The object infinitive turnover also includes words expressing an order, permission or prohibition: order (order), encourage (encourage), allow (allow), permit (allow), prohibit (prohibit):

1. The subjective infinitive turnover also did not stand aside. In it, the particle to is used with verbs:

• say (say), state (declare), allow (allow) in the suffering voice:

• perception and mental activity in the passive voice:

• with such verbs as appear / seem (seem), happen (happen):

• And also with to be (un) likely - probably / unlikely, to be certain / to be sure - to be sure / definitely:

1. The particle to in English is also inherent in the infinitive turnover with the preposition for. Such a construction is formed by attaching the preposition for to a noun or pronoun with an infinitive. The noun in this case is in the common case, and the pronoun is in the object case. Personal pronouns in English in the objective case should in no case be confused with their subjective (or subjective) case:

subjective case	Objective case
I - I	me - me / me / me
we - we	us - us / us / us
you - you	you - you / you
you - you	you - you / you / you
he - he it - this / it	him - him / him / them her - her / her
they - they	them - them / them / them

As you can see, the object case tends to be used as an object, while the subject pronouns are characterized by the role of the subject.

The object case can be translated in various ways, however, since it is preceded by the preposition for (for), accordingly, in this case, the object case of the pronoun will answer the questions “for whom?” or "to whom?"

Consider the object case and the infinitive as an example:

1. The verb in the infinitive without to can also be used in short imperative sentences. Usually they do not pay attention to the subject and other members of the sentence. Moreover, these terms can be omitted.

Go!	Forward!
look at the picture.	Look at this picture.

Infinitive in English: gerund or infinitive

The use of the infinitive in English can sometimes cause a number of difficulties. Everything seems to be simple, you take a verb from the dictionary and insert it into an English sentence. However, with further development of the forms of English verbs, when the study reaches the gerund or the verb with the ing suffix, confusion begins to occur in the head. To avoid such a problem, let's look at verbs that are used only in the infinitive or only in the ing form:

1. Verbs such as agree (agree), refuse (refuse), manage (manage), decide (decide), plan (plan), offer (offer), attempt (try), forget (forget), promise (promise), deserve ( deserve) are always used with the infinitive. These English verbs just need to be memorized. Table examples:

1. At the same time, there are verbs that are used in a gerund and do not have an infinitive form after them. These include: miss (bored), give up (stop), go on (continue), carry on (continue), involve (include), finish (finish). A few examples:

1. There are also words that can be used in both forms without much change in meaning:

1. The meanings of other words may change depending on which form you use: infinitive or gerund. Study the table with such examples:

Infinitive in English: infinitive without particle to

There are also situations in which you need to use infinitives, but without the to particle. So, for example, the to particle is omitted after:

1. English verbs make (to force) and let (to allow) with a noun or object pronoun:

1. The verbs of perception feel (feel), see (see), hear (hear), for which the object infinitive turnover is responsible.

1. Modal verbs:

Exceptions are modal verbs, which have the particle to in their composition. These include: have (got) to, ought to and be to.

Infinitive in English: negation

Particular attention should be paid to the formation of negative sentences. The fact is that to use the infinitive in a sentence, you can use two forms of negation. You must not confuse them, because otherwise you can simply be misunderstood.

• To the sentences for negating the main action (the verb before the infinitive), a simple English negative form with an auxiliary verb and a negative particle not is added:

• To negate an action in the infinitive, a negative not is placed before the particle to:

Infinitive in English: other features

1. If several verbs with infinitive forms are used in the sentence, and the particle to is used in their case, then it is put only to the first infinitive:

1. The English sentence is characterized by another feature: if in the sentence the infinitive that was used at the beginning is reused at the end, the verb itself is usually omitted, and only the to particle remains in the sentence, which implies it (this verb):

She asks me to go to the party but I don't want to (go).

She asks me to go to the party, but I don't want to (go).

Today we looked at the infinitive in English. As you can see, the use of the infinitive is not very difficult, but there are certain points in its use that should be taken into account. To consolidate the topic, periodically return to the rules and examples in the tables, do exercises and reinforce each such exercise with practice. After all, there is nothing more simple and effective in learning a language than communicating with native speakers.

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In English infinitive(Infinitive) - this is, which denotes an action, but does not indicate a person and a number. In Russian, the English infinitive corresponds to the indefinite form of the verb, which answers the questions “what to do? what to do?": to live - to live.

The formal sign of the infinitive is the particle to:

to write- write, to read- read, to drink- drink, to think- think.

If the verb is preceded by a particle to, then in front of you is the infinitive (or the indefinite form of the verb). Sometimes the infinitive can be used without a particle to.

The negative form is formed by a particle not, which is placed before the infinitive: not to use - do not use.

It is difficult to use .- Difficult use.
It is difficult not to use .- Difficult do not use.

Infinitive forms

In English, the infinitive has 6 forms (unlike Russian, which has only one form). To understand well the meanings of the forms of the infinitive, it is necessary to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200band the verb.

Simple infinitive. Indefinite Infinitive

infinitive in the form Indefinite (Simple) or simple infinitive is the basic form and represents the verb in the dictionary (for convenience, in the dictionary the particle to often omitted). This form of the infinitive belongs to the same tense as the verb that precedes it.

I was happy to see her. — I was glad to see her (simple active infinitive).
The child didn't like to be washed. - The child did not like being washed (a simple infinitive in the passive voice).

Compare the use of the simple infinitive in active and passive voice: to help - to be helped
I am happy to help you. - I am glad to help. (I'm glad I'm helping).
I am happy to be helped. - I'm glad they're helping me.

Perfect infinitive. Perfect Infinitive

infinitive in the form Perfect or perfect infinitive denotes an action that precedes the action of the verb-predicate.

I was very happy to have met you. — I am very glad that I met you (active perfect infinitive).
Sorry not to have noticed you. — I'm sorry I didn't notice you (active perfect infinitive).
The child was happy to have been brought to the circle. The child was happy to be taken to the circus (passive perfect infinitive).

Compare the use of a simple (Simple Infinitive) and a perfect (Perfect Infinitive) infinitive in the active voice: to see - to have seen
I am happy to see you. - Glad to see you. (Glad to see you.)
I am happy to have seen you. - I'm glad I saw you.

Long infinitive. Continuous Infinitive

infinitive in the form continuous or long infinitive emphasizes the duration of the action that occurs simultaneously with the action of the verb-predicate. This form is used only in the active voice.

He seems to be writing something. - He seems to be writing something now (long infinitive in the active voice).

Perfectly continuous infinitive. Perfect Continuous Infinitive

infinitive in the form Perfect Continuous or perfect continuous infinitive emphasizes that the action began earlier than the action of the verb-predicate, lasted for some period of time and is still going on. This form is also not used in the passive voice.

He seemed to have been writing all day. He seemed to have been writing all day.

Forms of the infinitive in the table

The meaning of different forms of the infinitive in the table
Infinitive forms	What am I happy about?
Simple	I am happy to speak to you.	Glad to talk to you. (I always rejoice when I talk to you).
continuous	I am happy to be speaking to you.	I'm glad I'm talking to you now.
Perfect	I am happy to have spoken to you.	I'm glad I talked to you.
Perfect Continuous	I am happy to have been speaking to you.	I am glad that I have been talking to you for a long time (all this time).
simple passive	I am (always) glad to be told the news.	I'm always glad when they tell me the news.
Perfect Passive	I am happy to have been told the news.	I'm glad I got the news.

The use of the infinitive without the particle to

Most often, the infinitive in English is used with the particle to, but there are cases when the particle to not used before the infinitive.

The infinitive is used without particle to in the following cases:

• After can, could, must, may, might, will, shall, should, would and need (in the value of modal). Exceptions are modal verbs have to, ought to, be to.

• AT complex addition after verbs of sense perception feel(feel), hear(hear), see(see), watch(observe), notice(notice):
  

  I saw him leave the office. — I saw him leave the office.
  I heard him go down the stairs. — I heard him come down the stairs.
  

  But: if the listed verbs feel, see, hear, watch, notice are used in the passive voice, then the infinitive is preceded by a particle to:
  

  He was seen to leave the office. We saw him leave the office.
  

• In complex addition after verbs make(meaning "force, compel") and let(meaning "permit, allow"). Again, if these verbs are in the passive voice, then the infinitive is used with the particle to.
  

  I can't make you take this medicine. “I can't force you to take this medicine.
  We let her go to the party. We let her go to the party.
  She was made to rewrite the test. - She was forced to rewrite the test (was made is a passive verb).
  

• After the verb help(to help) the infinitive can also be used with the particle to, and without it. Both options are acceptable, while the option without to less formal.

Infinitive (infinitive) is an impersonal verb form that only names an action, without specifying either a person or a number. The infinitive answers questions what to do? what to do?: to read read, read; to write write, write; to buy buy, buy; to sell sell, sell.

The infinitive has no special ending; its formal feature is the particle to, which has no independent meaning and does not take on stress, but shows that the word following it is an infinitive. However, it is often omitted. So, the particle to is not placed before the infinitive if it is used after modal verbs or verbs of sensory perception as part of the "complex addition" construction.

The infinitive originated from the verbal and retained the properties of this part of speech, performing in the sentence, like the infinitive in Russian, the syntactic functions of a noun.

№
p/p

FUNCTION

EXAMPLE

Subject

That skate is pleasant.
Ride nice to skate.

To read is a great pleasure.
Read (reading) - great pleasure.

Predicative

Your duty was to inform me about it immediately.
Your duty was to report me about it immediately.

The duty of every student is to master at least one foreign language.
The duty of each student is master in at least one foreign language.

Part of the compound verb predicate in combination with modal verbs and with verbs expressing the beginning, continuation or end of an action ( to begin, to continue, to end, to stop) or attitude to the action indicated by the infinitive ( to want, to decide, to intend)

She began to translate the article.
She started transfer article.

She must translate this article today.
She must translate this article today.

He began to translate this article.
He started transfer this article.

Addition

I asked him to help me.
I asked him help to me.

He had promised me to draw this map.
He promised me draw this card.

Definition. The infinitive in the definition function comes after the word being defined

Not expressed a desire to help me.
He expressed his desire help to me.

The device to be tested has been brought to our library.
Appliance, to be tested (probable) brought to our laboratory.

Purpose circumstance or consequences. In the function of circumstance, the infinitive can be both at the beginning of the sentence and at the end. In the function of the circumstance of the goal, the infinitive may be preceded by conjunctions: in order, so as in order to

I went to the station to see off a friend. I went to the station to see a friend off.

You must work much in order to master a foreign language. = In order to master a foreign language you must work much.
You must work hard to master foreign language.

He went there so as to help you.
He went there to help to you.

№ p/p	PROPERTY	EXAMPLE
	The infinitive of a transitive verb can have a direct object after it.	I told him to post the letter. I told him send letter. I was asked to send this letter. I was asked to send this letter.
	The infinitive can be determined by the circumstance expressed by the adverb	I asked him to speak slowly. I asked him talk slowly. He hoped to finish his work soon. He hoped soon finish work.
	The infinitive has tense and voice forms. In English, transitive verbs have four active forms and two passive forms.		Active	passive
		Indefinite	to ask	to be asked
		continuous	to be asking	does not exist
		Perfect	to have asked	to have been asked
		Perfect continuous	to have been asking	does not exist

The infinitive can express an action that is not related to a specific person or object:

In most cases, however, the action expressed by the infinitive refers to a specific person or thing:

(The action expressed by the infinitive to go refers to the subject I.)

Ask him to come early.

Ask him come early.

(The action expressed by the infinitive to come refers to the addition him.)

When an action expressed by the infinitive is performed by the person or object to which it refers, then the infinitive is used in the Active form:

When the action expressed by the infinitive is performed on the person or object to which it refers, then the infinitive is used in the Passive form:

FEATURES OF THE USE OF INFINITIVE FORMS
№ p/p	CAN EXPRESS	EXAMPLE
	INDEFINITE INFINITIVE
	Action (or state), simultaneous with the action indicated by the personal form of the verb (predicate)	We want to learn. We want to study.
	Action (or state) irrespective of the moment of its commission	We know aluminum to be one of the lightest metals. We know that aluminum is one of the lightest metals (= is one of...).
	Future action after modal verbs may , must , should , ought , and after verbs to expect expect, suppose, to intend to intend , to hope to hope , to want to want and a number of others	You must leave tomorrow. You must leave tomorrow. I intend to begin the experiment. I intend to begin experiment.
	CONTINUOUS INFINITIVE
	The action in its development, occurring simultaneously with the action indicated by the verb in the personal form	I knew him to be writing an article. I knew that he writes article.
	PERFECT INFINITIVE
	The action that preceded the action expressed by the verb in the personal form	I know him to have written this article last night. I know that he wrote this article last night.
	After the past tense of verbs to intend, to hope, to expect, to mean expresses an action that was not taken contrary to expectation, hope, intention or assumption	I meant to have done it. I supposed do this is.
	The assumption that the action has already taken place. In combination with the modal verbs must and may, it is translated as a verb in the past tense with the words " probably should be maybe"	My watch must have stopped during the night. My watch must be stopped at night.
	After modal verbs should, would, could, might, ought and was (were) expresses regret or reproach about an action that should have or could have taken place, but actually did not take place. It is translated into Russian by a verb in the subjunctive mood with the words "should", etc.	You might have asked me about it. Could you ask me about it (but didn't ask - reproach).
	PERFECT CONTINUOUS INFINITIVE
	Expresses an action that took place over a period of time. preceding action expressed by the verb in the personal form	I know him to have been writing this article for 2 hours. I know that he wrote this article within 2 hours.

INFINITIVE WITH TO

The infinitive is usually preceded by the particle to: to speak to talk, to buy to buy, to read to read.

If there are two side by side in a sentence, connected by the union and or or, then the to particle before the second of them is usually omitted:

The particle to is sometimes used at the end of a sentence without a verb when that verb is mentioned earlier in the sentence. In this case, the emphasis falls on her. This use of the particle is often found after the verbs to want to want, to wish to wish, to mean to mean, to try try, try to allow, to be going to gather, ought follows, to have in the meaning of "should", should (would) like would like etc.

CASES OF USE OF THE INFINITIVE WITHOUT THE PARTICLE TO
№ p/p	USE CASE	EXAMPLE
	After modal verbs must, can (could), may (might) and need	You must do it at once. You must this is do immediately. Not can speak German. He can talk in German. May I come in? Can to me to come in? need he come here? Need whether he come here?
	After the verbs to make to force, to let to allow, and sometimes also after to help to help (especially often in the USA)	Not made me read this book. He forced me read this book. I let him go there. I allowed to him go there. Help me (to) do it. Help to me do this is.
	In the turnover "complex subject" after the verbs of sensory perception: to see to see, to watch to observe, to hear to hear, to feel to feel and some others	I saw her leave the room. I saw her leave the room. I heard her sing. I heard, how is she sings. I felt him put his hand on my shoulder. I felt, How is he put hand on my shoulder.
	When the verbs listed in paragraphs 2 and 3 are used in the passive voice, the infinitive following it is used with the particle to	Not was made to do it. His forced this is do. Not was seen to leave the house. seen, How is he came out from home.
	After the expressions had better, would rather, would sooner would prefer	You had better go there at once. To you would be better go there immediately. I would rather don't tell them about it. I would prefer don't speak them about it. Didn't say he would sooner stay at home. He said that he would prefer stay at home.

From this mysterious form begins the study. To correctly find it in context, you need to know exactly What is the infinitive in Russian. The concept of "verb infinitive" exists in such a position of this part of speech, in which it is impossible to determine the time of the action, and which subject performs it. When asked what form of the verb the infinitive is, there is a specific answer: the initial form.

In contact with

Translated from Latin, it sounds like this: “indefinite”. The questions that the initial form answers are: what to do? and what to do? Such parts of speech represent the action in a generalized way, without pointing to a specific person. This generalized action is the grammatical verbal meaning for the infinitive. There are several values, and they are permanent. According to the word in indefinite form, its form is determined. Examples of such dependence of the view on the question:

• Draw - what to do? - an imperfect view.
• Draw - what to do? - perfect view.

Important! The definition of the verb aspect depends on the prefix C - in the question.

Recognition

Suffixes

All personal forms have one feature: each of them has its own indefinite one. The infinitive answers questions with suffixes -ty or -ty. Knowing that these are suffixes of the infinitive, one can easily perform its morphemic analysis. These suffixes are formative. There are others infinitive suffixes, which pass into other morphemes:

• -yva- - -iva,
• -ova- - eva-.

Particular attention should be paid to the suffix -ch. This part came from the Old Slavonic language and is used in some words in the present tense. But the alternating h//k is included in the root.

Categories

How to determine the number, inclination, face? This is also impossible to do. The only exceptions are the following categories:

1. View (speak - speak);
2. Recurrence (to cut - to get a haircut);
3. Transitivity (read, sunbathe).

The indefinite helps to determine the conjugation of the form of the verb in which the personal endings are unstressed.

Important! The conjugation rule is based on where the word ends.

Education

This fact is noteworthy: from the basis of the initial, the formation of all verb forms occurs. This function can also be performed by the stem of verbs in the present tense. In this case, the infinitive takes on the formation:

• past tense;
• subjunctive mood;
• in the past time;
• past participles.

For the formation of all other verb forms is responsible basis of the present.

Syntactic role

In terms of its role in a sentence, the infinitive is a mobile part of speech. He may be in the role any member of the proposal. How to define this function is clearly seen in specific examples.

1. Predicate: To live - to serve the Motherland. Cell phones are suggested to be turned off.
2. Subject: Shouting is prohibited.
3. Definition inconsistent: Attempting to sneak away from the event proved to be impossible.
4. Addendum: I advise you to follow his instructions.
5. Circumstance: We went to our favorite lake to swim.

Infinitive as subject

Features of some members of the proposal

If the infinitive acts as a predicate, then it will denote an action performed either by the subject himself or by the person to whom it indicated. When it acts as a circumstance, most often attention is focused on the purpose for which the action of the object is performed. With the addition, one more character is connected, which cannot even be discussed, only a narration is being conducted about his action.

Infinitive as a predicate

Punctuation

When the rule of putting a dash between the subject and the predicate is studied, attention is focused on the indefinite form of the verb. If both the subject and the predicate are expressed with this, then a dash between them is necessary. A striking example of such a syntactic construction is the call from the Ministry of Health, which is familiar to every citizen who cares about their health. (Smoking is bad for your health!).

Infinitive as circumstance

Finding the foundation

Knowing the features of the formation of the invariable part of speech, it is easy to find its basis. it necessary for education such as participles and participles. For example, take the verb "done". It is in the singular, feminine and past tense. The stem must not contain the ending and suffix of the past tense. Thus, removing the ending -a and the suffix -l-, the desired stem of the infinitive is easily obtained: "did-".

An unmistakable definition

Every student must find initial shape and know how to put a verb in it. Knowing that the morphemes -ty and -ty are suffixes of the indefinite form of the verb, one can accurately determine that this is an infinitive. Now you can ask questions: “what to do?” or “what to do?”. For example, the verb "draw" requires the question "what to do?". And for “drawing”, only the question “what am I doing?” is suitable. Thus, the first word is an indefinite form, because in the second case the first person and singular are easily determined. There are no such categories in the verb “to draw”, it is indefinite.

The infinitive as a definition

What about the ending?

Until now, there has been heated debate among linguists about whether there is infinitive ending. According to the law of the appearance of a given morpheme, any part of speech must change. But uncertainty is the peculiarity of its initial, immutable form. And if so, where does the ending come from?

Conclusion

Of course, the spelling of any part of speech requires specific knowledge and its application. But there is no such morphological unit to which there would be the same close attention as to the verb in its initial position. This category has another name: the initial form.