Infinitives

Home Sweet Home

6

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.

Infinitives

can act

like nouns

in a

sentence.

subject

object

subject

complement

Infinitives as Subjects

To buy a house you really love is

important.

To find the right property takes time.

subject

subject

Infinitives as Objects

People may choose to buy a larger house.

You can expect to have a longer commute.

object

object

Infinitives as Subject Complements

A subject complement is a phrase that

describes or explains the subject of a sentence.

Your goal is to make the best investment possible.

Their dream was to have a big kitchen.

subject

subject

subject

complement

subject

complement

Infinitives Following Adjectives

Adjectives followed by infinitives often express

feelings about the action in the infinitive.

They were ready to purchase a home.

It will be necessary to inspect the property.

infinitive adjective

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

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

adjective infinitive

Infinitives vs. Gerunds 1

You may prefer investing in a bigger lot.

Some verbs are followed by infinitives or

gerunds with no change in meaning.

infinitive

gerund

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

love, prefer, and start.

You may prefer to invest in a bigger lot.

Infinitives vs. Gerunds 2

Don’t forget talking to the neighbors.

Some verbs are followed by infinitives or

gerunds with a significant change in meaning.

You haven’t

done it –

but it’s a

good idea.

You talked

to them –

don’t you

remember?

infinitive

gerund

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

Don’t forget to talk to the neighbors.

Complete the sentences with

the infinitive or gerund form

of the verb.

Example: A couple was jogging down the street.

They stopped (talk) __ to the new

neighbors.

1. The people who just moved in are unfriendly.

We stopped (talk) __ to them.

2. She forgot (buy)__ paint. She has to go back to the

store.

3. I hope I remember (go) __ to the

neighborhood meeting next week.

Practice 1

talking

to buy

to go

to talk

Practice 2 Make sentences using infinitives

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)

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

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

The owner was reluctant to hand over the keys.

They were shocked to find some cracks in the foundation.

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.

The renovations were to have been done quickly.

infinitive

infinitive

References

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.