6 Infinitives

Home Sweet Home

Focus on Grammar 5
Part VI, Unit 16
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Do You Want to Buy a House?

When you are ready to purchase a home, it is

essential to know how much you can afford to
spend. Location will be an important factor. People
who choose to buy a larger house in a rural area
can expect to have a longer commute. If you love
to garden, you may prefer to invest in a bigger lot.
Don’t forget to talk with the neighbors to learn
more about the neighborhood. Your goal is to
create a happy home and make the best possible
investment.
 Form and Function
An infinitive is to + the base form of a verb.
Infinitives function in a variety of ways.

subject
Infinitives
can act
like nouns object
in a
sentence.
subject
complement
 Infinitives as Subjects

subject

To find the right property takes time.

subject

To buy a house you really love is

important.
 Infinitives as Objects
object

People may choose to buy a larger house.

object

You can expect to have a longer commute.

Infinitives as Subject Complements

A subject complement is a phrase that

describes or explains the subject of a sentence.

subject
subject complement

Your goal is to make the best investment possible.

subject
subject complement

Their dream was to have a big kitchen.

Infinitives Following Adjectives
Adjectives followed by infinitives often express
feelings about the action in the infinitive.

Examples: afraid, amazed, excited, fortunate, glad, happy,

important, likely, necessary, proud, reluctant, sorry, and willing

adjective infinitive

They were ready to purchase a home.

adjective infinitive

It will be necessary to inspect the property.

 Infinitives vs. Gerunds 1
Some verbs are followed by infinitives or
gerunds with no change in meaning.

Examples: begin, can’t stand, continue, hate, like,

love, prefer, and start.
infinitive

You may prefer to invest in a bigger lot.

gerund

You may prefer investing in a bigger lot.

 Infinitives vs. Gerunds 2
Some verbs are followed by infinitives or
gerunds with a significant change in meaning.

Examples: forget, go on, quit, regret, remember, stop, and try.

infinitive
You haven’t
done it –
but it’s a
Don’t forget to talk to the neighbors.
good idea.

gerund
You talked
to them –
don’t you Don’t forget talking to the neighbors.
remember?
 Complete the sentences with
Practice 1 the infinitive or gerund form
of the verb.

Example: A couple was jogging down the street.

They stopped
to talk(talk) __ to the new
neighbors.
1. The people who just moved in are unfriendly.
talking
We stopped (talk) __ to them.

2. She forgot (buy)__

to buy paint. She has to go back to the
store.

to go
3. I hope I remember (go) __ to the
neighborhood meeting next week.
 Make sentences using infinitives
Practice 2 and the adjective in
parentheses.

Example: Luckily, they found the perfect property. (fortunate)

They were fortunate to find the perfect property.

1. The owner didn’t want to hand over the keys. (reluctant)

The owner was reluctant to hand over the keys.

2. They found some cracks in the foundation. (shocked)

They were shocked to find some cracks in the foundation.

3. I moved from my first apartment. (sorry)

I was sorry to move from my first apartment.
 Passive Infinitives
Use to + be or get + past participle to make a
passive infinitive in the present. Use to + have +
been + past participle for the past.

Request to be shown houses in your price range.

infinitive

infinitive

The renovations were to have been done quickly.

 References

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.