# How to use infinitives in English (and over 130 examples!)

*To learn* or *not to learn* English infinitives? There’s no question!

Infinitives in English function differently from infinitives in many other languages. And some languages don’t have infinitives at all! That means that this topic can be tricky if you’re a learner.

With this guide to English infinitives, you’ll be ready to use them no matter where you’re starting from!

* * *

### In this post:

- [Infinitive verbs in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/infinitive-bare-form-english/#what-are-infinitive-verbs-in-english)
- [Infinitives vs. bare forms](https://blog.duolingo.com/infinitive-bare-form-english/#infinitives-vs-bare-forms-in-english)
- [When to use infinitives](https://blog.duolingo.com/infinitive-bare-form-english/#when-to-use-infinitives-in-english)
- [When to use bare forms](https://blog.duolingo.com/infinitive-bare-form-english/#when-to-use-bare-forms-in-english)
- [Examples of infinitives and bare forms in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/infinitive-bare-form-english/#examples-of-infinitives-and-bare-forms-in-english)

## What are infinitive verbs in English?

Have you ever noticed an English verb ending in _-ed_ or _-s_? These endings tell us something about the verb, like whether it happened in the [present](https://blog.duolingo.com/simple-present) or [past](https://blog.duolingo.com/simple-past-verbs-in-english/), and sometimes also [who did the action](https://blog.duolingo.com/first-person-second-person-third-person/).

On the other hand, **infinitives** don’t specify a particular subject or time of an action. English infinitives have the word to before the base form of the verb:

| BARE FORM | INFINITIVE |
| --- | --- |
| eat | to eat |
| read | to read |

## Infinitives vs. bare forms in English

The only thing that the English infinitive expresses is the basic meaning of the verb. Other information, such as when the action happens, must come from another verb.

For example, infinitives can occur after a **main verb**:

- I tried to call you.

- He wants to leave now.

There are also certain cases where the infinitive marker _to_ is omitted. We call such an infinitive the **bare form** of a verb, or the **bare infinitive**. The bare form is the verb by itself, without the word _to_. For example, the bare form of _to_ _eat_ is _eat._

You’ll use the bare form after **modal verbs**, so you won’t use _to_:

- We can be quiet.

- You should invite him.

To negate infinitives, add not before to and the main verb. To negate bare forms, like after modal verbs, add _**not**_ before the bare form:

- I decided not to sell the house.

- It should not be difficult.

In somewhat less formal English, negative infinitives can also be formed by inserting _not_ between _to_ and the main verb instead:

- I decided to not sell the house.

## When to use infinitives in English

When do we need a verb form that doesn’t specify details like person or tense? Common uses of infinitives include:

**1. To show a reason or purpose:**

- I called to talk.
- They’re going to the store to buy bread.
- She left to do some work.

**2. Following adjectives:**

- I’m sorry to leave so soon.
- He’s always happy to try new things.
- It’s great to live so close to family.

**3. Following certain verbs:**

The table below shows common verbs that are often followed by an infinitive. These verbs don’t _have to_ appear with another verb, but when they do, the second verb will be the infinitive form with _to_:

| MAIN VERB | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| agree | Zari agreed to babysit tomorrow. |
| appear | He appears to be hungry. |
| ask | I asked to stay here. |
| claim | Eddy claims to run the fastest. |
| decide | They decided to eat now. |
| demand | I demand to leave immediately. |
| deserve | They deserve to be happy. |
| expect | We’re expecting to have a good time. |
| fail | Junior failed to call his dad. |
| forget | I always forget to lock the door. |
| hope | He hoped to win the race. |
| learn | Bea learned to read very young. |
| need | I need to drink some water. |
| promise | We promised to call every night. |
| try | They are trying to finish their homework. |
| want | He will want to watch TV.

Some English verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or a **gerund**. In English, gerunds also don’t show tense, and they are formed by adding **_-ing_** to the base form of the verb. (There are some important [spelling rules to know about them, too](https://blog.duolingo.com/progressive-verbs/).)

The table below shows common verbs that can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund:

| MAIN VERB | EXAMPLE WITH INFINITIVE | EXAMPLE WITH GERUND |
| --- | --- | --- |
| hate | She hated to run. | She hated running. |
| like | You like to dance. | You like dancing. |
| love | He loves to sleep. | He loves sleeping. |
| prefer | They preferred to stay here. | They preferred staying here. |
| start | I like to start my day early. | I like starting my day early. |

## When to use bare forms in English

Some common uses of bare verbs include:

**1. After causal verbs, like _let_, _make_, and _have_. With these verbs, the subject of the sentence causes someone to do or be what is indicated by the bare form:**

- Let her sit on the couch, please.
- She made them be quiet.
- We had them watch the kids for the weekend.

**2. In sentences with sensory verbs, like _see_, _hear_, and _feel_:**

- I often see a child jump over the fence.
- They will hear a dog bark.
- He felt the spider crawl up his leg.

**3. With the word _why_ when used to make a suggestion:**

- Why sleep on the floor when you can sleep on the bed?
- Why wait?
- Why not go to a restaurant tonight?

**4. After modal verbs:**

| MODAL VERB | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| can | I can see the moon. |
| could | They could run really fast. |
| may | Oscar may bring a friend. |
| might | We might see a movie. |
| must | You must be quiet. |
| should | I should study tonight. |
| will | She will cook dinner. |
| would | They would prefer to stay here.

## Examples of infinitives and bare forms in English

Here is a list of common infinitives and their bare forms:

| INFINITIVE | BARE FORM |
| --- | --- |
| to argue | argue |
| to ask | ask |
| to be | be |
| to become | become |
| to begin | begin |
| to believe | believe |
| to bite | bite |
| to blow | blow |
| to break | break |
| to bring | bring |
| to build | build |
| to burn | burn |
| to buy | buy |
| to call | call |
| to carry | carry |
| to catch | catch |
| to change | change |
| to choose | choose |
| to clean | clean |
| to climb | climb |
| to come | come |
| to continue | continue |
| to cook | cook |
| to cost | cost |
| to cry | cry |
| to decide | decide |
| to die | die |
| to do | do |
| to draw | draw |
| to drink | drink |
| to drive | drive |
| to drop | drop |
| to dry | dry |
| to eat | eat |
| to enjoy | enjoy |
| to fall | fall |
| to feed | feed |
| to feel | feel |
| to fight | fight |
| to find | find |
| to finish | finish |
| to forget | forget |
| to fly | fly |
| to get | get |
| to give | give |
| to go | go |
| to grow | grow |
| to hang | hang |
| to hate | hate |
| to have | have |
| to hear | hear |
| to help | help |
| to hit | hit |
| to hurt | hurt |
| to invite | invite |
| to join | join |
| to jump | jump |
| to keep | keep |
| to kick | kick |
| to kill | kill |
| to kiss | kiss |
| to know | know |
| to laugh | laugh |
| to lay | lay |
| to lead | lead |
| to learn | learn |
| to leave | leave |
| to lend | lend |
| to let | let |
| to lie | lie |
| to like | like |
| to live | live |
| to look | look |
| to lose | lose |
| to love | love |
| to make | make |
| to marry | marry |
| to mean | mean |
| to meet | meet |
| to melt | melt |
| to miss | miss |
| to mix | mix |
| to move | move |
| to need | need |
| to open | open |
| to pass | pass |
| to pay | pay |
| to play | play |
| to promise | promise |
| to put | put |
| to read | read |
| to remember | remember |
| to return | return |
| to ride | ride |
| to ring | ring |
| to rise | rise |
| to run | run |
| to say | say |
| to see | see |
| to seem | seem |
| to sell | sell |
| to send | send |
| to shake | shake |
| to shout | shout |
| to sing | sing |
| to sink | sink |
| to sit | sit |
| to sleep | sleep |
| to smell | smell |
| to smile | smile |
| to speak | speak |
| to spell | spell |
| to start | start |
| to stay | stay |
| to steal | steal |
| to stick | stick |
| to stop | stop |
| to study | study |
| to swim | swim |
| to take | take |
| to talk | talk |
| to teach | teach |
| to tell | tell |
| to think | think |
| to throw | throw |
| to touch | touch |
| to travel | travel |
| to try | try |
| to turn | turn |
| to understand | understand |
| to use | use |
| to wake | wake |
| to want | want |
| to watch | watch |
| to wear | wear |
| to win | win |
| to wish | wish |
| to work | work |
| to write | write |

Remember the different uses for infinitives vs. bare forms in English!

## _To learn_ is _to love_ English!

To use the infinitive or not to use the infinitive? 😉 Now you can answer with confidence!