to + infinitive

The Infinitive with to

after:	the first	Gagarin was the first to fly in a spaceship.
	the last	Peter was the last to watch the film.
	the next	He is the next to get his passport.

after:	adjectives	I'm happy to be here.
		It's better not to smoke.

after:

certain verbs (agree, choose, forget, hope, learn, promise, regret*, want, …)

I learn to drive a car.

* After regret the to-infinitive is used when announcing bad news:
We regret to inform you that the flight to Munich has been cancelled.

In other cases the Gerund is used.

after:	question words	I don't know what to say.
		Can you tell me how to get to the bus stop?

after:

want/would like

I want you to help me.

verb + object + to-infinitive

I helped my dad to clean the car.

NOTE!!!

I want to help you.

I want you to help me.

Infinitives are defined as to + base form of the verb. They have several functions.

1. Used as subjects and subject complements.

To know me is to love me.
To live in Hawaii is my lifetime dream.

2. Used as objects following certain verbs.*

I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your gift.
He hesitated to ask the embarrassing question.

3. Used as a shortened form of in order to.

You must take this medicine (in order) to get well.
I went to the bank to cash a check.

Infinitives can sometimes take objects of their own.

We hope to find the person who did this.
I was asked to make a dessert for the potluck dinner.

*These verbs are commonly followed by infinitives.

afford beg decide forget intend mean prepare seem threaten

agree begin demand go know how need pretend start try

appear care deserve happen learn neglect promise stop volunteer

arrange choose desire hate like offer refuse struggle wait

ask claim expect hesitate love plan regret swear want

attempt consent fail hope manage prefer remember tend wish

to + infinitive

We use the to-infinitive:
• to express purpose (to answer "Why...?"):
He bought some flowers to give to his wife. He locked the door to keep everyone out.
We sometimes say in order to or in order not to:
We set off early in order to avoid the traffic. They spoke quietly in order not to wake the children
… or we can say so as to or so as not to:
We set off early so as to avoid the traffic. They spoke quietly so as not to wake the children.
• after certain verbs (see verb following by infintive), particularly verbs of thinking and feeling:
choose, decide, expect, forget, hate, hope, intend, learn, like, love, mean, plan, prefer, remember, want, would like, would love
… and verbs of saying:
agree, promise, refuse
They decided to start a business together. Remember to turn the lights out.
Some verbs are followed by a direct object and the infinitive(see verb following by infiniteve):
advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, warn, expect, intend, would prefer, want, would like
She reminded me to turn the lights out. He encouraged his friends to vote for him.
• after certain adjectives.
Sometimes the to-infinitive gives a reason for the adjective:
• disappointed
• glad
• sad
• happy
• anxious
• pleased
• surprised
• proud
• unhappy
We were happy to come to the end of our journey = We were happy because we had come to the end of our journey John was surprised to see me = He was surprised because he saw me
Other adjectives with the to-infinitive are:
• able
• unable
• due
• eager
• keen
• likely
• unlikely
• ready
• prepared
• unwilling
• willing
Unfortunately I was unable to work for over a week. I am really tired. I’m ready to go to bed.
We often use the to-infinitive with these adjectives after it to give opinions:
• difficult
• easy
• possible
• impossible
• hard
• right
• wrong
• kind
• nice
• clever
• silly
• foolish
It’s easy to play the piano, but it’s very difficult to play well. He spoke so quickly it was impossible to understand him.
We use the preposition for to show who these adjectives refer to:
• difficult
• easy
• possible
• impossible
• hard
It was difficult for us to hear what she was saying. It is easy for you to criticise other people.
We use the preposition of with other adjectives:
It’s kind of you to help. It would be silly of him to spend all his money.
• As a postmodifier (see noun phrase) after abstract nouns like:
• ability
• desire
• need
• wish
• attempt
• failure
• opportunity
• chance
• intention
I have no desire to be rich. They gave him an opportunity to escape. She was annoyed by her failure to answer the question correctly.
• We often use a to-infinitive as a postmodifier after an indefinite pronoun (See indefinite pronoun):
When I am travelling I always take something to read. I was all alone. I had no one to talk to. There is hardly anything to do in most of these small towns