The Infinitive

The infinitive has six forms:

Forms of the Infinitive	Active	Passive
Indefinite	To write	To be written
Perfect	To have written	To have been written
Continuous	To be writing	—
Perfect Continuous	To have been writing	—

The Indefinite forms to write, to be written show that the action takes place:

1. at the same time with that of the predicate;

2. after it.

E.g. a) 1. She likes to play with the child. 2. It is very kind of you to help me.

b) 1. I don’t mean to go there soon. 2. She wanted to be told the truth. 3. She will want to explain it to you.

The Perfect forms to have written, to have been written, to have been writing show that the action precedes that of the predicate.

E.g. 1. I was glad to have spoken to him. 2.You seem to have forgotten your promise. 3. It is very kind of you to have helped me.

The Continuous forms to be writing, to have been writing show that the action is temporary and not a usual one.

Compare: She seems to lose her temper easily. She seems to be losing her temper.

The active and passive forms of the Infinitive show whether the “subject” of the Infinitive acts or is acted upon.

E.g. 1. I want you to take him to a good doctor. 2. You are lucky to be taken to the circus. 3. She wanted to be taken seriously.

The Infinitive can take a direct object: to read a book to write a letter.

The Infinitive can be modified by an adverb: to walk fast, to speak well.

So, like the finite forms of the verb the Infinitive has tense, voice and aspect forms, can take a direct object and be modified by the verbal features of the Infinitive.

Syntactical functions of the Infinitive

The finite forms of the verb have only one syntactical function — that of the predicate or a part of the predicate. The syntactical functions of the Infinitive are quite different. They are close to those of the noun and may be considered to be the noun features of the Infinitive.

The sentence patterns below show the use of the Infinitive in different syntactical functions.

1) The Subject. A.

to do smth

is (was, will be) would be means (meant)

necessary impossible a mistake to do smth

E.g. To tell her the truth under the circumstances is not at all necessary.

Exercise 1. translate into English using Pattern A.

1. Думати так було б помилкою. 2. Сказати “так” було неможливо, сказати “ні” було б неввічливо. 3. Пояснити йому все було дуже важко. 4. Допомагати їй — значить просто зробити все самій.

B.

it

is was will be

necessary important interesting pleasant easy difficult strange nice

to do smth to be done to be doing smth

E.g. It is necessary to go and explain it to her. It was nice to be speaking English again.

Exercise 2. Translate into English using Pattern B.

1. Важко читати цю книжку без словника. 2. Дуже було приємно поговорити з вами. 3. Важко буде пояснити вам це. 4. Так дивно, коли з тобою поводяться, наче зі школяркою. 5. Було дуже важко робити вигляд, що ти нічого не розумієш. 6. Правда, гарно сидіти тут і пити чай. 7. Помилятися легко, значно важче зрозуміти свою помилку. 8. Зовсім не потрібно вивчати це напам’ять.

C.

It

is was will be

bad good kind careless clever careful wise nice silly stupid tactless

of smb

to do smth to have done

E.g. It was kind of you to help me (to have helped). It is unwise of you to go out in such a nasty weather.

Exercise 3. Translate into English using Pattern c:

1. Буде дуже розумно, якщо ти напишеш їй про все. 2. Нерозумно було б з його сторони суперечити. 3. Дуже мило, що ви так думаєте. 4. Буде просто нетактовно, якщо він буде сперечатися. 5. Буде дуже мило, якщо ви їй про це розкажете.

2) The Predicative

The main thing What I want

is was will be

to do smth to be done

E.g. What I want is to be left alone. The main thing was to get permission.

Exercise 4. Complete the following sentences by adding a predicative infinitive.

Model: Her dream was … to become an actress.

What I wanted was … not to be misunderstood.

1. The general idea was … . 2. His hobby is … . 3. The first thing you must do is … . 4. The last thing I meant was … . 5. The main thing is … . 6. The only thing to do was … . 7. Your only chance is … . 8. Your job will be … . 9. My only wish is … . 10. What I want is … .

Exercise 5. Translate into English:

1. Головне — це щоб тебе правильно зрозуміли. 2. Вашою роботою буде догляд за лабораторними тваринами. 3. Моїм єдиним бажанням було добратися додому. 4. Його хобі — колекціонування марок. 5. Єдиний шанс встигнути на поїзд — це знайти таксі. 6. Єдиний вихід зі становища — це негайно все розповісти.

The Infinitive may be a part of compound verbal predicate. In this case it follows modal or aspective verbs.

E.g. 1. You needn’t wait. 2. Could you tell me the time? 3. I’m beginning to think so.