Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Infinitive phrases often have an implied grammatical subject making them effectively clauses rather than phrases. Such infinitive clauses or infinitival clauses, are one of several kinds of non-finite clause. They can play various grammatical roles like a constituent of a larger clause or sentence; for example it may form a noun phrase or ...
Perfect infinitives (prior infinitives) occur at a time before the main verb. Future infinitives (subsequent infinitives) occur at a time after the main verb. For example, the contemporaneous infinitive in this sentence, Dīxērunt eum iuvāre eam. would still be translated "They said he was helping her," even though iuvāre is a present ...
A split infinitive is a grammatical construction in which an adverb or adverbial phrase separates the "to" and "infinitive" constituents of what was traditionally called the "full infinitive", but is more commonly known in modern linguistics as the to-infinitive (e.g., to go).
A bare infinitive (the base form of the verb, without the particle to), or an infinitive phrase introduced by such a verb, may be used as follows: As complement of the auxiliary do , in negations, questions and other situations where do -support is used:
For example, from the base form exist, all the inflected forms of the verb (exist, exists, existed, existing) can be predictably derived. The base form is also called the bare infinitive; that is, the infinitive without the to. Most irregular verbs have three principal parts, since the simple past and past participle are unpredictable.
The infinitive without the article is of two sorts and has two discrete uses: the dynamic infinitive and the declarative infinitive. [10] [11] Traditionally they are said to be used not in indirect discourse and in indirect discourse respectively, [12] yet this terminology is misleading; for infinitives of both sorts may be used in indirect discourse transformations (for example one may say (a ...
Some examples of moods are indicative, interrogative, imperative, subjunctive, injunctive, optative, and potential. These are all finite forms of the verb. Infinitives, gerunds, and participles, which are non-finite forms of the verb, are not considered to be examples of moods.
The infinitive form of a verb is considered the canonical form listed in dictionaries. English infinitives appear in verb catenae if they are introduced by an auxiliary verb or by a certain limited class of main verbs. They are also often introduced by a main verb followed by the particle to (as illustrated in the examples below).