Verbals, Part III: Infinitives

Infinitives are verb forms (words that you recognize as verbs or “action” words) which are comprised of the word “to,” followed by a verb. Infinitives may function as adjectives, nouns, or adverbs.

Infinitive as a(n) . . .

Noun:
To err is human. [“To err” is the subject in this sentence.]
His dream is to travel. [“To travel” is the predicate nominative, which restates the subject as an equality.]
Sally likes to shop. [“To shop” is the direct object, receiving the action directly from the subject.]

Adjective:
She is the one to ask. [“To ask” modifies the pronoun, “one.”]
The correct way to eat is with chopsticks. [“To eat” modifies the noun, “way.”]

Adverb:
My friends are hoping to watch television later tonight. [“To watch” modifies the verb, “hoping.”]
She is always quick to answer the teacher’s questions. [“To answer” modifies the adverb, “quick.”]

IMPORTANT: The word “to,” when followed by a noun or pronoun, is a prepositional phrase: to Disneyland, to school. When “to” is followed by an adjective, it is also likely a prepositional phrase: to the moon, to her house, to our car.

Determine whether the underlined phrase is an infinitive or a prepositional phrase.

1.	We were waiting to perform.
2.	He has offered a gift to you.
3.	I am ready to leave.
4.	Do you want to drive home today?
5.	We have to go to school to pick up the rest of our books.
6.	To succeed, students must study every night and be good readers.
7.	We are headed to town to pick up some supplies for our trip.
8.	A good way to learn is to sit in the front of the class and take notes.
9.	To me, this is the easiest assignment we have had to do all year.
10.	I told them to leave after dinner was over.

Write a sentence in which you use each of the words, either as a part of an infinitive or a part of a prepositional phrase that uses “to” as its preposition.

1.	Go, store
2.	Give, children
3.	Donate, charity
4.	Fly, Phoenix
5.	Listen, radio
6.	Cook, party
7.	Play, park
8.	Help, destination
9.	Finish, school
10.	Sit, stadium