It is somewhat misleading to use the word subject , however, since an infinitive phrase is not a full clause with a subject and a finite verb. Also notice that when it is a pronoun, the actor appears in the objective case me , not I , in the fourth example.
Certain verbs, when they take an infinitive direct object, require an actor for the infinitive phrase; others can't have an actor. Still other verbs can go either way, as the charts below illustrate. In all of these examples no actor can come between the italicized main finite verb and the infinitive direct-object phrase.
In all of these examples an actor is required after the italicized main finite verb and before the infinitive direct-object phrase. In all of these examples the italicized main verb can take an infinitive object with or without an actor. Punctuation: If the infinitive is used as an adverb and is the beginning phrase in a sentence, it should be set off with a comma; otherwise, no punctuation is needed for an infinitive phrase. Split infinitives occur when additional words are included between to and the verb in an infinitive.
Many readers find a single adverb splitting the infinitive to be acceptable, but this practice should be avoided in formal writing. The bare infinitives are in bold. They watched the ship sail. I heard the doorbell ring. When Margo slammed the door, she made the painting fall. I love to swim in lakes. These are made up of an infinitive and the words that modify and complement it.
Do you remember what these act as? The whole phrase together is acting as a noun the direct object of love , but you may have noticed that in lakes is an adverbial prepositional phrase. It is telling us where you like to swim. Does that means that an adverb in lakes is modifying a noun to swim? Since these guys are formed from verbs, they maintain some attributes of verbs even though they act as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Even if it is acting as a noun, its "verbness" allows it to take adverbial modifiers just like other verbs.
But it can still take adjectival modifiers just like other nouns. Place the word to on an angled line, and write the verb on a horizontal line coming off the angled line. With a forked line, connect this to the rest of the sentence wherever it should go. These guys can be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Learn the answers to these questions with definitions and examples of infinitive verbs. An infinitive verb is essentially the base form of a verb with the word "to" in front of it. When you use an infinitive verb, the "to" is a part of the verb. It is not acting as a preposition in this case.
Some examples of infinitive verbs include:. Infinitives are never conjugated with -ed or -ing at the end because they are not used as verbs in a sentence. The other verbals are gerunds and participles. The most basic form of a verb is the base form. The base form is just the verb, without the "to. You can use infinitives in several ways.
Because they function as nouns, adjectives and adverbs, they can appear almost anywhere. Now that you can spot an infinitive, take a look at the various ways they pop up in the English language.
The most common way to use infinitive verbs is as a direct object or an indirect object. You can use infinitive verbs after adjectives to clarify meaning.
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