Infinitive

“ THE INFINITIVE.
Select from the following sentences forms of verbs that are used (1) as a noun, (2) as an adverb, and (3) as an adjective:—
The form of the verb that does not make an assertion, and that is not limited as to person and number is called the infinitive.
The infinitive may be used as a noun; as, To forgive is divine.
The infinitive may be used as an adverb; as, I came to call you back.
The infinitive may be used as an adjective; as, He has no pen to write with.
The infinitive may be used as the complement of verbs of incomplete predication ”

“ An adjective in the comparative degree is often followed, not by a clause of degree as we should expect, but by an infinitive introduced by than; as, “He is wiser than to make such a remark.” The infinitive phrase modifies wiser and is joined to it by the subordinating conjunction than.
IV. In addition to the foregoing constructions we occasionally find the infinitive used as the object of a preposition. The few prepositions governing infinitives are except, but, and save, the two latter meaning except; as, “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.” ”

“ The infinitive may also denote condition, or manner; for example, “You must have the imagination of a poet to transfigure them,” and, “Is everything going to suit you?” In the former sentence the infinitive phrase is equivalent to the clause, if you transfigure them. In the latter it tells how things are going on. In fact, this useful little element may accompany a predicate verb to denote almost all the relations denoted by adverbial clauses.
Sometimes it is difficult to decide whether an infinitive is a complement or a modifier. ”

“ OBS. 11.--The notion that one verb governs an other in the infinitive, just as a transitive verb governs a noun, and so that it cannot also govern an objective case, is not only contradictory to my scheme of parsing the infinitive mood, but is also false in itself, and repugnant to the principles of General Grammar. In Greek and Latin, it is certainly no uncommon thing for a verb to govern two cases at once; and even the accusative before the infinitive is sometimes governed by the preceding verb, as the objective before the infinitive naturally is in English. ”

“ By an infinitive phrase we mean a group of words of which an infinitive is the base, the whole group being the equivalent of a clause and forming an element of a sentence. It is an element employed so frequently that it is very easily interpreted, and its great advantage is that it enables us to dispense with a subject and predicate. ”

“ Note.—The contraction of a noun clause to an infinitive phrase is very evident in such a sentence as this,—“He did not know what to say.” The word what leads us to expect a subject and predicate to follow, but we have merely an infinitive. The second subject if expressed would be he, the same as that of the principal verb.
Verbs signifying begin, continue, or cease frequently [Pg 117] take an infinitive for object; as, “As he approached the stream, his heart began to thump.”—Irving. ”

“ The perfect passive infinitive is formed by adding esse, the present infinitive of sum, to the perfect passive participle; as, am ́t-us (-a, -um) esse, to have been loved; mo ́nit-us (-a, -um) esse, to have been advised.
1. Form the perfect passive infinitive of regō, capiō, audiō, and give the English meanings. 206. The future active infinitive is formed by adding esse, the present infinitive of sum, to the future active participle. ”

“ In English a verb is often followed by an infinitive to complete its meaning, as, the Romans are able to conquer the Gauls. This is called the complementary infinitive, as the predicate is not complete without the added infinitive. ”

“ The proposition for is sometimes unnecessarily intruded into a sentence, in addition to the preposition to, before an infinitive mood: as, How came you for to think, for to go, for to do such a thing?" Do you want me for to punch your head?"
Adjectives, substantives, and participles, often govern the infinitive mood: as, "Miss Hopkins, I shall be happy to dance the next set with you." "Oh! Sir, it is impossible to refuse you." "Have you an inclination to waltz?" ”

“ Infinitive Tenses in Indirect Statements. A present indicative of a direct statement becomes present infinitive of the indirect, a past indicative becomes perfect infinitive, and a future indicative becomes future infinitive. ”

“ The perfect infinitive of completed action is very common with such expressions as satis est, satis habeō, iuvat, melius est, paenitet, &c., also with verbs of emotion, such as gaudeō, &c.: as, mē quoque iuvat ad fīnem bellī Pūnicī pervēnisse, L. 31, 1, 1, I am delighted myself to have reached the end of the Punic war. Oftentimes, however, in verse, the use of the perfect is partly due to the metre.
The Future Tense. 2232. The future infinitive is only used as a representative of the indicative, and not as a substantive. ”

“ What these gentlemen here call "neuter verbs," are only the two words dare and need, which are, in most cases, active, though not always transitive; unless the infinitive itself can make them so--an inconsistent doctrine of theirs which I have elsewhere refuted. (See Obs. 3rd on Rule 5th.) These two verbs take the infinitive after them without the preposition, only when they are intransitive; while all the rest seem to have this power, only when they are transitive. If there are any exceptions, they shall presently be considered. ”

“ The infinitive is really a case of the noun of action, and must originally have been constructed in accordance with the usage in force at the time for the syntactical combination of the corresponding verb with other nouns. But, in order that it may be felt as a true infinitive, its mode of construction must no longer be felt as it originally must have been felt; it must, in fact, have become isolated in its employment, and such isolation became then the basis of further development. ”

“ The infinitive mood is a noun. The current rule that when two verbs come together the latter is placed in the infinitive mood, means that one verb can govern another only by converting it into a noun—I begin to move = I begin the act of moving. ”

“ All the participles are wanting in defective verbs.
The verb ought, when used to express past duty or obligation, is followed by what is called the perfect infinitive—a use peculiar to itself because ought has no past form. ”

“ Can you feel the ground tremble? Ruth watched the tide come in. In this use the infinitive is practically equivalent to a participle. Compare “I heard him shout” with “I heard him shouting.” Hence the substantive may be regarded as an object, and the infinitive as its modifier. But the construction closely approaches that of an infinitive clause (§§ 324–325) .
323. An infinitive may modify a verb (1) by completing its meaning, or (2) by expressing the purpose of the action.
I. Complementary Infinitive The ship began to roll. The rain continued to fall heavily. Every boy desires to succeed. ”