Infinitives

Infinitives are typically formed by “to (action verb)”. They function as a noun, adjective, or adverb in the sentence. They don’t show verb tense because they’re not the main verb of the sentence. You can use infinitives to show purpose. 

For example, “I meditated to relax” has a main verb and an infinitive. The word, “meditated”, is the action verb and also the main verb. It is showing the action done by the subject, and expresses the verb tense. The second half, “to relax“, has a verb, “relax”, but the phrase acts as an adverb to modify the main verb. The infinitive in this sentence shows WHY I mediated. 

Infinitives are great because they are versatile. They can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in the sentence. 

Infinitive acting as a noun: “To cry is an act of bravery”. 

Infinitive acting as an adjective: “The easiest person to love is your mother”. 

Infinitive acting as an adverb: “I meditated to relax“.