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Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases. An infinitive is a verb form that usually begins with the word to and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
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An infinitive is a verb form that usually begins with the word to and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb. • An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive plus its complements and modifiers. The entire phrase functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
Ex: • As noun • To eat healthily was Anna’s New Year’s Resolution. (subject) • Anna wants to eat healthily. (direct object) • As adj • Her plan to eat healthily was fine. (modifies plan) • As adv • To eat healthily, Anna will learn the art of cooking veggies properly. (modifies will learn)
To decide whether a phrase is an infinitive or prepositional phrase, look at the word after to. • If it is a verb- the phrase is an infinitive. • Ex. Marie wants to go with him. • If it is a noun, pronoun, or modifier – the phrase is a prepositional phrase. • Ex. John is going to the library.
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases • A gerund ends in –ingBUT acts as a noun. • A gerund phrase consists of the gerund and modifiers and complements. • Ex. Painting a landscape requires careful observation.
Ex. • As subject • Painting is my favorite pastime. • As pred nom • My favorite pastime is painting portraits. • As direct object • I love painting with watercolors. • As object of preposition • I get in touch with nature by painting.
Participle and Participial Phrases • A participle acts as an adjective. It modifies nouns or pronouns. • Two types: • 1. Present participle- ends in –ing • Ex. The listening crowd was still. • 2. Past participle- ends in –ed • Ex. The amused listeners laughed at the ending.
A participial phrase consists of a participle plus its modifiers and complements. • Ex. The crowd, listening to the storyteller, was spellbound. • How to tell gerunds, participles and verbs apart… • Participle- What is that barking sound? (can be replaced by an adjective like “loud”) • Gerund- That barking is the neighbor’s dog. (can be replaced by a noun like “noise”) • Verb- The dog is barking at our cat. (Always has a helping verb in front of it)