Infinitive verbs are those that are used to define an action without providing additional information about the number, the person, or the moment when the action is carried out. Therefore, they express the action in a generic way without going into particularities about the circumstances in which said action is carried out. The verb forms in the infinitive have an ending, which are considered as verbs in the infinitive ar, er, ir, like walk, return or start, which are the three conjugations of the Spanish language.
What are infinitive verbs
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The term comes from the Latin infinitus, whose meaning refers to the lack of limits and which is considered one of the many grammatical modes of Latin. The grammar encompasses verbs in infinitive mode as a verb form without limits and that has different characteristics, some of them may be proper or elementary of nouns, however, it does not have some features that are usually common in verbs, for example, the expressions in the categories, that is, the mode, the person, among others. Thanks to the lexicographic, the infinitive of a verb can be known in different languages.
Within those languages, there is, in addition to Spanish, English, Portuguese and Greek and they are expressed as a special way to make sentences with verbs in the infinitive, this makes it appear as a motto in a dictionary, a clear example of these verbs they are wanting, being able, eating, starting, scratching, believing or seeing.
But in addition to all this, it is important to mention that infinitives cannot be presented all the time with those same characteristics, even less in a specific language, this is because there are languages that do not have their own or strict infinitives.
The clearest example of this is current Greek, since different elements or tools are used to use the verb in substantive sentences. It is important to note that infinitive verbs are part of the 3 non-personal ways of verbs, here the participle and the gerund are included and all of these generate different functions, all with their own characteristics and elements.
All this makes it clear that the infinitive has its own function, it acts as a nominal predicate, as a subject, as a complement to a verb, a noun, an adverb or an adjective, but also as a direct or circumstantial complement.
Like the gerund and the participle, the use of the infinitive does not depend on the agreement of gender and number like the rest of the verb forms. Its function matches those of the noun. In this way, if I say “he likes to dance” it is equivalent to saying “they like to dance”. Sometimes it is accompanied by an article in the singular, for example, "eat" or "work" or in the plural, for example "the walk" or "the pleasures".
Simple infinitive
In this aspect, it is not necessary to use different words or auxiliary or conjugated verbs, however, if it has the common endings of infinitive verbs, that is, er, ar and ir. In simple infinitives there are no previous nuances, only a single word is needed, for example, sing, come, run.
Compound infinitive
This aspect is composed of auxiliary verbs, including haber, which are found in infinitive form, but also, they are composed of a participle verb whose endings are so, to, cho, ido or ado. Among the most practical examples of this aspect, there are sentences such as "if he had felt that, he could easily be described as a person lacking in morality."
It should be noted that the verbs in infinitives for objectives in this aspect are haber and ser. Another practical example is the sentence "if they had arrived at the appointment at the indicated time, the subject would not have left, perhaps they could have had more patience, but they should not have done so. Verbs are to have.
It is also important to mention the difference between the gerund verb and the participle, since both are known to be impersonal forms of the verb and that, in addition, they make up different verbal constructions, for example, we had commented or were commenting.
The gerund indicates the actions temporarily subordinated by the main one, in addition, it tends to be prior, simultaneous or subsequent to it, an example of this is the word arriving. The participle, on the other hand, refers to past actions, but it also tends to function as an adjective, for example, the term blocked or terminated. The simplest ways to differentiate one verb from another can be the ending.
Classification of infinitive verbs
In Spanish, verbs in the infinitive are classified according to their ending, that is, in verbs of first, second and third conjugation.
First conjugation
They are all those whose infinitive ends in -ar, for example, jump, dance, sing, bark, fill, among others.
Second conjugation
They are those that end in -er. A classic example of this aspect is the words run, eat, drink, have, etc.
Third conjugation
It corresponds to those verbs whose final letters end in -ir, among them, digest, open, sleep, live, etc.
Other functions of verbs in the infinitive
The infinitives in Spanish have different functions, among them, the noun, this means that it can act as a complement to the verb, as a subject, adjective, modify the names or function as an adverb, as mentioned previously throughout the post. It is important to mention that in different cases, in Spanish it can be infinitive verbs, while in English it is a gerund.
Sometimes it acts as an adverb (close to departure), as a complement to the adjective (difficult to achieve), as a circumstantial complement (wine without dinner) or as a complement to the adverb (far from winning). We must not forget that the infinitive has a simple form (win, return or leave) but also a compound form (the infinitive of having more than one participle, such as having won or having left).
It is used after impersonal expressions with ser + adjective (it is easy to decide or it is useless to try). It is usually presented with the formulation verb + preposition a + infinitive (I'll start to play) or the verbal structure + preposition of + infinitive (it has never stopped getting fat).
Sentences with infinitive verbs
These sentences are known to have one or more infinitive verbs with their endings, this makes them form a nucleus in which the proportions or parts make up a sentence.
These sentences have an essential characteristic and that is that verbs in the infinitive can be seen in their simple, compound or periphrasis form, which makes the sentence imperative with rules, mandates and orders, admiration and question marks. A basic example of these sentences can be "Martin is very happy to have helped someone."
Infinitive verbs for objects can also be applied in sentences without any problem.
And there is also the possibility of translating them into different sentences by making conjugations or forming ideas, for example:
- We have to run in the opposite direction.
- The lady should not have been called at that time.
- The article could be written on time.
- Maria shouldn't have sang so loud.
- Juan must have been attentive to his father's call.
Examples of verbs in the infinitive
There are different examples of these verbs in both Spanish and English, in fact, in the latter language there are too many doubts to conform or conjugate them, so it is important to specify them in two different aspects:
In English
Infinitives in English are known as the basic form of verbs, so when facing them, reference is made to the present infinitive, whose form is quite common. It is important to mention the different verb forms in which it is presented in English, for example, passive infinitive, perfect continuous infinitive and continuous infinitive. Examples in English include the following verbs:
- Agree
- Appear
- Ask
- Begin
- Continue
- Choose
- Deserve
- I will give
- Fail
- Dislike
But there are also some sentences in English that have infinitive verbs, among them:
- I'm studying to get a good mark.
- I tried to call him.
- They Forgot to buy the phone.
- She wants to call her.
- She went there to learn French.
In Spanish
As mentioned throughout the post, there are different types of verbs that can be applied in infinitive form, therefore, in this post a list of infinitive verbs will be provided, starting with:
- to love
- Tie
- Random
- Get
- Do
- To have
- Sing
- To be
- to write
- Run
