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. Italics Hyphens and Brackets
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2. Quotation Marks Part Three
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3. compound subjects part two
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4. Using Capital Letters
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5. the prepositional phrase
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6. what good writers do
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7. the indirect object
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8. Sound a like words Part Two
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9. Quotation Marks Part Two
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10. the adjective clause
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11. The Colon
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12. The possessive case
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13. The verb be
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14. the adverb
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15. The Apostrophe
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16. the direct object
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17. the adverb clause
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18. complete and simple subjects
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19. Confusing usage words part three
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20. Periods Question Marks and Exclamation Marks
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21. complex sentences
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22. Confusing usage words part three
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23. Commas Part Three
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24. Confusing usage words part one
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25. complete and simple predicates
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26. Transitive and intransitive verbs
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27. types of nouns
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28. Confusing usage words part two
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29. Confusing usage words part six
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30. personal pronouns
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31. the appositive
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32. Confusing usage words part four
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33. Sound alike words part one
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34. irregular verbs part one
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35. Sound a like words Part Four
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36. Commas Part Four
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37. the correlative conjunction
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38. the subordinating conjunction
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39. subject complements predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives
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40. Confusing usage words part seven
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41. More Apostrophe Situations
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42. Second Capitalization List
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43. compound subject and compound predicate
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44. sentences fragments and run on sentences
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45. the noun clause
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46. Confusing usage words part eight
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47. the object of the preposition
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48. agreement between indefinite pronouns and their antecedents
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49. the pronoun
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50. introducing clauses
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