An infinitive is the most basic form of a verb, typically preceded by the word “to.” In English, it comes in two forms: the “to-infinitive” (e.g., to run, to write) and the “bare infinitive” (e.g., run, write). They serve various\u00a0functions in sentences, acting as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.<\/p>\n
Ex: To eat (To-infinitive)
Ex: Eat (Bare infinitive)<\/p>\n\n\n
As a Noun<\/strong> Ex: To sleep<\/strong> is the only thing I desire right now. (Subject) As an Adjective<\/strong> Ex: I need a book to read<\/strong>. (Which book? The book to read.)<\/p>\n As an Adverb<\/strong> Ex: I came here to learn<\/strong>. (Modifying the verb “came”) A split infinitive is an infinitive that has an adverb between “to” and the verb.<\/p>\n Ex: To boldly<\/strong> go where no one has gone before. Split infinitives are often considered more casual, but they are generally accepted in modern English. An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive and any accompanying objects, modifiers, or both.<\/p>\n Ex: To write a bestselling novel (To write + a bestselling novel) 1. Identify the infinitive in the following sentence: “She wants to visit the museum.”<\/p>\n 2. Turn the infinitive into a split infinitive: “To read”<\/p>\n 3. For each sentence, identify the infinitive or infinitive phrase:<\/p>\n a) We hope to win the championship. 4. Determine the function of the infinitive in each sentence: noun, adjective, or adverb.<\/p>\n a) She likes to read. 5. Take the given infinitives and create a sentence using a split infinitive.<\/p>\n a) To eat 6. Correct the sentences that contain infinitive errors.<\/p>\n a) I like to of swim. An infinitive is the most basic form of a verb, typically preceded by the word “to.” In English, it comes in two forms: the “to-infinitive” (e.g., to run, to write) and the “bare infinitive” (e.g., run, write). They serve various\u00a0functions in sentences, acting as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Ex: To eat (To-infinitive)Ex: Eat (Bare infinitive) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-5781","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5781"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5783,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5781\/revisions\/5783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Infinitives can serve as subjects, direct objects, or subject complements.<\/p>\n
Ex: I like to read<\/strong> novels. (Direct Object)
Ex: My goal is to graduate<\/strong>. (Subject Complement)<\/p>\n
Infinitives can modify nouns, often answering the question of \u201cwhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n
Infinitives can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.<\/p>\n
Ex: She is eager to help<\/strong>. (Modifying the adjective “eager”)<\/p>\n\n\nSplit Infinitives<\/h2>\n\n\n
Ex: She decided to quickly<\/strong> eat before the meeting.<\/p>\n
However, for formal writing, it\u2019s often advised to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\nInfinitive Phrases<\/h2>\n\n\n
Ex: To swim across the lake (To swim + across the lake)<\/p>\n\n\nPractice Exercise<\/h2>\n\n\n
b) They’re learning to speak French.
c) He agreed to help us with the project.
d) To swim in the ocean is refreshing.
e) She decided to quickly finish her work.<\/p>\n
b) The book to read is “1984.”
c) They went to the park to play.
d) To sleep is a luxury these days.
e) She chose the dress to impress.<\/p>\n
b) To write
c) To think
d) To go
e) To sing<\/p>\n
b) He should of know better.
c) They ought to not do that.
d) I decided to quickly to eat<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"