Infinitives in EnglishA2

An infinitive is the base form of a verb with to: to go, to study, to eat. It names an action without placing it in time. In English, the infinitive often appears after another verb, after adjectives, or at the start of a sentence. The form stays the same for every subject. You can connect it to the idea of a verb in its simplest form by comparing it with the bare verb forms used in Verbs.

Basic to infinitive structure

Idee
A to infinitive uses to before the base verb.
The verb after to stays in its base form.
A to infinitive can act like a noun in a sentence.

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A bare infinitive is the base verb without to: go, study, eat. It appears after modal verbs, after many auxiliaries, and after a few other fixed patterns. English uses it in sentences like She can swim and They did finish early. The main verb stays in its base form, so can goes and did went are not possible. The bare infinitive is also the form that follows the modals in Modal Verbs.

Base verb without to

Idee
A bare infinitive uses the base verb without to.
After a modal verb, use the bare infinitive.
After do support, use the bare infinitive in questions and negatives.

Verbs of intention often take a to-infinitive after them: want to leave, plan to travel, decide to call, choose to stay. The first verb shows the intention, and the infinitive names the action that follows that intention. In everyday English, these verbs are very common when talking about future actions, personal decisions, and plans. A manager might decide to hire someone, and a student might plan to study abroad.

To infinitive after intention verbs

Nutzung	Erklärung
Expressing desire	Use to infinitive after verbs like want when you say what someone hopes to do.
Making a plan	Use to infinitive after verbs like plan when you talk about an arranged future action.
Choosing a course of action	Use to infinitive after verbs like decide and choose to name the action picked.

Some verbs introduce a to-infinitive to show hope, agreement, or refusal: hope to win, promise to help, agree to meet, refuse to sign. These verbs usually point to a later action or a response to another person. In a sentence like They agreed to wait, the first verb shows consent and the infinitive shows the action accepted. English often uses this pattern with commitments, polite arrangements, and personal reactions.

To infinitive after agreement verbs

Nutzung	Erklärung
Showing expectation	Use to infinitive after hope when you say what you expect or wish will happen.
Making a commitment	Use to infinitive after promise when you give your word about a future action.
Accepting or refusing	Use to infinitive after agree or refuse when you accept or reject an action.

Modal verbs take a bare infinitive after them: can go, must leave, should study, might rain. The modal carries the grammar of time, certainty, ability, or obligation, and the main verb stays in its base form. Auxiliaries also work with a bare infinitive in patterns such as do support in questions and negatives: Do you like tea?, They do not know. In the same way, forms like is, are, was, and were combine with participles, while the main verb remains controlled by the auxiliary system described in Auxiliary Verbs.

Auxiliary forms before bare infinitive

Subjekt	Infinitiv	Konjugation
I	do	do
you	do	do
he	do	does
we	do	do

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Let and make usually take a bare infinitive after the object: let him go, make her wait. The object comes before the base verb, and the base verb has no to. Help can take either form: help her carry or help her to carry. In fast, natural speech, the version without to is very common. These patterns are useful with everyday actions and with verbs such as To Make, To Go, and To Do.

Verb patterns with bare infinitive

Nutzung	Erklärung
Permission or allowance	Use let + object + bare infinitive when someone allows another person to do something.
Causing an action	Use make + object + bare infinitive when one person causes another to do something.
Assistance with action	Use help with to or without to when you say one person assists another.

To make a negative infinitive, place not before the infinitive: not to go, not to worry, not to be late. After many verbs, the negative form follows the same pattern as the positive form, only with not added before the infinitive. In informal speech, the to may be dropped in some structures, but the negative idea stays the same: They decided not to leave. The word not belongs with the infinitive phrase, not with the subject or the main verb.

Negating infinitives with not

Idee
Put not before a to infinitive to make it negative.
A negative infinitive can show refusal or advice.
The negative word stays directly before the infinitive phrase.

Infinitives appear in question-like structures after auxiliaries and other verbs that ask about ability, choice, or obligation: Can you help?, Should I call?, Do they want to stay? In these sentences, the auxiliary or modal comes before the subject in a question, and the main verb stays in base form. Infinitives also appear after question words in indirect questions: I do not know what to say, She asked where to sit. The question word comes first, then to plus the base verb.

Infinitives after question forms

Idee
Use a bare infinitive after an auxiliary in a question.
Use a bare infinitive after a question word in an indirect question.
In question style, the infinitive stays in base form after the helper verb.

A to-infinitive can show purpose: I went to see her, She studied to pass the exam, He moved closer to hear better. The infinitive explains why someone does something. It can also show a planned result or an intended next step: They called to confirm the booking. In everyday English, this pattern is common with travel, work, study, errands, and decisions, especially when the action is simple and the purpose is clear.

Purpose phrases in everyday talk

Phrase	Zweck
I came here to ask about the job.	shows the reason for coming
She studies hard to pass the exam.	shows the aim of studying
We left early to avoid traffic.	shows the reason for leaving
He opened the window to get fresh air.	shows the purpose of opening
I saved this note to remind myself.	shows a personal reason or plan