Infinitive mood

Infinitive mood
Infinitive In*fin"i*tive, n. [L. infinitivus: cf. F. infinitif. See {Infinite}.] Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined. [1913 Webster]

{Infinitive mood} (Gram.), that form of the verb which merely names the action, and performs the office of a verbal noun. Some grammarians make two forms in English: ({a}) The simple form, as, speak, go, hear, before which to is commonly placed, as, to speak; to go; to hear. ({b}) The form of the imperfect participle, called the infinitive in -ing; as, going is as easy as standing. [1913 Webster]

Note: With the auxiliary verbs may, can, must, might, could, would, and should, the simple infinitive is expressed without to; as, you may speak; they must hear, etc. The infinitive usually omits to with the verbs let, dare, do, bid, make, see, hear, need, etc.; as, let me go; you dare not tell; make him work; hear him talk, etc. [1913 Webster]

Note: In Anglo-Saxon, the simple infinitive was not preceded by to (the sign of modern simple infinitive), but it had a dative form (sometimes called the gerundial infinitive) which was preceded by to, and was chiefly employed in expressing purpose. See {Gerund}, 2. [1913 Webster]

Note: The gerundial ending (-anne) not only took the same form as the simple infinitive (-an), but it was confounded with the present participle in -ende, or -inde (later -inge). [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Infinitive — In*fin i*tive, n. (Gram.) An infinitive form of the verb; a verb in the infinitive mood; the infinitive mood. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Infinitive — In*fin i*tive, n. [L. infinitivus: cf. F. infinitif. See {Infinite}.] Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined. [1913 Webster] {Infinitive mood} (Gram.), that form of the verb which merely names the action, and performs the office of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mood — (m[=oo]d), n. [The same word as mode, perh. influenced by mood temper. See {Mode}.] 1. Manner; style; mode; logical form; musical style; manner of action or being. See {Mode} which is the preferable form). [1913 Webster] 2. (Gram.) Manner of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Infinitive — In*fin i*tive, adv. (Gram.) In the manner of an infinitive mood. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • infinitive — [in fin′i tiv] adj. [LL infinitivus < L infinitivus (modus), lit., unlimited (mood) < infinitus (see INFINITE): so named because it is not limited to any person, number, or tense] Gram. of or connected with an infinitive [an infinitive… …   English World dictionary

  • Infinitive — In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual (traditional) description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and …   Wikipedia

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  • Split infinitive — A split infinitive is an English language grammatical construction in which a word or phrase, usually an adverb or adverbial phrase, comes between the marker to and the bare infinitive (uninflected) form of a verb. For example, a split infinitive …   Wikipedia

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  • Conditional mood — In linguistics, the conditional mood (abbreviated cond) is the inflectional form of the verb used in the independent clause of a conditional sentence to refer to a hypothetical state of affairs, or an uncertain event, that is contingent on… …   Wikipedia

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