What is an infinitive?
An infinitive is the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn." You can also use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
Examples:
- To learn is important.
- The most important thing is to learn.
- He wants to learn.
Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not."
Examples:
- I decided not to go.
- The most important thing is not to give up.
GERUND OR INFINITIVE?
Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a sentence. However, as subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. In the following sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more common in everyday English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential for something and sound more philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just remember that 90% of the time, you will use a gerund as the subject or complement of a sentence.
Examples:
- Learning is important.
- To learn is important.
- The most important thing is learning.
- The most important thing is to learn.
The two groups of verbs below can be followed either by the gerund or by the infinitive.
Usually this has no effect on the meaning, but with some verbs there is a clear difference in meaning. Verbs marked * can also be followed by a that-clause.
Example: to prefer
- I prefer to live in an apartment.
- I prefer living in an apartment.
A. Verbs where there is little or no difference in meaning:
allow
attempt
begin
bother
cease
continue
|
deserve
fear*
hate*
intend*
like
love
|
neglect
omit
permit
prefer*
recommend*
start
|
Notes:
1. Allow is used in these two patterns:
a. Allow + object + to-infinitive:
- Her parents allowed her to go to the party.
b. Allow + gerund:
- Her parents don't allow smoking in the house.
2. Deserve + gerund is not very common, but is mainly used with passive constructions or where there is a passive meaning:
- Your proposals deserve being considered in detail.
- These ideas deserve discussing. (= to be discussed).
3. The verbs
hate, love, like, prefer are usually followed by a gerund when the meaning is
general, and by a
to-infinitive when they refer to a particular time or situation. You must always use the
to-infinitive with the expressions
'would love to', 'would hate to', etc.
Compare:
- I hate to tell you, but Uncle Jim is coming this weekend.
- I hate looking after elderly relatives!
- I love dancing.
- I would love to dance with you.