Infinitives
Infinitives are the dictionary forms of verbs and they guide you on how a verb behaves and how to use it. This first section introduces infinitives and why they matter.
What Infinitives Are
An infinitive is the basic form of a verb before it is conjugated for person or tense. In French, infinitives end in ‑er, ‑ir, or ‑re, and they function as names of actions.
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Infinitives in English
English infinitives are formed with to plus the base verb, like to eat or to run. Sometimes the infinitive appears without to after certain helpers.
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Why Infinitives Matter
Learning infinitives lets you find verbs in the dictionary, group them by type, and recognize them in sentences where they act like nouns or follow other verbs. Infinitives are building blocks for grammar.
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Key Infinitives
This short list of common infinitives shows typical endings and useful everyday actions to learn first. Each example pairs the French verb with its English meaning.
| French Infinitive | English Infinitive |
|---|---|
| manger | to eat |
| finir | to finish |
| attendre | to wait |
| être | to be |
| avoir | to have |
| French Example | English Example |
|---|---|
| 🌱 Planter la graine est facile. | To plant the seed is easy. |
| 💧 Arroser les plants les aide à grandir. | To water the plants helps them grow. |
| ☀️ Donner du soleil aux fleurs les fait éclore. | To give the flowers sun makes them bloom. |
| 🧑🌾 J’aime désherber le potager le matin. | I like to weed the garden in the morning. |
| 🥬 Il faut couper les feuilles abîmées. | It is necessary to cut the damaged leaves. |
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Summary
Infinitives are the dictionary forms of verbs that end in ‑er, ‑ir, or ‑re and appear as names of actions. Learning infinitives helps you look up verbs, group them by pattern, and use them correctly in sentences.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025