Useful infinitives
Knowledge of the use of the infinitive will help you to communicate clearly and confidently.
Below, we present some common examples of the use of the infinitive, and provide an overview of the different structures and forms.
1. As a subject
Use “to” + infinitive as the subject of a verb at the beginning of a sentence:
To improve the system requires a new approach.
To increase investment is our main goal.
Note: The “-ing”-form is more common:
Increasing investment is our main goal.
2. As an object
You can use “to” + infinitive as the object of many verbs, including agree, arrange, continue, decide, hope, learn, manage, offer, refuse
and want:
They agreed to change the time of the meeting.
I hope to see you again soon. 3. With adjectives
Adjectives that express ideas such as desire or emotion, including afraid, anxious, delighted, eager, happy and impatient, can be followed by “to” + infinitive:
I’d be delighted to show you around our offices.
They are anxious to know the costs.
Note: With some adjectives, you can use the preposition “for” + pronoun/noun before “to” + infinitive: I’d be happy for you to take on this role in the US.
He’s anxious for them to sign this deal today.
4. The dummy “it”
Some adjectives are used with the dummy “it” + a form of “be” followed by “to” + infinitive:
It’s difficult to understand his accent.
It was really easy to find your offices.
5. Negation
Add “not” before “to” for the negative form:
We prefer not to hold the meetings in the morning.
It was careless of him not to calculate the full cost.
6. The different forms
The most common form is the present simple infinitive:
It’s easy to open a business in the US.
We want to talk to the manager.
The passive infinitive, “be” + past participle, is also used:
I hope to be promoted next year.
We can use the present continuous infinitive to show that the action is happening at the time of speaking:
We seem to be making good progress.
We use the present perfect infinitive with certain verbs to show that the action described in the present perfect infinitive took place before the action of the first verb:
They seem to have completed the deal already.
Finally, we use the present perfect continuous infinitive to show that the action lasted for a long time: They appear to have been discussing the deal all night.