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. the adverb
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5. Using Capital Letters
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6. the adjective clause
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7. the indirect object
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8. the pronoun
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9. The Apostrophe
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10. the appositive
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11. the correlative conjunction
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12. The possessive case
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13. what good writers do
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14. Sound a like words Part Four
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15. The Colon
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16. the adjective
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17. The verb be
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18. the noun clause
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19. the direct object
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20. The Semicolon
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21. complete and simple subjects
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22. Confusing usage words part six
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23. Confusing usage words part three
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24. the subordinating conjunction
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25. the verb
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26. irregular verbs part two
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27. Commas Part Five
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28. Quotation Marks Part Two
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29. agreement involving prepositional phrases
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30. More Apostrophe Situations
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31. complex sentences
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32. The possessive case and pronouns
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33. Commas Part Four
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34. the prepositional phrase
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35. Confusing usage words part one
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36. Commas Part One
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37. the preposition
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38. complete and simple predicates
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39. Indefinite pronouns and the possessive case
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40. Sound a like words Part Three
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41. Regular Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
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42. Commas Part Three
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43. agreement between indefinite pronouns and their antecedents
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44. compound complex sentences
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45. compound subject and compound predicate
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46. Sound a like words Part Two
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47. Irregular Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
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48. Parentheses Ellipsis Marks and Dashes
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49. Second Capitalization List
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50. indefinite pronouns
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