English grammar INFINITIVE WITH TO

English grammar Infinitive with ‘to’ 

Knowing how to use the infinitive correctly in English is difficult for many learners. The reason it is difficult is because we can use the infinitive with TO  and without TO. Remembering when to use each grammar structure is difficult.

We use the infinitive with to structure for:

Purpose

Examples:

• I went to the shop to buy a pizza for my dinner last night.
• I bought a new coat to keep me warm in winter.
• She bought a new telephone to replace her old one.
• John went to the hardware store to get a new hammer.

After certain adjectives (reactions, feelings)

Examples:

• We are happy to inform you that you new car is ready to be picked up.
• I was sorry to hear about the death of you dog.

After some main verbs (afford, agree, begin, decide, etc)

Examples:

• I can’t afford to pay the rent this month.
• I agreed to let him visit the children after the divorce.
• She has decided to leave the company at the end of the month.

After the object of some verbs (allow, ask, expect, forbid, etc)

• She allowed her ex-husband to visit the kids at weekends.
• I asked her to to clean up the mess she had made.

As subjects of a sentence

• To arrive late for dinner would be showing a lack of respect for our guests.
• To speak English well you need to practice a lot.

Remember to watch the video tutorial on how to use the infinitive with TO so that you can use this structure well in English and improve you fluency and accuracy. You can also see how we use the infinitive without TO, or the bare infinitive in this lesson CLICK HERE

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