Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The form without to is called the bare infinitive; the form introduced by to is called the full infinitive or to-infinitive. The other non-finite verb forms in English are the gerund or present participle (the -ing form), and the past participle – these are not considered infinitives.
Sē here is an accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the main verb i.e. Iūlia ; esse is the infinitive "to be." Note that the tense of the infinitive, translated into English, is relative to the tense of the main verb. Present infinitives, also called contemporaneous infinitives, occur at the time of the main verb.
The basic form of the verb (be, write, play) is used as the infinitive, although there is also a "to-infinitive" (to be, to write, to play) used in many syntactical constructions. There are also infinitives corresponding to other aspects: (to) have written , (to) be writing , (to) have been writing .
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 base form or plain form (go, write, climb), which has several uses—as an infinitive, imperative, present subjunctive, and present indicative except in the third-person singular; The -s form (goes, writes, climbs), used as the present indicative in the third-person singular; The past tense or preterite (went, wrote, climbed)
In English, a non-finite verb form may constitute: an infinitive verb, including the auxiliary verb have — within a verb phrase that is predicated by a modal verb (e.g., "I could have cried"). within a to-infinitive phrase (e.g., "They seem to have moved"). a participle. a gerund. Each of the non-finite forms appears in a variety of environments.
A non-finite clause is one in which the main verb is in a non-finite form, namely an infinitive, past participle, or -ing form (present participle or gerund); for how these forms are made, see English verbs. (Such a clause may also be referred to as an infinitive phrase, participial phrase, etc.)
In some verbs, the past tense, past participle, or both are identical in form to the basic (infinitive) form of the verb. This is the case with certain strong verbs, where historical sound changes have led to a leveling of the vowel modifications: for example, let has both past tense and past participle identical to the infinitive, while come ...