I was lucky to have met him.
THE INFINITIVE
A. Forms of the Infinitive
Active Passive
Present (to) give (to) be given
Pr. C. be giving -
Perfect have given have been given
Perf. C. have been -
giving
The verb tenses corresponding to the tenses of the infinitive are as follows:
Verb Tenses Infinitive
he studies/will study ( to) study
he is studying/will be studying (to) be studying
he studied/has studied/ had to have studied
studied/will have studied
he was studying/has been to have been
studying/had been studying/ studying
will have been studying
• The present infinitiverefers to the present or
future.
/ expect them to giveme the information soon. I hope to be acceptedfor the position. (Passive)
• The present continuous infinitiverefers to an
action happening at the time of speaking.
She appears to be studyingat the moment.
• The perfect infinitiverefers to the past. It shows
that the action of the infinitive happened before
the action of the verb.
He claims to have finishedthe report.
The report seems to have been finished.
(Passive)
• The perfect continuous infinitiverefers to the
past. It emphasises the duration of the action of
the infinitive, which happened before the action
of the verb.
She says she is exhausted. She claims to havebeen cleaning the house all morning. (We emphasise that she had been cleaning the house all morning.)
Note:The perfect infinitive and the perfect continuous infinitive are used with modal verbsand verbs such as: seem, expect, claim, believe, appear and know.
C. The infinitive without to is used:
· after most modal verbs
· after the verbslet, make, see, hear, feel + object
But: be made, be heard, etc + to-inf.
· after had better and would rather
· after Why not…?
· Help, knoware followed by either to-inf. or the infinitive without to
B. The to-infinitive is used:
• to express purpose.
Pam went to the supermarket to buysome eggs.
• after certain verbs (e.g. agree, appear, decide,
expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse, etc.).
We have decided to sellour old car.
• after adjectives which a) describe feelings/emotions
(happy, glad, etc.), b) express willingness/
unwillingness (willing, eager, reluctant, anxious,
etc.) c) refer to a person's character (clever,
kind, etc.) and the adjectives lucky and fortunate.
She was glad to hearthe good news.
I was lucky to have met him.
Note:With adjectives which refer to character we
can also use an impersonal construction. It + be
+ adjective + of + noun/pronoun. It was kind
of you to tell me what to do.
• after certain nouns and pronouns (e.g. something,
anyone, etc.) to show that something is necessary
or possible.
She's got a project to complete.There's nothinginteresting to talk about.
• after too/enough.
They aren't fit enough to winthe championship.
• with it + be + adjective/noun
It is necessary to leave before dark. It istheir dream to reachthe South Pole.
* with: so + adjective + asWould you be so kind as to
help me move the sofa?
• to talk about an unexpected event which can be
unpleasant, usually with only.
They ran to the front door only to realisetheir mother had already left.
• after be + the first/second, etc., next/last/best,
etc.
She was the lastperson to leavethe building.
• after verbs and expressions such as ask, learn,
explain, decide, find out, wonder, want to
know,etc., when they are followed by question
words (who, what, etc.). Why is followed by a
subject + verb,not by an infinitive.
She wanted to know what to donext. I wonder why she was crying.
• after would like/would love/would prefer to
express specific preference.
/ would love to have spaghetti for dinner.
• in the expressions: to tell you the truth, to be
honest, to begin/start with, to sum up, etc.
To be honest, I don't like Kim very much.
Note:If two to-infinitives are joined with "and" or "or", the "to" of the second infinitive can be omitted. They promised to visit and tellus all about their trip to Moscow.