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An infinitive phrase is a verb phrase constructed with the verb in infinitive form. This consists of the verb together with its objects and other complements and modifiers . Some examples of infinitive phrases in English are given below – these may be based on either the full infinitive (introduced by the particle to ) or the bare infinitive ...
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.
A split infinitive is a grammatical construction specific to English 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).
The Ancient Greek infinitive is a non-finite verb form, sometimes called a verb mood, with no endings for person or number, but it is (unlike in Modern English) inflected for tense and voice (for a general introduction in the grammatical formation and the morphology of the Ancient Greek infinitive see here and for further information see these tables).
The to-infinitive consists of the bare infinitive introduced by the particle to. [21] Outside dictionary headwords, it is commonly used as a citation form of the English verb ("How do we conjugate the verb to go?") It is also commonly given as a translation of foreign infinitives ("The French word boire means 'to drink'.")
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.
The infinitive, simple past and past participle are sometimes referred to as First (V1), Second (V2) and Third (V3) form of a verb, respectively. This naming convention has all but disappeared from American and British usage, but still can be found in textbooks and teaching materials used in other countries. [3] [4] [5] [6]
If there are irregular present tense forms (see below), these are given in parentheses after the infinitive. (The present participle and gerund forms of verbs, ending in -ing , are always regular. In English, these are used as verbs, adjectives, and nouns.)