A verb that is not limited by the tense of the verb or the person and number of the subject is called an infinitive.
After going through this post, you will be able to understand some important uses of infinitives.
The apples are sweet to taste. John likes to go to school. He had to attend important meetings. In these examples, to taste, to go, to attend, and to go are Infinitives.
Uses of Infinitives
Following are the top 10 uses of infinitives.
Use 1 – As the Subject of a Verb
| To steal is a sin. | To forgive is divine. |
| To help the poor is a virtue. | To waste time in idle gossiping is foolish. |
Use 2- As the Object of a Verb
| I like to play cricket. | They tried to win the medals. |
| I do not mean to read. | Alisha does not like to tell a lie. |
Use 3 – As the Complement of a Verb
| His habit is to rise early. | The problem seems to be difficult. |
| I asked him to shut the door. | The window is difficult to open. |
Use 4 – As the Object of a Preposition
| The patient was about to die. | The runners are about to start. |
| He has no alternative but to go. | The sun is about to set. |
Use 5 – As the Adjective to Qualify a Noun
| There is a lot of work to do. | I have many letters to write. |
| He is a man to be loved. | This is not the time to weep. |
Use 6 – As an Adverb to Modify a Verb
| We eat to live. (purpose) | He came to get the job. (purpose) |
| She wept to see the mishap. (cause) | I want to know the ground for his absence. (reason) |
Use 7 – As an Adverb to Qualify an Adjective
| English is difficult to learn. | Bananas are good to eat. |
| The bird’s music is sweet to hear. | You are kind to say so. |
Use 8 – As a Part of a Noun Phrase
| I told him what to do. | He told me where to go. |
| Tell her when to start. | They know where to buy good food. |
Use 9 – After Preliminary ‘It’
| It is wise to rise early. | It is foolish to waste time. |
| It is harmful to smoke cigarettes. | It is easy to say, but hard to do. |
Use 10 – After ‘too’
| I am too tired to work. | She is too weak to walk. |
| He is too ill to sit in bed. | The news is too good to be true. |
Also, Read
Use of Conjunctions
Use of Prepositions with Examples
Same Words Used as Prepositions and Adverbs
