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PART III
THE INFINITIVE
The Infinitive developed from the verbal noun, which in the course of time
became verbalized, retaining at the same time some of its nominal properties. Thus in
Modern English the infinitive, like the participle and the gerund, has a double nature:
nominal and verbal. In Modern English the infinitive has the following forms:
Forms of the Infinitive
Active
Passive
Indefinite
Continuous
Perfect
Perfect Continuous
To write
To be writing
To have written
To have been writing
To be written
---
to have been written
---
Note:
In sentences with the construction
there is
the infinitive of some verbs can
be active or passive without any change in the meaning:
There is no time to lose.
There is no time to be lost.
Exercise 1. Insert the appropriate form of the Infinitive.
1. Every feature seemed ___ since he saw her last. (to sharpen) 2. There is no time ___
. (to lose) 3. Dave seemed ___ Stephanie, waiting for her to make the first move. (to
watch) 4. The idea was too complicated ___ in just one phrase. (to express) 5. It seemed
___ ever since we came here. (to rain) 6. He is supposed ___ at the translation of the
book for two years. (to work) 7. We intended ___ by the end of the month. (to return) 8.
I see by your eagerness, my friend, that you expect ___ of the secret with which I am
acquainted. (to inform) 9. For this prospect __ , the national programme should be
directed towards tariff reduction. (to realize) 10. He wants the debt ___ . (to pay)
11.How fortunate he is ___ all over the world and ___ so much of it. (to travel, to see)
12. You seem ___ for trouble. (to look) 13. The man seemed ___ me and I felt uneasy in
his presence. (to study) 14. The third key remained ___. (to test) 15. What it means ___
in this place, and how it must ____, became universal questions. (to live, to order) 16.
The inventor insisted ____ on this invention for two years before making it known to
the public. (to work) 17. The experiment is unlikely _____ this week. (to complete) 18.
They seemed ___ the news; they looked excited. (to learn) 19. I am glad ___ to you. (to
introduce) 20. I am sorry ___ you but I did not mean anything of the kind. (to
disappoint) 21. This poem is easy ___ . (to memorize) 22. Don‘t you worry about him,
he is sure ___ a good time at the moment. (to have)
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