What Are Infinitives And Examples?

Infinitives are the base form of a verb, often with “to,” used to act like a noun, adjective, or adverb in a sentence.

If you’ve ever typed “what are infinitives and examples?” into a search bar, you’re chasing one thing: fast clarity. An infinitive sounds simple, yet it shows up in a lot of sentence jobs. Once you can spot it, you can write cleaner, vary sentence rhythm, and dodge common grammar slips.

You’ll get a plain definition, the forms you’ll meet, and real sentences that show how infinitives behave, plus quick checks and a practice set.

Infinitives With Examples In Daily English

An infinitive is the base form of a verb that can appear with to (a to-infinitive) or without to (a bare infinitive). In English, infinitives often act like other parts of speech. They can fill noun slots, modify nouns like adjectives, or tell why, when, or how something happens like an adverb.

Two Core Forms You’ll See

To-infinitive:to + base verb (to read, to drive, to think).
Bare infinitive: base verb alone (read, drive, think) after certain verbs and patterns.

Fast Table Of Infinitive Patterns You Can Copy

This table pulls together the most common infinitive jobs in one place, along with a model sentence you can adapt.

Infinitive Job	Common Pattern	Sentence Model
Subject of a sentence	To + verb at the start	To learn a new skill takes steady practice.
Direct object after a verb	Verb + to + verb	She decided to leave early.
Subject complement	Be + to + verb	My goal is to finish the draft tonight.
Adjective-like modifier	Noun + to + verb	He found a place to park.
Purpose	To + verb as “why”	We met after class to plan the project.
After an adjective	Adjective + to + verb	I’m glad to hear your news.
With question words	Wh-word + to + verb	She explained how to reset the router.
After “too” and “enough”	Too/enough + to + verb	The box was light enough to carry.
After “had better”	Had better + bare verb	You’d better leave now.

What Makes An Infinitive Different From A Verb Tense

A finite verb shows tense and agrees with a subject: she runs, they ran, we will run. An infinitive doesn’t do that. It can’t stand alone as the main verb of a complete clause unless it’s part of a larger verb phrase.

Quick check: if the word shows tense for the subject, it’s finite. If it doesn’t, it may be an infinitive or another non-finite form.

Infinitive Phrases

Infinitives often come with their own little “crew” of words, forming an infinitive phrase. The whole phrase works together in the sentence.

To read quietly helps me concentrate.
She wants to read the article again.

Where Infinitives Sit In A Sentence

Infinitives fit into several sentence slots. If you learn the slots, you’ll spot them faster and pick the right form with less second-guessing.

Infinitives Acting Like Nouns

When an infinitive acts like a noun, it can be a subject, an object, or a complement. These are the same places you’d put a noun or pronoun.

To travel is her favorite hobby.
They hope to travel next summer.
Her plan is to travel by train.

Infinitives Modifying Nouns

Placed after a noun, an infinitive can describe it. It often answers “which one?” or “what kind?” without turning into a full relative clause.

Do you have time to talk?
He needs a reason to stay.

Infinitives Showing Purpose

One of the most common uses is purpose: the infinitive explains why someone did something. It’s short and direct.

I turned on the light to see the notes.
She called her sister to check in.
They saved money to buy a laptop.

Verbs That Commonly Take To-Infinitives

Many verbs are followed by to + base verb. Teachers and students often benefit from seeing these patterns grouped.

Decision And Plan Verbs

These verbs often point to a choice, plan, or intention.

decide: He decided to switch majors.
plan: I plan to call tomorrow.
promise: She promised to help.

Want And Need Verbs

These are common in daily speech and writing.

want: I want to eat.
need: We need to talk.
hope: She hopes to win.

If you want a quick, reliable definition from a dictionary source, the Cambridge Dictionary page on infinitives gives a clear overview with examples.

Bare Infinitives And When To Skip “To”

Bare infinitives are base verbs without to. They appear in a few common structures, and getting these right makes your writing sound natural.

After Modal Verbs

After modals like can, could, may, might, must, should, and will, English uses the bare infinitive.

She can sing.
You should rest.

After “Let,” “Make,” And “Help”

These verbs often take a bare infinitive, especially in active voice. Some styles allow help with or without to.

Let me explain.
The coach made us run laps.

After Perception Verbs

With verbs like see, hear, and feel, you can use a bare infinitive to show the whole action from start to finish.

I saw her cross the street.
We heard the baby cry.

Split Infinitives And Real-World Style Choices

You’ve probably heard the old “never split an infinitive” rule. In real writing, splitting can be fine when it improves clarity or rhythm. A split infinitive happens when an adverb sits between to and the base verb, like to quickly finish.

Practical rule: keep the words together when it reads smoothly, split when the adverb fits best there and the alternative sounds awkward.

Many style guides treat split infinitives as a choice, not a mistake. The Britannica note on split infinitives explains why the “never” rule doesn’t match how English works.

What Are Infinitives And Examples? With Quick Identification Checks

When you’re proofreading, you don’t need a full grammar diagram. Use these checks to spot infinitives fast.

Check One: Find “To” Plus A Base Verb

Scan for to followed by a verb in its base form. Then see what the whole phrase is doing in the sentence.

She hopes to pass the exam. (object)
To pass the exam takes time. (subject)
He brought notes to pass around. (purpose)

Check Two: Look After A Modal Or “Let/Make”

If a verb follows a modal, it’s normally bare.

You must leave now.
Let him try again.

Check Three: Ask What Slot It Fills

Ask whether the infinitive is acting like a noun, describing a noun, or explaining purpose. That one question clears up most confusion.

By this point, you can answer the original question—what are infinitives and examples?—with confidence, then spot them in your own sentences.

Common Confusions With Gerunds And Bare Verb Forms

Infinitives often get mixed up with gerunds (the -ing form used as a noun). Both can appear after certain verbs, and the meaning can shift based on the choice.

Same Verb, Different Meaning

Some verbs change meaning depending on whether you use an infinitive or a gerund.

Remember to lock the door. (don’t forget the action)
Remember locking the door. (recall a past action)
Stop to talk. (pause one action in order to talk)
Stop talking. (end the talking)

Verbs That Allow Both Without A Big Meaning Shift

Some verbs allow both forms with little change in meaning.

Begin to read / begin reading
Start to write / start writing
Continue to work / continue working

Table Of Common Infinitive Slips And Clean Fixes

This table lists errors students make often and the fix that keeps the sentence natural.

Slip	Why It Happens	Cleaner Fix
“He can to swim.”	Mixing modal pattern with to-infinitive	He can swim.
“She made me to redo it.”	Adding “to” after make	She made me redo it.
“I suggested to go.”	Using infinitive after a verb that takes -ing	I suggested going.
“He explained me to leave.”	Wrong verb pattern with an object	He told me to leave.
“I want that I go.”	Using a clause where English prefers an infinitive	I want to go.
“To quickly finish is hard to me.”	Awkward word order and preposition choice	It’s hard for me to finish quickly.
“I look forward to meet you.”	Forgetting that “to” is a preposition here	I look forward to meeting you.

Infinitives After Adjectives And Nouns

Infinitives pair naturally with many adjectives and nouns. These patterns help you express feelings, difficulty, or a next action with fewer words.

After Adjectives

Common adjective patterns include happy to, ready to, afraid to, eager to, and likely to. The infinitive often tells what action matches the feeling or judgment.

I’m ready to start.
She’s afraid to speak up.
They’re likely to win.

After Nouns

Noun + infinitive often signals a task, plan, or thing needed.

We have work to do.
He made a plan to save money.
She found a way to solve it.

Infinitives With Objects And The “Verb + Object + To” Pattern

A common structure is verb + object + to-infinitive. It shows who is expected, asked, or told to do the action.

Verbs That Fit This Pattern

ask: I asked him to wait.
tell: She told me to call.
invite: They invited us to join.
encourage: The teacher encouraged students to write daily.
allow: The rules allow guests to enter at 9.

Quick Warning About Two-Object Verbs

Some verbs work well with a direct object and an infinitive. Others don’t. If a sentence feels off, try swapping the verb for a clearer one like tell or ask, or rewrite with a full clause.

Mini Practice Set With Answers

Grab a pen, or just do it in your head. Each item asks you to spot the infinitive and name its job.

Practice

To finish early feels great.
She wants to finish early.
They stayed late to finish early the next day.
I heard her finish the song.
It’s tough for me to finish early on Mondays.

Answers

To finish = subject.
to finish = direct object after want.
to finish = purpose.
finish = bare infinitive after heard (perception verb).
to finish = complement linked to “It’s tough,” with “for me” as the logical subject.

Proofreading Checklist For Infinitives

Run this pass after you draft a paragraph. It catches slips fast.

After a modal, use the base verb without “to.”
After decide, plan, or hope, use “to” + base verb.
After make, let, see, or hear, check whether you need a bare infinitive or -ing.
Place a “to” phrase right after the noun it modifies.
If “to” acts as a preposition, pair it with -ing.
Put adverbs where they sound natural; splitting “to” can work.

Last pointer: when you need a clear action goal, an infinitive often reads clean onscreen. If patterns get mixed, return to the checks above and match the verb structure.