Editing Infinitive (section)

{{Short description|Grammatical form}}
'''Infinitive''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] '''{{sc|inf}}''') is a [[linguistics]] term for certain [[verb]] forms existing in many languages, most often used as [[non-finite verb]]s that do not show a [[Grammatical tense|tense]]. As with many linguistic concepts, there is not a single definition applicable to all languages. The name is derived from [[Late Latin]] [{{lang|la|modus}}] {{lang|la|infinitivus}}, a derivative of {{lang|la|infinitus}} meaning "unlimited".

In traditional descriptions of [[English language|English]], the infinitive is the basic [[dictionary form]] of a verb when used non-finitely, with or without the [[grammatical particle|particle]] '''to'''. Thus '''to go''' is an infinitive, as is ''go'' in a sentence like "I must go there" (but not in "I go there", where it is a [[finite verb]]). The form without ''to'' is called the '''bare infinitive''', and the form with ''to'' is called the '''full infinitive''' or '''to-infinitive'''.

In many other languages the infinitive is a distinct single word, often with a characteristic [[inflection|inflective]] ending, like {{lang|pt|cantar}} ("[to] sing") in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], {{lang|es|morir}} ("[to] die") in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], {{lang|fr|manger}} ("[to] eat") in [[French grammar|French]], {{lang|la|portare}} ("[to] carry") in [[Latin conjugation|Latin]] and [[Italian conjugation|Italian]], {{lang|de|lieben}} ("[to] love") in [[German grammar|German]], {{Lang|ru|читать|italic=no}} ({{lang|ru-latn|chitat}}', "[to] read") in [[Russian language|Russian]], etc. However, some languages have no infinitive forms. Many [[indigenous languages of the Americas|Native American languages]], [[Arabic]], [[languages of Asia|Asian languages]] such as [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and some languages in [[languages of Africa|Africa]] and [[indigenous Australian languages|Australia]] do not have direct equivalents to infinitives or [[verbal noun]]s. Instead, they use [[balancing and deranking|finite verb forms in ordinary clauses]] or various special constructions.

Being a verb, an infinitive may take [[object (grammar)|object]]s and other complements and modifiers to form a [[verb phrase]] (called an '''infinitive phrase'''). Like other non-finite verb forms (like [[participle]]s, [[converb]]s, [[gerund]]s and [[gerundive]]s), infinitives do not generally have an expressed [[subject (grammar)|subject]]; thus an infinitive verb phrase also constitutes a complete [[non-finite clause]], called an '''infinitive (infinitival) clause'''. Such phrases or clauses may play a variety of roles within sentences, often being [[noun]]s (for example being the subject of a sentence or being a complement of another verb), and sometimes being [[adverb]]s or other types of modifier. Many verb forms known as infinitives differ from [[gerund]]s (verbal nouns) in that they do not inflect for [[Grammatical case|case]] or occur in [[adpositional phrase]]s. Instead, infinitives often originate in earlier inflectional forms of verbal nouns.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://users.utu.fi/jumyli/wp-content/uploads/sites/1378/2022/09/defining.pdf |title=Defining non-finites: action nominals, converbs and infinitives.|first=Jussi|last=Ylikoski|date=2003|journal=SKY Journal of Linguistics|volume=16|pages=185–237}}</ref> Unlike finite verbs, infinitives are not usually inflected for [[grammatical tense|tense]], [[grammatical person|person]], etc. either, although some degree of inflection sometimes occurs; for example Latin has distinct [[grammatical voice|active and passive]] infinitives.