Transcript The Infinitive &
Dragana Filipović
FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE
Present Pres. Cont.
Perfect Perf. Cont.
FORMS OF THE –ING FORM Active
(to) play (to) be playing (to) have played (to) have been playing
Passive
(to) be played / / (to) have been played /
Active
playing / having played
Passive
being played / / having been played
VERB TENSES Present Simple / Future Simple She cleans / She will clean FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE Present: (to) clean
Present Continuous / Future Continuous She is cleaning / She will be cleaning Present Continuous (to) be cleaning Past Simple / Present Perfect / Past Perfect/ Future Perfect She cleaned / She has cleaned / She had cleaned / She will have cleaned Past Continuous / Present Perfect Continuous / Past Perfect Continuous / Future Perfect Continuous She was cleaning/ She has been cleaning / She had been cleaning/ She will have been cleaning Perfect (to) have cleaned Perfect Continuous (to) have been cleaning
To express purpose:
You should take a few days off to recover.
After certain verbs (agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse etc).
He agreed to meet us tonight.
After certain adjectives (happy, glad, sorry, etc). I was sorry to hear about your accident.
After I would like / would love / would
prefer to express specific preference.
I’d love to visit China.
After certain nouns.
It’s such a pleasure to be with you.
After too / enough constructions.
It’s too early to leave the party.
He’s rich enough to afford a Porsche.
With it + be + adjective (+ of + noun/pronoun).
It was kind of her to say that.
With so + adjective + as.
Would you be so kind as to pass the sauce?
With “only” to express unsatisfactory
result.
He won in the lottery only to lose at the casino.
After be + the first/second
etc/next/last/best etc.
She was the first to congratulate him.
In the expression: for + noun/pronoun +
to –infinitive
For John to lend you his car was very unusual.
In expressions such as: to tell you the truth, to begin with, to be honest, etc.
To be honest, I didn’t know how to react.
If two infinitives are joined by ‘and’ or ‘or’, the ‘to’ of the second infinitive can be omitted: I’d prefer to go to a disco and dance or talk to my friends.
After most modal verbs (can, could, may etc.) He can go if he wants to.
After had better, would rather, would sooner.
You’d better go to bed.
After make / let / see / hear / feel in the active.
She made the baby eat all his soup.
But in the passive: be made / be heard / be seen + to-infinitive:
The baby was made to eat all his soup.
As a noun.
Smoking is harmful.
After: dislike, enjoy, hate, like, love, prefer – to express general preference.
I like swimming. (in general) Note: like + to-infinitive = it’s a good idea I like to visit them.
After certain verbs (admit, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, consider, continue, delay, deny, discuss, enjoy, escape, excuse, fancy, finish, forgive, go (physical activities), imagine, involve, keep (=continue), mention, mind, miss, object to, postpone, practise, prevent, quit, recall, report, tolerate, understand etc.) They have postponed moving house till next week.
After: I’m busy, it’s no use, it’s (no) good, it’s (not) worth, what’s the use of, can’t help, there’s no point (in), in addition to, as well as, have trouble, have a hard/difficult time.
There’s no point in arguing.
What’s the use of crying? It was your fault.
After: spend/waste (time, money etc.) You waste too much time watching TV.
After prepositions.
He became rich by working hard and without borrowing from anyone.
After: look forward to, be/get used to, be/get accustomed to, object to, admit (to), etc.
I object to being told what to do with my life.
After: hear, listen, notice, see, watch – to express an incomplete action, an action in progress or a long action.
I saw him throwing rubbish out of the window. (I saw part of the action .) BUT: hear, listen, see, watch + infinitive without “to” express a complete action, something that someone saw or heard from beginning to end.
I saw him throw rubbish out of the window. (I saw it all .)
Example: The police made the bank robbers ____ (give) themselves up.
The police made the bank robbers give (give) themselves up.
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The criminals were forced ___ (surrender).
She’d better ___ (have) a good excuse for being so late.
They hope ___ (make) a lot of money in their new business.
Imagine ___ (live) in a big house like that!
I’d rather not ___ (visit) my parents this weekend.
He worked for 15 hours without ___ (take) a break.
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The criminals were forced to surrender.
She’d better have a good excuse for being so late.
They hope to make a lot of money in their new business.
Imagine living in a big house like that!
I’d rather not visit my parents this weekend.
He worked for 15 hours without taking a break.
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It was such a shock ___(hear) from her after all those years.
Ana would love ___ (lie) on a beach now, instead of studying.
There’s no point ___ (get) there early, because the gates don’t open till 10 am.
You should ___ (see) his face when she told him the news.
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It was such a shock to hear from her after all those years.
Ana would love to lie on a beach now, instead of studying.
There’s no point (in) getting there early, because the gates don’t open till 10 am.
You should have seen his face when she told him the news.