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The infinitive form of a verb is the base form of the verb, unchanged by tense, aspect, or mood. It is often preceded by the word "to."
For example:
to walk
to eat
to sleep
Infinitives can function as nouns in a sentence, serving as the subject, object, or complement of a verb.
For example:
To walk is good exercise. (Subject of the sentence)
She loves to dance. (Direct object of the verb)
His goal is to succeed. (Subject complement)
Infinitives can also function as adjectives, modifying nouns to provide additional information about them.
For example:
He is the man to trust. (Describing the man)
This is a book to read. (Describing the book)
She is a person to admire. (Describing the person)
Infinitives can function as adverbs, modifying verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to provide information about manner, purpose, or result.
For example:
She ran to catch the bus. (Purpose - modifying the verb "ran")
The movie was too scary to watch. (Result - modifying the adjective "scary")
He walked quickly to avoid being late. (Purpose - modifying the adverb "quickly")
In English, it's acceptable to place an adverb between "to" and the verb in an infinitive. This is known as a split infinitive.
For example:
He decided to quickly finish the task.
She wants to carefully consider her options.
In certain constructions, particularly after modal verbs (such as can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would), the infinitive is used without "to." This is called the bare infinitive.
For example:
He can swim.
They should leave now.
I will help you.
Some verbs, particularly causative verbs like make, let, have, and help, can be followed by the base form of the verb without "to." This is called the zero infinitive.
For example:
She made him cry.
They let us go early.
