an infinitive or infinitive phrase
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases An infinitive is the present-tense form of a verb preceded by the word to. An infinitivemay be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.Examples: To exercise is a healthful habit. (noun)Here is laundry to wash. (adjective)The choir was ready to sing.nfinitives and Infinitive Phrases An infinitive is the present-tense form of a verb preceded by the word to. An infinitivemay be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. An infinitive is a verb form that typically begins with the word to. An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive, plus any modifiers and complements. Infinitives and infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in a sentence.As nouns, infinitives and infinitive phrases can act either as subjects, direct objects, or predicate nominatives.plit Infinitives. A split infinitive is an infinitive that has a word or words appearing between the to and the verb that follows it. Avoid split infinitives by keeping the to and the verb together. To correct a split infinitive, move words such as modifiers to a different location in the sentence. An infinitive phrase is the infinitive form of a verb plus any complements and modifiers. The complement of an infinitive verb will often be its direct object, and the modifier will often be an adverb.For example: Here are some examples of infinitive phrases (shaded): An infinitive phrase can play the role of a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.Here are some infinitive phrases (shaded) used as nouns : Here are some infinitive phrases used as adjectives : Here are some infinitive phrases used as adverbs : Most infinitives are preceded by to, but after certain verbs, the to is dropped.he complement of an infinitive verb will often be its direct object, and the modifier will often be an adverb. For example: Here are some examples of infinitive phrases (shaded): An infinitive phrase can play the role of a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. (infinitive phrase used as an adverb modifying the verb changed). Every verb has a base infinitive form. We think of the infinitive as the verb with the preposition to in front of it, as in to have, to hold, to love, to honor, to cherish. Infinitive phrases can act as (1) nouns, (2) adjectives, or (3) adverbs.The most prevalent use is probably the adverbial use.infinitive phrase used as a noun, the object of the transitive verb want). She's got a ticket to ride. (infinitive phrase used as an adjective modifying the noun ticket). To win the tournament, Tiger Woods changed his swing. 1 An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb; it may be used as a noun, adjective, or adverb. 2  An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive plus modifier(s), object(s), complement(s), and/or actor(s). An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive plus modifier(s), object(s), complement(s), and/or actor(s). 2  An infinitive phrase requires a comma only if it is used as an adverb at the beginning of a sentence. Split Infinitives. A split infinitive is an infinitive that has a word or words appearing between the to and the verb that follows it. Avoid split infinitives by keeping the to and the verb together. To correct a split infinitive, move words such as modifiers to a different location in the sentence.plit Infinitives. A split infinitive is an infinitive that has a word or words appearing between the to and the verb that follows it. Avoid split infinitives by keeping the to and the verb together. To correct a split infinitive, move words such as modifiers to a different location in the sentence. An infinitive is a verbal--usually preceded by the particle to --that can function in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.This exercise will test your ability to recognize infinitive phrases and distinguish them from prepositional phrases.Each sentence below contains at least one infinitive phrase.n infinitive is a verbal--usually preceded by the particle to --that can function in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Actors: In these last two examples the actor of the infinitive phrase could be roughly characterized as the subject of the action or state expressed in the infinitive. 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. An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive plus modifier(s), object(s), complement(s), and/or actor(s). 2  An infinitive phrase requires a comma only if it is used as an adverb at the beginning of a sentence. Infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples: To finish her shift without spilling another pizza into a customer's lap is Michelle's only goal tonight.ecognize an infinitive phrase when you see one. An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive [ to + simple form of the verb]. It will include objects and/or modifiers. Here are some examples: Infinitive as an Adjective Unlike gerund phrases, infinitive phrases can be used as adjectives to modify a noun. In such a case, the infinitive phrase will follow the now Ex. I need a book to read on the beach. To read on the beach describes the noun “book,” which is the direct object of the main verb need.nfinitive as a Subject Infinitives can function as subjects, but gerunds and gerund phrases take this role more commonly and usually sound more normal. Typically, an infinitive at the beginning of a sentence will be part of an adverbial phrase, Ex. To run seemed dangerous given the conditions.
An infinitive is a verb form that typically begins with the word to. An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive, plus any modifiers and complements.