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{{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. ==Phrases and clauses== An ''infinitive phrase'' is a [[verb phrase]] constructed with the verb in infinitive form. This consists of the verb together with its [[object (grammar)|object]]s and other [[complement (grammar)|complement]]s and [[modifier (grammar)|modifier]]s. Some examples of infinitive phrases in English are given below – these may be based on either the full infinitive (introduced by the [[grammatical particle|particle]] ''to'') or the bare infinitive (without the particle ''to''). *(to) sleep *(to) write ten letters *(to) go to the store for a pound of sugar Infinitive phrases often have an implied [[grammatical subject]] making them effectively [[clause]]s rather than phrases. Such ''infinitive clauses'' or ''infinitival clauses'', are one of several kinds of [[non-finite clause]]. They can play various grammatical roles like a [[constituent (linguistics)|constituent]] of a larger clause or sentence; for example it may form a [[noun phrase]] or [[adverb]]. Infinitival clauses may be embedded within each other in complex ways, like in the sentence: *I want to tell you that John Welborn is going to get married to Blair. Here the infinitival clause ''to get married'' is contained within the finite [[dependent clause]] ''that John Welborn is going to get married to Blair''; this in turn is contained within another infinitival clause, which is contained in the finite [[independent clause]] (the whole sentence). The grammatical structure of an infinitival clause may differ from that of a corresponding finite clause. For example, in [[German grammar|German]], the infinitive form of the verb usually goes to the end of its clause, whereas a finite verb (in an independent clause) typically comes in [[V2 word order|second position]]. ==Clauses with implicit subject in the objective case== Following certain verbs or prepositions, infinitives commonly ''do'' have an implicit subject, e.g., *I want '''them to eat their dinner'''. *For '''him to fail now''' would be a disappointment. As these examples illustrate, the implicit subject of the infinitive occurs in the [[oblique case|objective]] case (them, him) in contrast to the [[nominative case]] that occurs with a finite verb, e.g., "They ate their dinner." Such [[accusative and infinitive]] constructions are present in [[Latin]] and [[Ancient Greek]], as well as many modern languages. The atypical case regarding the implicit subject of an infinitive is an example of [[exceptional case-marking]]. As shown in the above examples, the object of the transitive verb "want" and the preposition "for" allude to their respective pronouns' subjective role within the clauses. ==Marking for tense, aspect and voice {{anchor|Perfect}}== In some languages, infinitives may be marked for [[grammatical category|grammatical categories]] like [[grammatical voice|voice]], [[grammatical aspect|aspect]], and to some extent [[grammatical tense|tense]]. This may be done by [[inflection]], as with the Latin perfect and passive infinitives, or by [[periphrasis]] (with the use of [[auxiliary verb]]s), as with the Latin future infinitives or the English perfect and progressive infinitives. Latin has present, perfect and future infinitives, with active and [[passive voice|passive]] forms of each. For details see {{slink|Latin conjugation|Infinitives}}. English has infinitive constructions that are marked (periphrastically) for aspect: [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]], [[progressive aspect|progressive]] (continuous), or a combination of the two ([[perfect progressive]]). These can also be marked for [[English passive voice|passive voice]] (as can the plain infinitive): *''(to) eat'' (plain infinitive, active) *''(to) be eaten'' (passive) *''(to) have eaten'' (perfect active) *''(to) have been eaten'' (perfect passive) *''(to) be eating'' (progressive active) *''(to) be being eaten'' (progressive passive) *''(to) have been eating'' (perfect progressive active) *''(to) have been being eaten'' (perfect progressive passive, not often used) Further constructions can be made with other auxiliary-like expressions, like ''(to) be [[going to]] eat'' or ''(to) be [[about to]] eat'', which have future meaning. For more examples of the above types of construction, see {{slink|Uses of English verb forms|Perfect and progressive non-finite constructions}}. Perfect infinitives are also found in other European languages that have [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]] forms with auxiliaries similarly to English. For example, ''avoir mangé'' means "(to) have eaten" in French. ==English== {{See also|English verbs}} The term "infinitive" is traditionally applied to the unmarked form of the verb (the [[English verbs#Base form|"plain form"]]) when it forms a [[non-finite verb]], whether or not introduced by the [[grammatical particle|particle]] ''to''. Hence ''sit'' and ''to sit'', as used in the following sentences, would each be considered an infinitive: * I can '''sit''' here all day. * I want '''to sit''' on the other chair. The form without ''to'' is called the ''bare infinitive''; the form introduced by ''to'' is called the ''full infinitive'' or ''to-infinitive''. The other non-finite verb forms in English are the [[gerund]] or present [[participle]] (the ''-ing'' form), and the [[past participle]] – these are not considered infinitives. Moreover, the unmarked form of the verb is not considered an infinitive when it forms a [[finite verb]]: like a present [[indicative mood|indicative]] ("I ''sit'' every day"), [[English subjunctive|subjunctive]] ("I suggest that he ''sit''"), or [[imperative mood|imperative]] ("''Sit'' down!"). (For some [[English irregular verbs|irregular verbs]] the form of the infinitive coincides additionally with that of the past tense and/or past participle, like in the case of ''put''.) Certain [[auxiliary verb]]s are [[English modal verbs|modal verbs]] (such as ''can'', ''must'', etc., which [[defective verb|defective]] verbs lacking an infinitive form or any truly inflected non-finite form) are complemented by a bare infinitive verb. [[Periphrasis|periphrastic]] items, such as (1) [[had better]] or [[ought to]] as substitutes for ''should,'' (2) [[used to]] as a substitute for [[Do-support|did]], and (3) ''(to) be able to'' for ''can'', are similarly complemented by a bare infinitive verb. Infinitives are [[English grammar#Negation|negated]] by simply preceding them with ''not''. Of course the verb ''do'', when complementing a finite verb, occurs as an infinitive. However, the auxiliary verbs ''have'' (used to form the [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]]) and ''be'' (used to form the [[passive voice]] and [[continuous aspect]]) often occur as an infinitive: "I should '''have''' finished by now"; "It's thought '''to have''' been a burial site"; "Let him '''be''' released"; "I hope '''to be''' working tomorrow." [[Rodney Huddleston|Huddleston]] and [[Geoffrey Pullum|Pullum]]'s ''Cambridge Grammar of the English Language'' (2002) does not use the notion of the "infinitive" ("there is no form in the English verb paradigm called 'the infinitive'"), only that of the ''infinitival [[clause (grammar)|clause]]'', noting that English uses the same form of the verb, the ''plain form'', in infinitival clauses that it uses in imperative and present-subjunctive clauses.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Huddleston|first1=Rodney|author-link1=Rodney Huddleston|last2=Pullum|first2=Geoffrey K.|author-link2=Geoffrey K. Pullum|title=A Student's Introduction to English Grammar|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge UP|isbn=9780521848374|page=204}}</ref> A matter of controversy among [[prescriptive grammar]]ians and style writers has been the appropriateness of separating the two words of the ''to''-infinitive (as in "I expect ''to'' happily ''sit'' here"). For details of this, see [[split infinitive]]. Opposing [[linguistics|linguistic]] theories typically do not consider the ''to''-infinitive a distinct [[constituent (linguistics)|constituent]], instead regarding the scope of the particle ''to'' as an entire verb phrase; thus, ''to buy a car'' is parsed like ''<nowiki>to [buy [a car]]</nowiki>'', not like ''<nowiki>[to buy] [a car]</nowiki>''. ===Uses of the infinitive=== The bare infinitive and the ''to''-infinitive have a variety of uses in English. The two forms are mostly in [[complementary distribution]] – certain contexts call for one, and certain contexts for the other; they are not normally interchangeable, except in occasional instances like after the verb ''help'', where either can be used. The main uses of infinitives (or infinitive phrases) are varied: *[[complement (grammar)|Complement]]ing the [[do-support|dummy auxiliary]] ''do'', e.g., "I do '''like''' coffee but I don't '''care''' for tea." *In a bare infinitive form as [[dative case|an object complement]], i.e. {{endash}} :# to complement a [[English modal verbs|modal auxiliary verb]], "I can't '''breathe'''" or "I can '''see''' clearly now." :# to complement a [[direct object]] that {{ndash}} :::a. follows a verb of perception such as ''see'', ''watch'' or ''hear'', e.g. "We saw it '''fall'''" or "I can hear the birds '''sing'''." :::b. follows a verb of causation such as ''make'', ''bid'', or ''have'', e.g. "Make it '''stop''' or "We'll have them '''call''' you." :::c. follows a verb of permission, e.g. "Let me '''ask''' you something." *As a bare infinitive that comprises a phrase rendered in the vestigial [[permissive mood]], e.g. "Let it '''be'''." *As a bare infinitive that comprises a phrase rendered as a [[hortative]] utterance, e.g. "Let's '''leave'''." *As complements of certain [[fossil word|fossil phrase]]s such as ''[[had better]]'' and ''[[would rather]]'' (with bare infinitive), ''in order to'', ''as if to'', ''[[am to]]/is to/are to''. *As a noun phrase, expressing its action or state in an abstract, general way that functions, e.g. as {{ndash}} :# the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] of a clause: "'''To err''' is human" or "'''To know''' me is to love me." :# the [[object (grammar)|object]] of a [[predicative expression]]: "What you should do is '''make''' a list" or "To know me is '''to love me'''". *[[Adverb]]ially: :# to express purpose, intent or result, as the ''to''-infinitive can have the meaning of ''in order to'', e.g. "I closed the door [in order] '''to block''' out any noise." :# to characterize and adjective, e.g., "keen '''to get''' on" or "nice '''to listen''' to". *[[Adjective|Adjectivally]], characterizing a noun, e.g. "a request '''to see''' someone" or "the method '''to use'''." *In [[ellipsis (linguistics)|elliptical]] questions (direct or indirect): "I don't know where '''to go'''." *In [[Sentence clause structure#Incomplete sentences|sentence fragment]] that constitutes an [[interrogative]] {{ndash}} :# the bare infinitive is used after ''why'', e.g., "Why '''reveal''' it?" :# the ''to-'' infinitive is used: :::a. after ''whom'', e.g., "Whom to '''believe'''?" :::b. after ''what'', e.g., "What to '''do'''?" :::c. after ''when'', e.g., "When to '''surrender'''?" :::d. after ''where'', e.g., "Where to '''go'''?" :::e. after ''how'', e.g., "How to '''know'''?" The infinitive typically is the [[dictionary form]] or citation form of a verb. The form listed in a dictionary entry is the bare infinitive, but the ''to''-infinitive is often used when defining other verbs, e.g. :'''<big>amble</big> (verb)''' :'''ambled; ambling''' :''intransitive verb'' :#to walk slowly :#to stroll without a particular aim For further detail and examples of the uses of infinitives in English, see [[Uses of English verb forms#Bare infinitive|Bare infinitive]] and [[Uses of English verb forms#To-infinitive|''To''-infinitive]] in the article on uses of English verb forms. == Other Germanic languages == The original [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] [[Suffix#Inflectional suffixes|ending]] of the infinitive was ''-an'', with verbs derived from other words ending in ''-jan'' or ''-janan''. In [[German language|German]] it is ''-en'' ("sagen"), with ''-eln'' or ''-ern'' endings on a few words based on -l or -r roots ("segeln", "ändern"). The use of ''[[wikt:zu#Particle|zu]]'' with infinitives is similar to English ''to'', but is less frequent than in English. German infinitives can form nouns, often expressing abstractions of the action, in which case they are of neuter gender: ''das Essen'' means ''the eating'', but also ''the food''. In [[Dutch language|Dutch]] infinitives also end in ''-en'' (''zeggen'' — ''to say''), sometimes used with ''te'' similar to English ''to'', e.g., "Het is niet moeilijk te begrijpen" → "It is not hard to understand." The few verbs with stems ending in ''-a'' have infinitives in -n (''gaan'' — ''to go'', ''slaan'' — ''to hit''). [[Afrikaans]] has lost the distinction between the infinitive and present forms of verbs, with the exception of the verbs "wees" (to be), which admits the present form "is", and the verb "hê" (to have), whose present form is "het". In North Germanic languages the final ''-n'' was lost from the infinitive as early as 500–540 AD, reducing the suffix to ''-a''. Later it has been further reduced to ''-e'' in Danish and some Norwegian dialects (including the written majority language [[bokmål]]). In the majority of Eastern Norwegian dialects and a few bordering Western Swedish dialects the reduction to ''-e'' was only partial, leaving some infinitives in ''-a'' and others in ''-e'' (å laga vs. å kaste). In northern parts of Norway the infinitive suffix is completely lost (å lag’ vs. å kast’) or only the ''-a'' is kept (å laga vs. å kast’). The infinitives of these languages are inflected for passive voice through the addition of ''-s'' or ''-st'' to the active form. This suffix appeared in Old Norse as a contraction of ''mik'' (“me”, forming ''-mk'') or ''sik'' (reflexive pronoun, forming ''-sk'') and originally expressed reflexive actions: (hann) ''kallar'' (“[he] calls”) + ''-sik'' (“himself”) > (hann) ''kallask'' (“[he] calls himself”). The suffixes ''-mk'' and ''-sk'' later merged into ''-s'', which evolved to ''-st'' in the western dialects. The loss or reduction of ''-a'' in the active voice in Norwegian did not occur in the passive forms (''-ast'', ''-as''), except for some dialects that have ''-es''. The other North Germanic languages have the same vowel in both forms. == Latin and Romance languages == The formation of the infinitive in the [[Romance languages]] reflects that in their ancestor, [[Latin]], almost all verbs had an infinitive ending with ''-re'' (preceded by one of various thematic vowels). For example, in [[Italian language|Italian]] infinitives end in ''-are'', ''-ere'', ''-rre'' (rare), or ''-ire'' (which is still identical to the Latin forms), and in ''-arsi'', ''-ersi'', ''-rsi'', ''-irsi'' for the reflexive forms. In [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], infinitives end in ''-ar'', ''-er'', or ''-ir'' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] also has reflexive forms in ''-arse'', ''-erse'', ''-irse''), while similarly in [[French language|French]] they typically end in ''-re'', ''-er'', ''oir'', and ''-ir''. In [[Romanian language|Romanian]], both short and long-form infinitives exist; the so-called "long infinitives" end in ''-are, -ere, -ire'' and in modern speech are used exclusively as verbal nouns, while there are a few verbs that cannot be converted into the [[noun|nominal]] long infinitive.<ref>{{citation |chapter-url=http://ebooks.unibuc.ro/filologie/dindelegan/2.pdf |editor-last=Pană Dindelegan |editor-first=Gabriela |chapter=Aspecte ale substantivizării în româna actuală. Forme de manifestare a substantivizării adjectivului |first=Gabriela |last=Pană Dindelegan |author-link=Gabriela Pană Dindelegan |language=ro |title=Aspecte ale dinamicii limbii române actuale II |place=Bucharest |publisher=University of Bucharest |isbn=973-575-825-3 |date=2004 |access-date=2011-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011015959/http://ebooks.unibuc.ro/filologie/dindelegan/2.pdf |archive-date=2017-10-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The "short infinitives" used in verbal contexts (e.g., after an auxiliary verb) have the endings ''-a'',''-ea'', ''-e'', and ''-i'' (basically removing the ending in "-re"). In Romanian, the infinitive is usually replaced by a clause containing the conjunction ''să'' plus the subjunctive mood. The only verb that is modal in common modern Romanian is the verb ''a putea'', to be able to. However, in popular speech the infinitive after ''a putea'' is also increasingly replaced by the subjunctive. In all Romance languages, infinitives can also form nouns. Latin infinitives challenged several of the generalizations about infinitives. They did inflect for [[Grammatical voice|voice]] (''amare'', "to love", ''amari'', to be loved) and for tense (''amare'', "to love", ''amavisse'', "to have loved"), and allowed for an overt expression of the subject (''video Socratem currere'', "I see Socrates running"). See {{slink|Latin conjugation|Infinitives}}. Romance languages inherited from Latin the possibility of an overt expression of the subject (as in Italian ''vedo Socrate correre''). Moreover, the "'''inflected infinitive'''" (or "personal infinitive") found in Portuguese and [[Galician language|Galician]] inflects for person and number.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maurer Júnior |first=Theodoro Henrique |title=O infinito flexionado português |publisher=Companhia Editora Nacional |year=1968 |location=São Paulo |language=pt |author-link=Theodoro Henrique Maurer Júnior}}</ref> These, alongside some dialects of Logudorese Sardinian, Old Neapolitan and some modern Southern Italian languages {{citation needed|date=August 2021}} are the only [[Indo-European languages]] that allow infinitives to take person and number endings. This helps to make infinitive clauses very common in these languages; for example, the English finite clause ''in order that you/she/we have...'' would be translated to Portuguese like ''para ter'''es'''/ela ter/ter'''mos'''...'' (Portuguese is a [[null-subject language]]). The Portuguese personal infinitive has no proper tenses, only aspects (imperfect and perfect), but tenses can be expressed using [[periphrasis|periphrastic]] structures. For instance, ''"even though you sing/have sung/are going to sing"'' could be translated to ''"apesar de cantares/teres cantado/ires cantar"''. Other Romance languages (including Spanish, Romanian, Catalan, and some Italian dialects) allow uninflected infinitives to combine with overt nominative subjects. For example, Spanish ''al abrir '''yo''' los ojos'' ("when I opened my eyes") or ''sin '''yo''' saberlo'' ("without my knowing about it").<ref>{{cite thesis |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/4097236/Teza-doctorala-despre-infinitiv-in-limbile-romanice |title=Pragmatic Causation in the Rise of the Romance Prepositional Infinitive: A statistically-based study with special reference to Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian|first=Kim|last=Schulte|date=2004|pages=153–70|type=Ph.D. |publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-3-03911-327-9 |title=Prepositional Infinitives in Romance: A Usage-based Approach to Syntactic Change |series=Studies in Historical Linguistics |volume=3 |first=Kim|last=Schulte|date=2007|pages=73–84|place=Berne/Oxford|publisher=Peter Lang}}</ref> ==Hellenic languages== ===Ancient Greek=== {{Main|Infinitive (Ancient Greek)}} In [[Ancient Greek]] the infinitive has four tenses (present, future, aorist, perfect) and three voices (active, middle, passive). Present and perfect have the same infinitive for both middle and passive, while future and aorist have separate middle and passive forms. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" ! tense !! active !! middle !! passive |- ! present | {{lang|grc|παιδεύειν}} | colspan="2" | {{lang|grc|παιδεύεσθαι}} |- ! future | {{lang|grc|παιδεύσειν}} || {{lang|grc|παιδεύσεσθαι}} || {{lang|grc|παιδευθήσεσθαι}} |- ! aorist | {{lang|grc|παιδεῦσαι}} || {{lang|grc|παιδεύσᾰσθαι}} || {{lang|grc|παιδευθῆναι}} |- ! perfect | {{lang|grc|πεπαιδευκέναι}} | colspan="2" | {{lang|grc|πεπαιδεῦσθαι}} |} [[Thematic vowel|Thematic verbs]] form present active infinitives by adding to the stem the thematic vowel {{lang|grc|-ε-}} and the infinitive ending {{lang|grc|-εν}}, and contracts to {{lang|grc|-ειν}}, e.g., {{lang|grc|παιδεύ-ειν}}. Athematic verbs, and perfect actives and aorist passives, add the suffix {{lang|grc|-ναι}} instead, e.g., {{lang|grc|διδό-ναι}}. In the middle and passive, the present middle infinitive ending is {{lang|grc|-σθαι}}, e.g., {{lang|grc|δίδο-σθαι}} and most tenses of thematic verbs add an additional {{lang|grc|-ε-}} between the ending and the stem, e.g., {{lang|grc|παιδεύ-ε-σθαι}}. ===Modern Greek=== The infinitive ''per se'' does not exist in Modern Greek. To see this, consider the [[ancient Greek]] ''ἐθέλω γράφειν'' “I want to write”. In [[modern Greek]] this becomes ''θέλω <u>να</u> γράψω'' “I want <u>that</u> I write”. In modern Greek, the infinitive has thus changed form and function and is used mainly in the formation of periphrastic tense forms and not with an article or alone. Instead of the Ancient Greek infinitive system ''γράφειν, γράψειν, γράψαι, γεγραφέναι'', Modern Greek uses only the form ''γράψει'', a development of the ancient Greek aorist infinitive ''γράψαι''. This form is also invariable. The modern Greek infinitive has only two forms according to voice: for example, ''γράψει'' for the active voice and ''γραφ(τ)εί'' for the passive voice (coming from the ancient passive aorist infinitive ''γραφῆναι''). == Balto-Slavic languages == The infinitive in [[Russian language|Russian]] usually ends in ''-t’'' (ть) preceded by a [[thematic vowel]], or ''-ti'' (ти), if not preceded by one; some verbs have a stem ending in a consonant and change the ''t'' to ''č’'', like ''*mogt’ → moč’'' (*могть → мочь) "can". Some other [[Balto-Slavic languages]] have the infinitive typically ending in, for example, ''-ć'' (sometimes ''-c'') in [[Polish language|Polish]], ''-ť'' in [[Slovak language|Slovak]], ''-t'' (formerly ''-ti'') in [[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Latvian language|Latvian]] (with a handful ending in -s on the latter), ''-ty'' (-ти) in [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], -ць (''-ts''') in [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]. Lithuanian infinitives end in -''ti'', [[Serbo-Croatian]] in -''ti'' or -''ći,'' and [[Slovenian language|Slovenian]] in -''ti'' or -''či.'' [[Serbian language|Serbian]] officially retains infinitives -''ti'' or -''ći'', but is more flexible than the other Slavic languages in breaking the infinitive through a clause. The infinitive nevertheless remains the dictionary form. [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] have lost the infinitive altogether except in a handful of frozen expressions where it is the same as the 3rd person singular aorist form. Almost all expressions where an infinitive may be used in Bulgarian are [[Balkan sprachbund#Avoidance or loss of infinitive|listed here]]; neverthess in all cases a subordinate clause is the more usual form. For that reason, the present first-person singular conjugation is the dictionary form in Bulgarian, while Macedonian uses the third person singular form of the verb in present tense. == Hebrew == [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] has ''two'' infinitives, the infinitive absolute (המקור המוחלט) and the infinitive construct (המקור הנטוי or שם הפועל). The infinitive construct is used after prepositions and is inflected with pronominal endings to indicate its subject or object: בכתוב הסופר ''bikhtōbh hassōphēr'' "when the scribe wrote", אחרי לכתו ''ahare lekhtō'' "after his going". When the infinitive construct is preceded by {{Script/Hebrew|ל}} (''lə-'', ''li-'', ''lā-'', ''lo-'') "to", it has a similar meaning to the English ''to''-infinitive, and this is its most frequent use in Modern Hebrew. The infinitive absolute is used for verb focus and emphasis, like in {{Script/Hebrew|מות ימות}} ''mōth yāmūth'' (literally "a dying he will die"; figuratively, "he shall indeed/surely die").<ref>{{cite book |first=Scott N.|last=Callaham|title=Modality and the Biblical Hebrew Infinitive Absolute|series=Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes|volume=71 |isbn=978-3-447-06158-2|place=Wiesbaden|publisher=Harrassowitz|date=2010}}</ref> This usage is commonplace in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. In Modern Hebrew it is restricted to high-register literary works. Note, however, that the Hebrew ''to''-infinitive is not the [[lemma (morphology)|dictionary form]]; instead, verbs are traditionally cited in the third-person masculine singular of the suffix conjugation (Modern Hebrew past tense), which is the least marked form. == Finnish == {{Main|Finnish verb conjugation}} The Finnish grammatical tradition includes many non-finite forms that are generally labeled as (numbered) infinitives although many of these are functionally [[converb]]s. To form the so-called first infinitive, the strong form of the root (without [[consonant gradation]] or epenthetic 'e') is used, and these changes occur: # the root is suffixed with ''-ta/-tä'' according to [[vowel harmony]] # consonant elision takes place if applicable, e.g., ''juoks+ta'' → ''juosta'' # assimilation of clusters violating sonority hierarchy if applicable, e.g., ''nuol+ta'' → ''nuolla'', ''sur+ta'' → ''surra'' # 't' weakens to 'd' after diphthongs, e.g., ''juo+ta'' → ''juoda'' # 't' elides if intervocalic, e.g., ''kirjoitta+ta'' → ''kirjoittaa'' As such, it is inconvenient for dictionary use, because the imperative would be closer to the root word. Nevertheless, dictionaries use the first infinitive. There are also four other infinitives, plus a "long" form of the first: * The long first infinitive is ''-kse-'' and must have a personal suffix appended to it. It has the general meaning of "in order to [do something], e.g., ''kirjoittaakseni'' "in order for me to write [something]". * The second infinitive is formed by replacing the final ''-a/-ä'' of the first infinitive with ''e''. It can take the inessive and instructive cases to create forms like ''kirjoittaessa'' "while writing". * The third infinitive is formed by adding ''-ma'' to the first infinitive, which alone creates an "agent" form: ''kirjoita-'' becomes ''kirjoittama''. The third infinitive is technically a noun (denoting the act of performing some verb), so case suffixes identical to those attached to ordinary Finnish nouns allow for other expressions using the third infinitive, e.g., ''kirjoittamalla'' "by writing". ** A personal suffix can then be added to this form to indicate the ''agent participle'', such that ''kirjoittamani kirja'' = "The book that I wrote." * The fourth infinitive adds ''-minen'' to the first to form a noun that has the connotation of "the process of [doing something]", e.g., ''kirjoittaminen'' "[the process of] writing". It, too, can be inflected like other Finnish nouns that end in ''-nen''. * The fifth infinitive adds ''-maisilla-'' to the first, and like the long first infinitive, must take a possessive suffix. It has to do with being "about to [do something]" and may also imply that the act was cut off or interrupted, e.g., ''kirjoittamaisillasi'' "you were about to write [but something interrupted you]". This form is more commonly replaced by the third infinitive in adessive case, usually also with a possessive suffix (thus ''kirjoittamallasi''). Note that all of these must change to reflect vowel harmony, so the fifth infinitive (with a third-person suffix) of ''hypätä'' "jump" is ''hyppäämäisillään'' "he was about to jump", not ''*hyppäämaisillaan''. == Seri == The [[Seri language]] of northwestern Mexico has infinitival forms used in two constructions (with the verb meaning 'want' and with the verb meaning 'be able'). The infinitive is formed by adding a prefix to the stem: either ''iha-'' {{IPA|[iʔa-]}} (plus a vowel change of certain vowel-initial stems) if the complement clause is [[transitive verb|transitive]], or ''ica-'' {{IPA|[ika-]}} (and no vowel change) if the complement clause is [[intransitive verb|intransitive]]. The infinitive shows agreement in number with the controlling subject. Examples are: ''icatax ihmiimzo'' 'I want to go', where ''icatax'' is the singular infinitive of the verb 'go' (singular root is ''-atax''), and ''icalx hamiimcajc'' 'we want to go', where ''icalx'' is the plural infinitive. Examples of the transitive infinitive: ''ihaho'' 'to see it/him/her/them' (root ''-aho''), and ''ihacta'' 'to look at it/him/her/them' (root ''-oocta''). == Translation to languages without an infinitive == In languages without an infinitive, the infinitive is translated either as a ''that''-clause or as a [[verbal noun]]. For example, in [[Modern Standard Arabic|Literary Arabic]] the sentence "I want to write a book" is translated as either ''urīdu an aktuba kitāban'' (lit. "I want that I write a book", with a verb in the [[subjunctive mood]]) or ''urīdu kitābata kitābin'' (lit. "I want the writing of a book", with the ''masdar'' or verbal noun), and in [[Arabic language|Levantine Colloquial Arabic]] ''biddi aktub kitāb'' (subordinate clause with verb in subjunctive). Even in languages that have infinitives, similar constructions are sometimes necessary where English would allow the infinitive. For example, in French the sentence "I want you to come" translates to ''Je veux que vous veniez'' (lit. "I want that you come", ''come'' being in the subjunctive mood). However, "I want to come" is simply ''Je veux venir'', using the infinitive, just as in English. In Russian, sentences such as "I want you to leave" do not use an infinitive. Rather, they use the conjunction чтобы "in order to/so that" with the past tense form (most probably remnant of subjunctive) of the verb: ''Я хочу, чтобы вы ушли'' (literally, "I want so that you left"). == See also == {{Wiktionary}} *[[Auxiliary verb]] *[[Finite verb]] *[[Gerund]] *[[Non-finite verb]] *[[Split infinitive]] *[[Verbal noun]] == Notes == {{Reflist}} {{lexical categories|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Parts of speech]] [[Category:Syntactic entities]] [[Category:Verb types]]
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