Infinitive verbs in English
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In this chapter you will learn about the infinitive verbs. What are infinitive verbs and how can you use them in English?
Infinitives are the base forms of verbs with 'to' in front of them. Examples of infinitive verbs:
The negative form of the infinitive verbs is formed by adding 'not' before 'to':
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The table below shows the situations in which the infinitive verbs in English are used.
Situation | Example |
---|---|
The infinitive verb is a subject in a sentence. |
|
To indicate the reason why something happens. |
|
In sentences with the structure it + verb 'to be' + adjective /noun the infinitive verb is used. |
|
After adjectives that express moods, the infinitive verbs are used. |
|
Infinitive verbs are used as an object complement after certain verbs. |
|
The table below shows a list of common infinitive verbs in English and example phrases.
Infinitives | Example |
---|---|
To agree | She did agree to go on a holiday with me in the end. |
To advise | I had to advise people about their insurances. |
To afford | They are not able to afford that car. |
To appear | He manages to appear when something bad is about to happen. |
To ask | Are you afraid to ask her on a date? |
To attempt | You can try to attempt to control him, but it's never going to work. |
To be able to | How can you be able to do something like this? |
To beg | The girl has to beg in the streets of Barcelona. |
To care | He doesn't seem to care about other people. |
To choose | It is sometimes difficult to choose an outfit. |
To claim | We planned to claim you. |
To come | Maria promised to come to my party. |
To consent | He had no choice but to consent to the plan. |
To dare | They only were there to dare him to do it. |
To decide | We have to decide what we are going to eat tonight. |
To demand | I don't like to demand things. |
To deserve | She has to deserve the prize. |
To determine | It is hard to determine whose fault the accident was. |
To elect | America is about to elect a president. |
To expect | What to expect when you are going to Indonesia? |
To fail | Try not to fail your exams this semester. |
To forget | He asked her to forget about her problems. |
To get | We tried to get a bag of crisps, but the supermarket was closed. |
To grow (up) | Some people just don't want to grow up. |
To guarantee | We have to guarantee a great time. |
To have | It is nice to have a big group of friends. |
To help | It is a kind thing to help other people. |
To hesitate | He is always the one to hesitate the most. |
To hope | Sandra has to hope for the best when it comes to graduating this year. |
To hurry | We have to hurry, we are very late. |
To invite | They want to invite him to the party. |
To learn | She has to learn English. |
To manage | I don't know how to manage this. |
To mean | She has to mean it, before I believe it. |
To need | Children are likely to need their parents when growing up. |
To neglect | He was the one to neglect his tasks. |
To offer | He was about to offer a big discount to us. |
To order | We want to order chinese food tonight. |
To pay | You have to pay at the counter. |
To persuade | You have to persuade happiness in life. |
To plan | They have to plan their holiday to Italy. |
To prepare | She was the first one to prepare her suitcases. |
To promise | You have to promise me that you will come home at twelve. |
To prove | I have nothing to prove to you. |
To refuse | She had to refuse the job offer. |
To remain | Nina had to remain at home, because she was sick. |
To remember | It is hard to remember things that happened a long time ago. |
To request | I had to request a special book at the library. |
To resolve | Hopefully they are going to resolve this peacefully. |
To say | We had to say something nice about her. |
To seek | You want to seek happiness. |
To seem | Carla used to seem shy, but she is actually very spontaneous. |
To swear | I had to swear I would not tell anyone his secret. |
To tend | She is likely to tend to talk too much when she is nervous. |
To threaten | The accident seemed to threaten Simone. |
To try | They would like to try fresh salmon today. |
To turn out | This had to turn out the wrong way. |
To venture | They are not likely to venture. |
To volunteer | I went to Africa to volunteer. |
To wait | We had to wait for our food. |
To want | Toby is likely to want adventure. |
To wish | I want to wish you good luck on your exams. |
To yearn | He sat down to yearn over his dad's fate. |
Test your knowledge of the infinitive in English by doing the exercises below.
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I’m French, currently living in the Netherlands.
I lived in Paris for almost twenty years, and I know very well my country (and of course my language, French, my mother tongue). I taught French for two years in Spain, conversation class about culture essentially.
In Paris, I was Spanish teacher, I have the Agregation degree which is the highest degree for teaching in France, I'm bilingual. I've participated too in several editorial projects about Spanish teaching and DELE preparation.
I have a Spanish Studies Master and I'm currently doing a research about the Spanish and Sefardi Judaism.
I have a French as foreign language and a Religious Studies Masters too.
I enjoy sharing what I know. I’m a very eclectic person and curious about everything. To give you an idea, my interest (and sometimes hobbies) are: philosophy, spirituality and religions in general, meditation, psychology and psychoanalysis, history, geography, literature, writing (in particular creative writing, and I’m used to write everyday), art (painting, photography), sciences (vulgarisation level) and cultural matters in general. I travel a lot (as a backpacker), sometimes by foot, and the places I know well are France, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia.
One of my qualities is my capacity of adaptation, I enjoy preparing documents to help the student to acquire autonomy, but I love speaking too, and it’s the best way to learn a language.
I'm waiting for your message, please when contact me, explain quickly who you are, why you want to study French and what you are looking for exactly.
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My way of teaching is based on my over 30 years of experience. After spending many years providing my students with a lot of grammar rules I decided to start providing them with the necessary tools that support them in breaking down both linguistic and psychological barriers, improving their confidence, building the correct communication code of the language thus lowering frustration and increasing motivation.
My students are happy with such method as they enjoy each and every lesson and never feel under pressure.
I want English to be learnt naturally with the right commitment but with no frustration.
I love my job and I am totally committed to what I do, while continuously working on new material and on finding the best way to keep my students engaged.
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Patricia has over 30 years of teaching experience. She is very passionate about her job and is eager to help you study. She is very kind and patient. Furthermore, she has written her own English book and teaches very interactive classes.
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MERHABA :)
Hello! I am Omer, a teacher of both English and Turkish living and working in Lithuania.
My hometown is Antalya and I am a native speaker of Turkish. I speak proper and clear Istanbul Turkish (this is the most common dialect of Turkish) If you're looking for a teacher who's devoted, attentive, and fun, you've come to the right place. I never come to a class empty-handed and always make sure my students are engaged, entertained, and learning. Whatever your level in Turkish (or English), I can provide you with a casual, open environment where you feel comfortable experimenting with the language you're learning. Hoping to see you soon! :-)
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Writing short stories and blogging is my hobby. Currently, eco skills have also become of prior importance to me; as I have moved to live in symbiosis (commensalism) with nature.
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First of my Master's degrees is in Pedagogy, the second one is in Cultural and Historical Heritage.
I have obtained an IELTS certificate, band 7.5,, and also a 50-hour TESOL certificate through a MOOC .
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Methods used are largely based on Suggestopedia and "democratic education" under the school models of Sudbury Valley (USA) and Summerhill (UK), plus ICT.
This creative language learning in small groups through reading/writing and communication includes:
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Originally a classically trained singer and therefore have a sharp ear for pronunciation and vowel formation.
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Hello!
I believe learning should be fun and interactive!
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Currently, I tutor 1st and 2nd graders at a school where the children are learning in English as a SECOND language.
I believe my personality, teaching experience and work ethic make me a great teacher!
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Cristina it's very funny and smilimg Person! Her english Is clear! Very good lesson with her! Thanks Cristina!!
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-About Me
Hi! My name is Daniel. I'm 26 years old and I currently live in Seville, Spain. I have been teaching Spanish for 4 years now because I love to teach my language and culture to others. I'm interested in movies, especially french cinema of Nouvelle Vague, literature and music of all genres.
-Me as a Teacher
I graduated in Hispanic Philology with a master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language at University of Sevilla with more than 3 years of experience teaching Spanish to students from different nationalities, countries, ages and levels (from absolutely begginer to C2).
I have worked with USA and Erasmus university students, refugees with any knowledge of Spanish, British, Chinese or Koreans students, among others. For doing that I have prepared personalized lessons based on the needs and interests of the students.
Also, I’m an official DELE Examiner certified by Instituto Cervantes who has helped a lot of students to get their Spanish level certificated in different levels.
-My Lessons & Teaching Style
-Very communicative lessons adapted to the needs and interests of my students.
-Personalised lessons based on each student and their goals.
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-My main goal is to help you to speak Spanish with confidence and fluently.
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I’m French, currently living in the Netherlands.
I lived in Paris for almost twenty years, and I know very well my country (and of course my language, French, my mother tongue). I taught French for two years in Spain, conversation class about culture essentially.
In Paris, I was Spanish teacher, I have the Agregation degree which is the highest degree for teaching in France, I'm bilingual. I've participated too in several editorial projects about Spanish teaching and DELE preparation.
I have a Spanish Studies Master and I'm currently doing a research about the Spanish and Sefardi Judaism.
I have a French as foreign language and a Religious Studies Masters too.
I enjoy sharing what I know. I’m a very eclectic person and curious about everything. To give you an idea, my interest (and sometimes hobbies) are: philosophy, spirituality and religions in general, meditation, psychology and psychoanalysis, history, geography, literature, writing (in particular creative writing, and I’m used to write everyday), art (painting, photography), sciences (vulgarisation level) and cultural matters in general. I travel a lot (as a backpacker), sometimes by foot, and the places I know well are France, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia.
One of my qualities is my capacity of adaptation, I enjoy preparing documents to help the student to acquire autonomy, but I love speaking too, and it’s the best way to learn a language.
I'm waiting for your message, please when contact me, explain quickly who you are, why you want to study French and what you are looking for exactly.
See you soon.
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Rosa is an excellent teacher, clear in explanations, attentive to the student's goals, with a vast culture that enriches the conversation in the language.
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My way of teaching is based on my over 30 years of experience. After spending many years providing my students with a lot of grammar rules I decided to start providing them with the necessary tools that support them in breaking down both linguistic and psychological barriers, improving their confidence, building the correct communication code of the language thus lowering frustration and increasing motivation.
My students are happy with such method as they enjoy each and every lesson and never feel under pressure.
I want English to be learnt naturally with the right commitment but with no frustration.
I love my job and I am totally committed to what I do, while continuously working on new material and on finding the best way to keep my students engaged.
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Patricia has over 30 years of teaching experience. She is very passionate about her job and is eager to help you study. She is very kind and patient. Furthermore, she has written her own English book and teaches very interactive classes.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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MERHABA :)
Hello! I am Omer, a teacher of both English and Turkish living and working in Lithuania.
My hometown is Antalya and I am a native speaker of Turkish. I speak proper and clear Istanbul Turkish (this is the most common dialect of Turkish) If you're looking for a teacher who's devoted, attentive, and fun, you've come to the right place. I never come to a class empty-handed and always make sure my students are engaged, entertained, and learning. Whatever your level in Turkish (or English), I can provide you with a casual, open environment where you feel comfortable experimenting with the language you're learning. Hoping to see you soon! :-)
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Ömer is an experienced teacher who speaks multiple languages. He teaches to people of all ages and levels (A1 to C2.) He is very organized and has lots of learning materials.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Angelina is a fantastic teacher! She helps me out in revising my English papers with enthusiasm and patience! I recommend her.
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