infinitive

English

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infinitive

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle French infinitif, from Late Latin infinitivus (“unlimited, indefinite”), from Latin infinitus (“unlimited, infinite”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv/, /ɪnˈfɪnətɪv/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

infinitive (plural infinitives)

1. (grammar) The infinitive mood or mode (a grammatical mood).
   • 1847, J. J. P. Le Brethon, L. Sandier, Guide to the French language; especially devised for persons who wish to study that language without the assistance of a teacher. the tenth edition, revised and corrected, London, page 69:

     The MANNERS of acting, in grammar called modes or moods, are four; Infinitive, Imperative, Indicative, Subjunctive or Conjunctive.

   • 1857, Henry Tindall, A grammar and vocabulary of the Namaqua-Hottentot language, page 38:

     There are four moods, the Infinitive, Imperative, Indicative, and Subjunctive. [...] the Infinitive is used to express a thing in a general manner.

2. (grammar) A non-finite verb form considered neutral with respect to inflection; depending on language variously found used with auxiliary verbs, in subordinate clauses, or acting as a gerund, and often as the dictionary form.
3. (grammar) A verbal noun formed from the infinitive of a verb.

Hypernyms

• (mood or mode): grammatical mood, mood, mode
• (verb (form)): verb
• (verbal noun): verbal

Derived terms

• bare infinitive
• full infinitive
• infinitive marker
• infinitive of purpose
• perfect infinitive
• split an infinitive
• split infinitive
• to-infinitive
• zu-infinitive

 

Translations

a mood or mode of verbs

Albanian: paskajore (sq) f Azerbaijani: məsdər (az) Czech: neurčitý způsob m Dutch: infinitief (nl) m, onbepaalde wijs (nl) m Esperanto: infinitivo (eo) Galician: infinitivo (gl) m German: Infinitiv (de) m Greek: Ancient: ἀπαρέμφατος f (aparémphatos) Hebrew: שֵׁם פֹּעַל m (shem pó‘al), מָקוֹר (he) m (makór) Icelandic: nafnháttur (is) m Latin: infinitivus m, modus infinitivus m, modus perpetuus m Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Serbo-Croatian: infinitiv (sh) Swedish: infinitiv (sv) m, obestämmt sätt Tagalog: pawatas, panaganong pawatas Welsh: modd annherfynol m, annherfynol (cy) m

uninflected verb form

Afrikaans: infinitief (af) Albanian: paskajore (sq) f Arabic: مَصْدَر (ar) m (maṣdar) (verbal noun) Armenian: անորոշ դերբայ (hy) (anoroš derbay) Asturian: infinitivu m Belarusian: інфініты́ў m (infinitýŭ), нявызна́чаная фо́рма f (njavyznáčanaja fórma) (дзеясло́ва) Bulgarian: инфинити́в m (infinitív), неопределе́на фо́рма f (neopredeléna fórma) (на глаго́ла) Catalan: infinitiu (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 不定詞 / 不定词 (bùdìngcí) Czech: infinitiv (cs) m inan, neurčitek (cs) m inan Danish: infinitiv (da) Esperanto: infinitivo (eo) Estonian: tegevusnimi, infinitiiv (et) Faroese: navnháttur m Finnish: infinitiivi (fi) French: infinitif (fr) m Galician: infinitivo (gl) m Georgian: ინფინიტივი (inpiniṭivi) German: Infinitiv (de) n or m Greek: απαρέμφατο (el) n (aparémfato) Ancient: ἀπαρέμφατος f (aparémphatos) Hebrew: שֵׁם פֹּעַל m (shem-pó'al) Hungarian: főnévi igenév (hu) Icelandic: nafnháttur (is) m Ido: infinitivo (io) Italian: infinito (it) m Japanese: 不定詞 (ja) (ふていし, futeishi) Kazakh: инфинитив (infinitiv) Korean: 부정사(不定詞) (ko) (bujeongsa) Latin: aparemphatum n Latvian: nenoteiksme (lv) f Lithuanian: bendratis (lt) f Macedonian: и́нфинитив m (ínfinitiv) Navajo: bee áhodoonííł saad Norman: înfinnitif m Norwegian: Bokmål: infinitiv m Persian: مصدر (fa) (masdar) Polish: bezokolicznik (pl) m inan, infinitiwus m Portuguese: infinitivo (pt) m, infinito (pt) m Romanian: infinitiv (ro) n Russian: неопределённая фо́рма f (neopredeljónnaja fórma) (глаго́ла), инфинити́в (ru) m (infinitív) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: инфинитив m Roman: infinitiv (sh) m Slovak: neurčitok m inan, infinitív m inan Slovene: nedoločnik (sl) m, ínfinitiv m Spanish: infinitivo (es) m Swahili: kitenzi jina (sw) Tagalog: pawatas Turkish: mastar (tr), eylemlik (tr), isim-fiil (tr) Ukrainian: інфініти́в m (infinitýv), дієйме́нник m (dijejménnyk), невизна́чена фо́рма f (nevyznáčena fórma) (дієсло́ва) Vietnamese: lối vô định Welsh: berf annherfynol m Yiddish: אינפֿיניטיוו m (infinitiv)

See also

• gerund
• supine
• lemma
• verb

Adjective

infinitive (not comparable)

1. (grammar) Formed with the infinitive.
   • 1847, J. J. P. Le Brethon, L. Sandier, Guide to the French language; especially devised for persons who wish to study that language without the assistance of a teacher. the tenth edition, revised and corrected, London, page 70:

     INFINITIVE MOOD or MANNER.
     To Have,   Avoir.

   • 1858, C. P. Mason, English grammar; including the principles of grammatical analysis, London, page 32:

     In English there are four moods:–1. The Infinitive Mood. 2. The Indicative Mood. 3. the Imperative Mood. 4. The Subjunctive Mood.

2. Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined.
   • a. 1823, Cunningham's Sermons (quoted in 1823, The Edinburgh Christian Instructor, volume 23, page 328)

     […] to search out in some higher region of infinitive space a spot where it was impossible for defilement to follow them […]

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

infinitive

1. feminine singular of infinitif

Noun

infinitive f (plural infinitives)

1. infinitive clause, same as proposition infinitive

Italian

Adjective

infinitive f

1. feminine plural of infinitivo

Latin

Noun

īnfīnītīve

1. vocative singular of īnfīnītīvus