The end of the infinitive of the verb in Russian. The infinitive of a verb in Russian is a complex phenomenon. Infinitive with to and without to

The infinitive in translation from Latin means "indefinite". It is more common to hear and use the term indefinite form of the verb. The infinitive of a verb in Russian is an interesting and complex phenomenon.

Linguistics about the infinitive

The infinitive denotes the action of the verb, always answers the questions what to do? (non-Sov. v.) or what to do? (Sov. V.).

Linguistic scholars have different opinions about the functions and usage of the infinitive. End - t, - ti cause discussion. Some argue that this is a suffix, while opponents call it an ending.

The word in this form also denotes an action, but without regard to person, number, grammatical tense and mood. The infinitive cannot define these non-permanent signs. But there are constant grammatical features, they are defined. This is a kind, transitivity, conjugation.

Any verb in the dictionary is represented by the infinitive form. As the original form of a noun is the nominative case, so the verb is the infinitive.

In the linguistic dictionary, you can find out that historically this is not a verbal form, but the form of a noun of the 3rd declension in the indirect case (to know - to know, to become - to become, oven - stoves). In this, linguists are almost unanimous.

In syntax, the infinitive also shows originality. Nominal origin allows the sentence to act as different members of the sentence.

Infinitive - subject and predicate

The infinitive subject in a two-part sentence usually takes a position before the predicate. It can easily be replaced by a verbal noun.

Example.

Smoking is prohibited here. (Cf. Smoking is prohibited here.)

Smoking is injurious to health. (Smoking is bad for health.)

The infinitive can be part of a simple verbal predicate (future compound tense, inflective). The lexical meaning expresses the imperfective verb in the indefinite form, and the grammatical meaning is the conjugated verb to be.

Example.

I will speak to the whole world.

Smoke will curl along the river.

In a compound verbal predicate, the infinitive is an indispensable component that contains the lexical meaning.

Example.

I couldn't look around for a long time.

I was ready to love the whole world.

The infinitive as a complement

This word form can denote an action as an object of someone's activity.

Example.

The beginning of the rain forced to return to the tent.

My father asked me (about what?) to put the kettle on.

The object should not be confused with the predicate. Actions are performed by different objects. (Father asks, and I will put the kettle on).

The infinitive as a definition

Often a verb in the indefinite form refers to a noun and is an inconsistent definition.

Example.

The regiment received an order (what?) to cross the river.

Infinitive as circumstance

The indefinite form acts in the sentence as a circumstance of the goal. She explains the predicate with the meaning of movement, answers questions about the circumstance of the goal. The circumstance can be easily converted into a subordinate clause.

Example.

I went out into the air (why?) to freshen up. (I went outside to freshen up).

The doctor came to arrange a vacation. (The doctor came in to arrange a vacation.)

The infinitive is the main member of a one-part sentence.

I like to sleep sweetly, but I am ashamed to get up late. (Definitely personal).

Listen, you need to know the honor. (impersonal).

Our language keeps many secrets, the infinitive of a verb in Russian is not the last mystery.

What form are verbs in dictionaries? Of course, in the initial or indefinite form, which is otherwise called the infinitive. In this article, you can get acquainted with the morphological features of the infinitive, the ways of its formation. Each rule is illustrated with examples.

What is the indefinite form of the verb (infinitive)

Infinitive- This initial form of the verb, from which other forms of verbs are formed (conjugated verbs, participles, gerunds). It is in the infinitive that verbs are presented in dictionaries (for example: lie, rest, work, see, study).

The infinitive is also called the indefinite form of the verb. The rule of the Russian language explains this by the fact that this form names an action, process or state, regardless of when, by whom and how this action, process or state is carried out.

In a sentence, verbs in the infinitive form can be part of a compound predicate, predicate and subject, in rare cases, a definition, object or circumstance.

Morphological features of the infinitive

The infinitive is the invariable, non-conjugated form of the verb. It has only constant grammatical features of verbs:

TOP 3 articleswho read along with this

Infinitive in English is an impersonal form of the English verb, which denotes only an action, indicating neither person nor number. The infinitive answers the questions: what to do? what to do?

To speak - speak

In Russian, the infinitive is often called indefinite form of the verb. It is the infinitive that is given in dictionaries as the initial form of the verb.

The formal sign of the infinitive in English is the particle to, which is omitted before the infinitive in some cases.

I was happy to see the car stop.
I was glad to see that the car had stopped.

He must leave before 11 a.m.
He must leave before 11 am.

Infinitive forms

The infinitive in English has four forms in the active (active) voice and two in the passive (passive). Passive forms have only a simple and perfect infinitive of transitive verbs, i.e. verbs used with an object:

• Simple infinitive in the active voice:

pauline likes to write letters.
Polina loves to write letters.

• Continued infinitive:

What is Pauline doing? She must be writing a letter.
What is Polina doing? She must be writing a letter.

• Perfect infinitive in the active voice:

Pauline is glad to have written that letter.
Polina is glad that she wrote this letter.

• Perfect Continuous Infinitive:

Pauline must have been writing that letter since morning.
Polina must have been writing a letter since morning.

• Simple passive infinitive:

This letter seems to be written in pencil.
It looks like this letter was written in pencil.

• Perfect infinitive in the passive voice:

The forms of the infinitive clearly reflect the relationship with the verb-predicate in the sentence.

A simple infinitive in the active and passive voice is used when the action that it expresses either occurs simultaneously with the action expressed by the verb-predicate in the personal form, or is irrelevant to the time of the action:

I am happy to see you. (simultaneous action)
I'm glad to see you.

I like to be given gifts.(action irrespective of time)
I like it when they give me gifts.

To show that an action is in the future, the simple infinitive is used after modal verbs. may, must, should, ought to and after verbs to expect- expect, to intend- to intend to hope- hope to want- want, etc. For example:

You may come tomorrow.
You can come tomorrow.

He must do it immediately.
He must do it immediately.

You should put on a warm hat.
You should wear a warm hat.

I expect to see you next week.
I expect to see you next week.

I intend to go to the seaside this summer.
I intend to go to the sea this summer.

I hope to find him at home.
I hope to find him at home.

Continuous infinitive emphasizes the duration of the action, simultaneous with the verb-predicate:

The form perfect continuous infinitive indicates that the action expressed by the infinitive began before the action expressed by the verb-predicate, and continues to this day:

She seems to have been cooking since morning.
She seems to have been cooking since morning.

Infinitive in perfect form is used to denote an action preceding the action expressed by the verb-predicate:

I'm sorry not to have told you about it earlier.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier.

Perfect infinitive after modal verbs must and may expresses the assumption that the action has already taken place:

After modal verbs should, ought to, could, might, was/ were The perfect infinitive denotes an action that should have or could have taken place, but actually did not happen.

If you want to learn a language, start with verbs. After all, it is this part of speech that occupies the largest place in all reference books and dictionaries of any language, including English. Despite the fact that the verb has several forms, in these very dictionaries it is usually given in its simple (initial) form, and for good reason. After all, the infinitive in English, perhaps, is used more often than others. It is about him that we will talk today.

First, let's figure out what an infinitive is.

An infinitive in English is an indefinite or initial form of a verb that names actions and can function as both a noun and a verb. The infinitive refers to non-personal verb forms, that is, to English forms that do not have a number, person, tense or mood.

The infinitive has certain features that characterize and distinguish it from any other kind of verb:

1. The infinitive is preceded by the particle to, which, however, may be omitted in certain cases. However, if the particle is present almost always, it stands just before the infinitive.
2. The infinitive answers the questions "what to do?", "what to do?"

Infinitive in English: forms

If in Russian there is only one infinitive form, in English there are six of them. Table for clarity:

The passive infinitive in Continuous and Perfect Continuous is simply not used. Other forms are used extremely rarely, with the exception of the simple one. In the absence of such forms in Russian, they are usually translated in a simple form.

Infinitive turns

The infinitive construction in English is divided into 3 following types:

1. Complex object, also known as The Objective Infinitive Construction.
2. Complex subject (Complex subject) or The Subjective Infinitive Construction (Subjective infinitive construction). The subject infinitive is usually used with passive verbs.
3. The For-to-Infinitive construction or infinitive construction with a preposition

Despite such a variety of infinitive phrases, they are not always used. The object infinitive phrase is the most used phrase in the list, followed by the subject infinitive phrase.

Functions of the infinitive in a sentence

In a sentence, the infinitive can act as almost any member of the sentence.

1. As a subject:

1. And the verb part of the compound predicate:

1. In the definition function:

It is worth noting that the word that defines a noun in Russian may not always look like a standard definition.

1. Purpose condition:

Often, unions can be used before the infinitive in this case: in order to (in order to) and so as (to):

Usage with particle to

The infinitive with the particle to is used in 99 percent of cases. For example:

1. An objective infinitive phrase almost always requires the particle to. This infinitive phrase is characterized by verbs that express:

• Desire: want (want), wish (wish), desire (want):

• Mental activity: think (think), believe (believe), expect (expect), suppose (assume):

• The object infinitive turnover also includes words expressing an order, permission or prohibition: order (order), encourage (encourage), allow (allow), permit (allow), prohibit (prohibit):

1. The subjective infinitive turnover also did not stand aside. In it, the particle to is used with verbs:

• say (say), state (declare), allow (allow) in the suffering voice:

• perception and mental activity in the passive voice:

• with such verbs as appear / seem (seem), happen (happen):

• And also with to be (un) likely - probably / unlikely, to be certain / to be sure - to be sure / definitely:

1. The particle to in English is also inherent in the infinitive turnover with the preposition for. Such a construction is formed by attaching the preposition for to a noun or pronoun with an infinitive. The noun in this case is in the common case, and the pronoun is in the object case. Personal pronouns in English in the objective case should in no case be confused with their subjective (or subjective) case:

As you can see, the object case tends to be used as an object, while the subject pronouns are characterized by the role of the subject.

The object case can be translated in various ways, however, since it is preceded by the preposition for (for), accordingly, in this case, the object case of the pronoun will answer the questions “for whom?” or "to whom?"

Consider the object case and the infinitive as an example:

1. The verb in the infinitive without to can also be used in short imperative sentences. Usually they do not pay attention to the subject and other members of the sentence. Moreover, these terms can be omitted.

Infinitive in English: gerund or infinitive

The use of the infinitive in English can sometimes cause a number of difficulties. Everything seems to be simple, you take a verb from the dictionary and insert it into an English sentence. However, with further development of the forms of English verbs, when the study comes to a gerund or a verb with an ing suffix, confusion begins to occur in the head. To avoid such a problem, let's look at verbs that are used only in the infinitive or only in the ing form:

1. Verbs such as agree, refuse, manage, decide, plan, offer, attempt, forget, promise, deserve ( deserve) are always used with the infinitive. These English verbs just need to be memorized. Table examples:

1. At the same time, there are verbs that are used in a gerund and do not have an infinitive form after them. These include: miss (bored), give up (stop), go on (continue), carry on (continue), involve (include), finish (finish). A few examples:

1. There are also words that can be used in both forms without much change in meaning:

1. The meanings of other words may change depending on which form you use: infinitive or gerund. Study the table with such examples:

Infinitive in English: infinitive without particle to

There are also situations in which you need to use infinitives, but without the to particle. So, for example, the to particle is omitted after:

1. English verbs make (to force) and let (to allow) with a noun or object pronoun:

1. The verbs of perception feel (feel), see (see), hear (hear), for which the object infinitive turnover is responsible.

1. Modal verbs:

Exceptions are modal verbs, which have the particle to in their composition. These include: have (got) to, ought to and be to.

Infinitive in English: negation

Particular attention should be paid to the formation of negative sentences. The fact is that to use the infinitive in a sentence, you can use two forms of negation. You must not confuse them, because otherwise you can simply be misunderstood.

• To sentences for negating the main action (verb before the infinitive), a simple English negative form with an auxiliary verb and a negative particle not is added:

• To negate an action in the infinitive, a negative not is placed before the particle to:

Infinitive in English: other features

1. If several verbs with infinitive forms are used in the sentence, and the particle to is used in their case, then it is put only to the first infinitive:

1. The English sentence is characterized by another feature: if in the sentence the infinitive that was used at the beginning is reused at the end, the verb itself is usually omitted, and only the to particle remains in the sentence, which implies it (this verb):

Today we looked at the infinitive in English. As you can see, the use of the infinitive is not very difficult, but there are certain points in its use that should be taken into account. To consolidate the topic, periodically return to the rules and examples in the tables, do exercises and reinforce each such exercise with practice. After all, there is nothing more simple and effective in learning a language than communicating with native speakers.

Infinitive is the basic, impersonal form of the verb. sign infinitive in english is a particle to, For example: (to) go, (to) be, (to) ask, (to) fight, (to) understand, (to) walk.

English infinitive combines the characteristics of a verb and, to some extent, a noun. The latter is expressed in the fact that the infinitive can act in a sentence as a subject, object, predicate, definition, circumstance, and some others.

For example:
To learn is important.
Doctrine important. ( The infinitive functions as the subject.)

The most important thing is to learn.
The most important thing is to study. (The infinitive functions as a predicate.)

He wants to learn.
He wants to study. (The infinitive functions as a complement.)

Negative forms of the infinitive are formed by adding a negative particle not to the infinitive.

For example:
I decided to invite them. – I decided not to invite them.
I solved them to invite. - I solved them. do not invite.

Forms of the infinitive in English

There are several forms of the infinitive in English, which are discussed in detail below. To better understand the difference between the listed forms of the infinitive, you need to have a good understanding of tenses and voice in English.

Continuous Infinitive / Progressive Infinitive

Way of education: (to) + be + present participle

Examples: (to) be writing, (to) be reading, (to) be walking, etc.

Continuous Infinitive(also called Progressive Infinitive) is used to show that actions or events will occur at the moment of speaking.

For example:
I happened to be waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
It so happened that I waited the bus when the accident happened.

You must be joking.
You probably, joking.

Perfect Infinitive

Way of education: (to) have + past participle

Examples: (to) have received, (to) have broken, (to) have seen, etc.

Perfect Infinitive can be used in the same situations in which the past tense or Perfect tenses are used (see verb tenses).

For example:
I am happy to have left school. (= I am happy that I have left school.)
I am glad that graduated school.

You seem to have annoyed him. (= It seems that you have annoyed him.)
It seems that you annoyed.

It is nice to have finished work. (= It is nice that I have finished work.)
Nicely finish work.

Perfect Infinitive often used to describe impossible actions in the past tense.

For example:
If you had run a bit faster, you would have won.
If you ran a little faster, you would won.

You should have told me you were coming.
I needed to tell that you will come.

Passive Infinitive

Way of education: (to) be + past participle

Examples: (to) be given, (to) be seen, (to) be loved, etc.

Passive Infinitive passive voice).

For example:
Everybody wants to be loved.
Everyone wants to be loved.

There is a lot of work to be done.
Need execute a lot of work.

She ought to be told about it.
She should about it to tell.

Perfect Passive Infinitive

Way of education: (to) + have been + past participle

Perfect Passive Infinitive has the same meaning as regular verbs in Passive Voice (see passive voice).

For example:
They were lucky - they could have been killed.
They were lucky - they could kill.

Perfect Continuous Infinitive / Perfect Progressive Infinitive

Way of education: (to) have been + present participle

Examples: (to) have been crying, (to) have been wanting, etc.

Perfect Continuous Infinitive(also called Perfect Progressive Infinitive) is used in the tenses of the Perfect Continuous group (see tenses of the verb).

For example:
We have been waiting for ages.
We we wait for an eternity already.

how long have you been living here?
How long have you been here live?

Using the infinitive without the particle to

Usually infinitive in english used with particle to. But in some cases the infinitive is used without a particle to. Such cases are discussed below.

1. After modal verbs:

We can manage it.
We'll get through this.

We must get someone to paint the roof.
We need to get someone to paint our roof.

You may go now.
You can go.

2. After modal constructions ( would rather, had better):

You had a better consult a doctor.
You'd better go to the doctor.

I would rather go alone.
I would rather go alone.

3. After the verb do used as an intensifying verb:

I do admit that I was wrong.
Yes, I admit that I was wrong.

But you did say that!
But you said it!

4. With a verb let in the meaning of "allow" or incentive sentences:

Let him go.
Let him go.

Let me help you with the translation.
Let me help you translate.

5. In combination with verbs of perception to see, to hear, to watch etc., if they are not in the passive voice:

I saw her light the lamp.
I saw her light the lamp.

We heard her sing a song.
We heard her sing a song.

We watched them play.
We watched them play.

6. After the verb make in the meaning of "force", if it is not in the passive voice:

They made me wait.
They made me wait.

He made me come.
He made me come.

7. After the verb help allowed to drop a particle to:

She helped the child (to) lift the box.
She helped the child lift the box.

If in cases 5-7 the passive voice is used, then the particle to required:

She was heard to sing a song.
Heard her sing the song.

She was made to pay back the money.
She was forced to pay the money.

He was helped to lift the box.
They helped him lift the box.

8. After unions and, or, except, but, than, as and like in the case when they are used to connect two infinitives:

It is as easy to smile as frown.
It's as easy to smile as it is to frown.

Do you want to have lunch now or wait till later?
Do you want to have lunch now, or wait?

We had nothing to do except look at the cinema posters.
We had nothing to do but look at movie posters.

9. After why and why not in question:

Why pay more at other shops? We have the lowest prices.
Why pay more at other stores? We have the lowest prices.

Why not make it up with him?
Why not apologize to him?

The infinitive and its use are discussed in more detail in the section