English

Practical English Grammar


the infinitive and infinitive phrase


➲The third type of verbal, in addition to the participle and the gerund,
is the infinitive. An infinitive is composed of the word to plus a verb.
Examples of the infinitive include to remember, to cuddle, to pacify,
and to yodel.
Infinitives can function as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

To succeed is Ted’s goal. (noun—subject of the sentence)
Franklin’s goal was to succeed. (noun—predicate nominative)
Melissa wanted to succeed. (noun—direct object)
Kelly has the drive to succeed. (adjective—Which drive? the drive
to succeed)
Kelly will endeavor to succeed. (adverb—How will Kelly endeavor?
to succeed)

➲ An infinitive phrase is composed of the infinitive, its modifiers (or
describers), and all the other words that are needed to complete the idea
begun by the infinitive.

To stay up later was the child’s wish. (noun—subject)
Lorene desired to be a doctor. (noun—direct object)
My cousin’s goal was to make the New York Yankees. (noun—
predicate nominative)
Henry’s ultimate goal was to make other people happy. (noun—
predicate nominative)
The musical to see is Oklahoma! (adjective—Which musical?
Oklahoma!)
The strong lifeguard swam out to save the struggling swimmer.
(adverb—Why did the lifeguard swim out? to save the struggling
swimmer)

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Notes


Practical English Grammar - Notes
1. compound subjects part two
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2. Quotation Marks Part Three
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3. Italics Hyphens and Brackets
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4. complete and simple subjects
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5. Sound a like words Part Four
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6. the adjective clause
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7. what good writers do
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8. Commas Part Two
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9. the indirect object
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10. Periods Question Marks and Exclamation Marks
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11. Commas Part Four
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12. subject and verb agreement
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13. the object of the preposition
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14. Confusing usage words part five
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15. The Apostrophe
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16. Quotation Marks Part Two
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17. First Capitalization List
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18. compound subjects part one
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19. The coordinating conjunction
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20. the participle and participial phrase
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21. Quotation Marks Part One
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22. Confusing usage words part one
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23. Confusing usage words part three
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24. Confusing usage words part three
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25. subject verb agreement situations
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26. complex sentences
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27. the prepositional phrase
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28. Transitive and intransitive verbs
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29. agreement involving prepositional phrases
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30. pronouns and their antecedents
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31. The nominative case
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32. Regular Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
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33. agreement between indefinite pronouns and their antecedents
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34. types of nouns
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35. Irregular Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
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36. regular verb tenses
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37. introducing phrases
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38. the verb phrase
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39. personal pronouns
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40. irregular verbs part two
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41. sentences fragments and run on sentences
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42. the infinitive and infinitive phrase
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43. Commas Part One
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44. types of sentences by purpose
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45. the subordinating conjunction
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46. complete and simple predicates
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47. the gerund and gerund phrase
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48. Confusing usage words part four
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49. Sound a like words Part Three
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50. the correlative conjunction
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