It is somewhat misleading to use the word subject, however, since an infinitive phrase is not a full clause with a subject and a finite verb. Carol (actor or "subject" of infinitive phrase) to be (infinitive) the captain (subject complement for Carol, via state of being expressed in infinitive) of the team (prepositional phrase as adjective)Īctors: In these last two examples the actor of the infinitive phrase could be roughly characterized as the "subject" of the action or state expressed in the infinitive. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb wanted. Prepositional Phrases: to him, to the committee, to my house, to the mountains, to us, to this addressĪn Infinitive Phrase is a group of words consisting of an infinitive and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the actor(s), direct object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the infinitive, such as:Įveryone wanted Carol to be the captain of the team.Infinitives: to fly, to draw, to become, to enter, to stand, to catch, to belong.(adjective)īe sure not to confuse an infinitive-a verbal consisting of to plus a verb-with a prepositional phrase beginning with to, which consists of to plus a noun or pronoun and any modifiers. To wait seemed foolish when decisive action was required.Although an infinitive is easy to locate because of the to + verb form, deciding what function it has in a sentence can sometimes be confusing. However, the infinitive may function as a subject, direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence. The term verbal indicates that an infinitive, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. This handout provides a detailed overview (including descriptions and examples) of gerunds, participles, and infinitives.Īn infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its simplest "stem" form) and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.
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