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What is an infinitive?

infinitive

 [in-fin-i-tiv]   Example Sentences Origin

in·fin·i·tive

   [in-fin-i-tiv] Grammar
noun
1.
a verb form found in many languages that functions as a noun or is used with auxiliary verbs, and that names the action or state without specifying the subject, as French venir “to come,” Latin esse “to be,” fuisse “to have been.”
2.
(in English) the simple or basic form of the verb, as come, take, eat, be, used after auxiliary verbs, as in I didn't come, He must be, or this simple form preceded by a function word, as to in I want to eat.
adjective
3.
consisting of or containing an infinitive: an infinitive construction. Abbreviation: infin.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Infinitive is always a great word to know.
So is pilcrow. Does it mean:
a mark (‸) made in written or printed matter to show the place where something is to be inserted.
a paragraph mark.
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Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin infīnītīvus indefinite, equivalent to in- in-3 + fīnītīvus definite; see finite, -ive

Related forms
in·fin·i·tive·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To infinitive
Example Sentences
  • All three authorities concluded that where the infinitive is concerned, sense and readability should rule.
  • It is bracing to learn, for example, that the prohibition on splitting the infinitive is fairly recent.
  • Rarely does anyone object to a speaker's avoidance of the split infinitive.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
infinitive (ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv)
 
—n
a form of the verb not inflected for grammatical categories such as tense and person and used without an overt subject. In English, the infinitive usually consists of the word to followed by the verb
 
infinitival
 
—adj
 
in'finitively
 
—adv
 
infini'tivally
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

infinitive
"simple, uninflected form of a verb," 1520, from L.L. infinitivus "unlimited, indefinite," from L. infinitus (see infinite). "Indefinite" because not having definite person or number.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

infinitive definition


The simple or dictionary form of a verb: walk, think, fly, exist. Often the word to marks a verb as an infinitive: “to walk,” “to think,” “to fly,” “to exist.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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