Infinitive verbs in English

In this chapter you will learn about the infinitive verbs. What are infinitive verbs and how can you use them in English?

Lesson outline

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1.What are infinitive verbs in English?
2.When to use infinitive verbs?
3.List of the most common infinitive verbs in English
4.Exercises
4.1.Practice the English infinitive verbs
4.2.Exercise to practice the English infinitive verbs
4.3.Choose the correct infinitive verbs in English

What are infinitive verbs in English?

Infinitives are the base forms of verbs with 'to' in front of them. Examples of infinitive verbs:

To cook - He likes to cook.
To live - We like to live in Germany.
To swim - My dog loves to swim in the sea.

The negative form of the infinitive verbs is formed by adding 'not' before 'to':

Not to cook - I was asked not to cook tonight.
Not to live - He was told not to live there.
Not to swim - I told him not to swim there.

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When to use infinitive verbs?

The table below shows the situations in which the infinitive verbs in English are used.

Situation	Example
The infinitive verb is a subject in a sentence.	To work as a designer is my dream. To write in Greek is difficult.
To indicate the reason why something happens.	They came to Spain to work at a company. I pay for the ticket to go to the concert.
In sentences with the structure it + verb 'to be' + adjective /noun the infinitive verb is used.	It is impossible to find a restaurant here. It is very nice to meet you.
After adjectives that express moods, the infinitive verbs are used.	I am happy to see you again. He is very pleased to meet you.
Infinitive verbs are used as an object complement after certain verbs.	I want to improve my English. She did not remember to bring my book.

List of the most common infinitive verbs in English

The table below shows a list of common infinitive verbs in English and example phrases.

Infinitives	Example
To agree	She did agree to go on a holiday with me in the end.
To advise	I had to advise people about their insurances.
To afford	They are not able to afford that car.
To appear	He manages to appear when something bad is about to happen.
To ask	Are you afraid to ask her on a date?
To attempt	You can try to attempt to control him, but it's never going to work.
To be able to	How can you be able to do something like this?
To beg	The girl has to beg in the streets of Barcelona.
To care	He doesn't seem to care about other people.
To choose	It is sometimes difficult to choose an outfit.
To claim	We planned to claim you.
To come	Maria promised to come to my party.
To consent	He had no choice but to consent to the plan.
To dare	They only were there to dare him to do it.
To decide	We have to decide what we are going to eat tonight.
To demand	I don't like to demand things.
To deserve	She has to deserve the prize.
To determine	It is hard to determine whose fault the accident was.
To elect	America is about to elect a president.
To expect	What to expect when you are going to Indonesia?
To fail	Try not to fail your exams this semester.
To forget	He asked her to forget about her problems.
To get	We tried to get a bag of crisps, but the supermarket was closed.
To grow (up)	Some people just don't want to grow up.
To guarantee	We have to guarantee a great time.
To have	It is nice to have a big group of friends.
To help	It is a kind thing to help other people.
To hesitate	He is always the one to hesitate the most.
To hope	Sandra has to hope for the best when it comes to graduating this year.
To hurry	We have to hurry, we are very late.
To invite	They want to invite him to the party.
To learn	She has to learn English.
To manage	I don't know how to manage this.
To mean	She has to mean it, before I believe it.
To need	Children are likely to need their parents when growing up.
To neglect	He was the one to neglect his tasks.
To offer	He was about to offer a big discount to us.
To order	We want to order chinese food tonight.
To pay	You have to pay at the counter.
To persuade	You have to persuade happiness in life.
To plan	They have to plan their holiday to Italy.
To prepare	She was the first one to prepare her suitcases.
To promise	You have to promise me that you will come home at twelve.
To prove	I have nothing to prove to you.
To refuse	She had to refuse the job offer.
To remain	Nina had to remain at home, because she was sick.
To remember	It is hard to remember things that happened a long time ago.
To request	I had to request a special book at the library.
To resolve	Hopefully they are going to resolve this peacefully.
To say	We had to say something nice about her.
To seek	You want to seek happiness.
To seem	Carla used to seem shy, but she is actually very spontaneous.
To swear	I had to swear I would not tell anyone his secret.
To tend	She is likely to tend to talk too much when she is nervous.
To threaten	The accident seemed to threaten Simone.
To try	They would like to try fresh salmon today.
To turn out	This had to turn out the wrong way.
To venture	They are not likely to venture.
To volunteer	I went to Africa to volunteer.
To wait	We had to wait for our food.
To want	Toby is likely to want adventure.
To wish	I want to wish you good luck on your exams.
To yearn	He sat down to yearn over his dad's fate.