6 Infinitives Home Sweet Home Focus on Grammar

6 Infinitives Home Sweet Home Focus on Grammar 5 Part VI, Unit 16 By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Do You Want to Buy a House? When you are ready to purchase a home, it is essential to know how much you can afford to spend. Location will be an important factor. People who choose to buy a larger house in a rural area can expect to have a longer commute. If you love to garden, you may prefer to invest in a bigger lot. Don’t forget to talk with the neighbors to learn more about the neighborhood. Your goal is to create a happy home and make the best possible investment.

Form and Function An infinitive is to + the base form of a verb. Infinitives function in a variety of ways. Infinitives can act like nouns in a sentence. subject object subject complement

Infinitives as Subjects subject To find the right property takes time. subject To buy a house you really love is important.

Infinitives as Objects object People may choose to buy a larger house. object You can expect to have a longer commute.

Infinitives as Subject Complements A subject complement is a phrase that describes or explains the subject of a sentence. subject complement Your goal is to make the best investment possible. subject complement Their dream was to have a big kitchen.

Infinitives Following Adjectives followed by infinitives often express feelings about the action in the infinitive. Examples: afraid, amazed, excited, fortunate, glad, happy, important, likely, necessary, proud, reluctant, sorry, and willing adjective infinitive They were ready to purchase a home. adjective infinitive It will be necessary to inspect the property.

Infinitives vs. Gerunds 1 Some verbs are followed by infinitives or gerunds with no change in meaning. Examples: begin, can’t stand, continue, hate, like, love, prefer, and start. infinitive You may prefer to invest in a bigger lot. gerund You may prefer investing in a bigger lot.

Infinitives vs. Gerunds 2 Some verbs are followed by infinitives or gerunds with a significant change in meaning. Examples: forget, go on, quit, regret, remember, stop, and try. You haven’t done it – but it’s a good idea. You talked to them – don’t you remember? infinitive Don’t forget to talk to the neighbors. gerund Don’t forget talking to the neighbors.

Practice 1 Example: Complete the sentences with the infinitive or gerund form of the verb. A couple was jogging down the street. They stopped (talk) __ to the new to talk neighbors. 1. The people who just moved in are unfriendly. talking We stopped (talk) __ to them. 2. She forgot (buy)__ paint. She has to go back to the to buy store. to __ 3. I hope I remember (go)go to the neighborhood meeting next week.

Practice 2 Make sentences using infinitives and the adjective in parentheses. Example: Luckily, they found the perfect property. (fortunate) They were fortunate to find the perfect property. 1. The owner didn’t want to hand over the keys. (reluctant) The owner was reluctant to hand over the keys. 2. They found some cracks in the foundation. (shocked) They were shocked to find some cracks in the foundation. 3. I moved from my first apartment. (sorry) I was sorry to move from my first apartment.

Passive Infinitives Use to + be or get + past participle to make a passive infinitive in the present. Use to + have + been + past participle for the past. Request to be shown houses in your price range. infinitive The renovations were to have been done quickly.

References Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and its licensors. All rights reserved.