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How to Know What the End of an Infinitive Is?

Grammatically an infinitive is a type of verb conjugation. It represents the present tense of a verb and often comes in a phrase. In fact, an infinitive is often used to refer to a group or phrase of words that follow a verb in its present tense form. Though it is not possible to foresee what the end of such an infinitive will be before the word is said or written, it is possible to identify the ending of the infinitive.

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate the word "to" in the sentence. Every infinitive begins with the word "to." If you find one, this is an indication that you may be looking at an infinitive phrase.

    • 2

      Look for the verb that follows the word "to" in the sentence. The verb should be in its simplest form. For example, the word "eat" is in its simplest form. "Ate" would be its past tense and the use of this tense after the word "to" means that the phrase is not an infinitive.

    • 3

      Find an adjective or object that comes after the verb in the phrase. Though in some cases, the verb may mark the end of the infinitive, it is very common for the infinitive to end with a modifier and noun. For example, the infinitive "to eat a smelly sandwich" is an infinitive. The end of this infinitive is the object: sandwich.

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