2.9. Infinitive.

Rule.

The infinitives are:

the to- infinitive E.g. I hope to see you soon. the bare infinitive (infinitive without to) E.g. He can’t help me.

The to- infinitive is used	The bare infinitive is used
1. To express purpose E.g. She went to the bank to get some money.	1. After modal verbs. (can, should, may, etc). E.g. You must study hard.
2. After certain verbs (advise, agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, manage, offer, promise, refuse, seem, want, pretend, etc.) E.g. He advised me to apply for the job.	2. After the verbs let, make, see, hear and feel. E.g. They made him pay for the damage.
3. After verbs such as know, decide, ask, learn, remember, want to know, etc., when they are followed by the question words (who, what, where, how). E.g. I can’t decide where to go. I want to know why you’ve decided to leave.	3. After had better and would rather. E.g. You had better sign the contract. I would rather go home.
4. After adjectives such as nice, sorry, glad, happy, willing, afraid, ashamed, etc. E.g. he is glad to be back.
5. After too and enough. E.g. She’s too shy to talk to the manager. We’ve got enough money to buy a new car.
6. After it+be+adjective (+of+noun / pronoun). E.g. It was nice of him to help.
7. After would like / would love / would prefer (to express specific preference). E.g. I would like to learn a foreign language.
8. After only to express an unsatisfactory result. E.g. He rushed to the back door only to discover that it was locked.

Tenses of the Infinitive.

The infinitive has four tenses in the active and two in the passive.

	Active	Passive
Present Refers to the present or future.	(to) give E.g. She wants to talk to him now.(present) Sandra wants to move to a new house next year. (future)	(to) be given E.g. He hopes to be given a pay rise soon.
Pres. Cont. Describes an action happening now.	(to) be giving E.g. he is believed to be hiding somewhere in the mountains.	----------
Perfect Refers to the past and shows that the action of the infinitive happened before the action of the verb.	(to) have given E.g. She claims to have met Richard Gere. (first she met Richard Gere, then she claimed that she had met him).	(to) have been given E.g. He is said to have been injured in an accident.
Perf. Cont. Refers to the past and emphasises the duration of the action of the infinitive, which happened before the action of the verb.	(to) have been giving E.g. She is tired. She claims to have been working hard lately. (we emphasise what she has been doing lately).	----------

Too / Enough.

E.g. He is too young to walk by himself.

There is enough snow to build a snowman.

Too	Enough
Comes before adjectives and adverbs. It shows that something is more enough, necessary or wanted, and has a negative meaning.	Comes after adjectives and adverbs, but before nouns. It shows that there is as much of something as is wanted or needed and it has a positive meaning.
Too+adj/adv+to-infin. E.g. Tim is too old to join the basketball team. They run too fast for me to catch them.	Adj/adv+ enough+ to-inf Enough+noun+to-inf E.g. He is clever enough to solve the problem. We have got enough money to go on holiday this year.
too … for somebody / something E.g. This plan is too complicated for me.	(not)+adj+enough+to-inf E.g. We are old enough to vote. (positive meaning0 We are not old enough to vote. (negative meaning).
too … for somebody / something + to-inf. E.g. This ring is too expensive for me to buy.

2.9. The –ing form.

Windsurfing is a popular summer sport.

A lot of young people spend hours windsurfing.

The –ing form is used

1. As a noun.

E.g. Swimming keeps you fit.

2. After prepositions.

E.g. He left without saying goodbye.

3. After love, like, enjoy, dislike, hate and prefer to express general preferences.

E.g. .She likes going for long walks.

4. After certain verbs (consider, avoid, deny, look forward to, confess to, fancy, involve, mention, risk, spend, mind, regret, admit, suggest, imagine, etc).

E.g. Jessica spent all day shopping.

5. After go for activities.

E.g. They often go climbing at the weekends.

6. After: it’s no use, it’s (not) worth, it’s no good, be busy, what’s the use of..?, there is no point in, can’t help, can’t stand, be / get used to, have difficulty (in).

E.g. It’s no use waiting for the bus. It won’t come.

7. After the verbs see, hear, feel, watch, listen to and notice to describe an incomplete action, that is to say that somebody saw, heard, etc. only a part of the action.

e.g. I heard Jack talking on the phone.

Infinitive

–ing form

The to-infinitive is used -to express purpose. He went to university to become a lawyer (in order to become) -after certain verbs (agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse etc). He refused to pay the bill. -after certain adjectives (happy, glad, sorry, etc). She was happy to win the prize. -after I would like/would love/would prefer to express specific preference. I'd like to see the manager. -after certain nouns. What a surprise to see him there! -after too/enough He's too young to have his own car. He’s clever enough to do the crossword. -with: It+be+adjective (+of+noun/pronoun). It was generous of him to offer £1,000. -with: so+adjective+as. Would you be so kind as to help me move the sofa? -with “only” to express an unsatisfactory result. She came in only to find Bob had left. -after: be+ he first/second etc/next /last/best etc. He was the last to come to work. -in the expression: for+noun/pronoun +to -inf. For him to be so rude was unforgivable. -in expressions such as: to tell you the truth, to begin with, to be honest etc. To be honest, I don't like him. Note: If two Infinitives are joined by “and” or “or”, the “to” of the second infinitive can be omitted. I want to call Mr Junes and fax or post him a letter

The -ing form is used -as a noun. Walking is good exercise. -after certain verbs (admit anticipate, appreciate, avoid, consider, continue, delay, deny, discuss, enjoy, escape, excuse, fancy, finish, forgive, go (physical activities), imagine, involve, keep(= continue), mention, mind, miss, object to, postpone, practise, prevent, quit, recall, recollect, report, resent, resist, risk, save, stand, suggest, tolerate, understand etc). They discussed selling the company -after: dislike, enjoy, hate, like, love, prefer to express general preference. She likes painting, (in general). * Note: like + to-lnf = it's a good idea I like to wash my hair every day. -after: I'm busy, it's no use, it's (no) good, it's (not) worth, what's the use of, can't help, there's no point (in), cant stand, have difficulty (in), in addition to, as wall ash have trouble, have a hard/difficult time. He can't stand being treated like a stave. He had difficulty finding his way back. -after: spend/waste (lime, money etc). He spends his tree time (in) digging the garden. -after prepositions. He left the shop without paying so he was accused of stealing. -after: look forward to, be/get used to, be/get accustomed to, object to, admit (to), et. I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon. -after: hear, listen, notice, see, watch to express an incomplete action, an action in progress or a long action. I saw Tim doing his homework. BUT: hear, listen, see, watch+Inf without to express a complete action something I saw Tim do his homework. It took him an hour.