 | 1. | as a noun | | 2. | as an imperative | | 3. | after verbs | | 4. | negation of infinitives | | 5. | past infinitive constructions |  The infinitive expresses the idea or concept of a verb's meaning, without specifying a specific subject or point in time (tense). In most cases, use of the infinitive in French corresponds to the English. Infinitive constructions may be categorized according to the following uses: as a noun The infinitive may sometimes function as a noun. For example, it may be the subject of a sentence. Note that the French infinitive is often translated as a gerund (the '-ing' form of the verb) in English. |  | | Joe-Bob: Etudier n'est pas facile! | Joe-Bob: Studying is not easy! | | as an imperative (command) The infinitive may be used to give a written order when there is no specific addressee. You will often see this form on signs. | | Ne pas marcher sur l'herbe. | Do not walk on the grass. | |  after verbs The infinitive is often used directly after these conjugated verbs: | | Verbs of movement: (In this category, the infinitive indicates purpose.) | aller, descendre, partir, rentrer, retourner, revenir, sortir, venir, etc. | | Verbs of preference: | adorer, aimer, désirer, détester, préférer, vouloir | | Verbs of opinion: | compter, croire, espérer, nier, penser, valoir mieux (impersonal: il vaut mieux) | | Verbs of perception: | écouter, entendre, regarder, sentir, voir | | Verbs of ability, obligation and necessity: | avoir beau (to do something in vain), devoir, faillir (to almost do something), falloir (impersonal: il faut) pouvoir, savoir | |  | | Tex et ses amis sortent dîner. | Tex and his friends are going out to have dinner. | | Tex compte savourer un bon dîner français, mais Joe-Bob veut manger un hamburger. | Tex is counting on enjoying a good French dinner, but Joe-Bob wants to eat a hamburger. | | Edouard les écoute discuter un moment et puis il dit: J'ai failli manger un hamburger une fois. Non, je ne peux pas faire ça, tout de même. Il faut trouver un vrai restaurant français. | Edouard listens to them discuss for a moment and then he says: I almost ate a hamburger once. No, I really can't do that. We have to find a real French restaurant. | | after prepositions The infinitive is the verb form generally used after a preposition in French. The infinitive expresses purpose when it is used after pour or afin de. In the case of avant de and sans, the English translation is often a conjugated verb (Before they left), or a present participle (Before leaving), rather than the English infinitive. The infinitive follows the preposition par after the verbs commencer and finir. | | pour or afin de | Tammy arrive pour sortir avec Tex et ses amis. | Tammy arrives [in order] to go out with Tex and his friends. | | avant de and sans | Avant de partir, ils lui demandent de choisir un restaurant. Elle commence par suggérer le nouveau restaurant thaï. Tex et ses copains parlent sans écouter Tammy. | Before leaving, they ask her to choose a restaurant. She starts by suggesting the new Thai restaurant. Tex and his friends talk without listening to Tammy. | | par | Elle finit par comprendre que choisir un restaurant était impossible. | She finally understands that choosing a restaurant was impossible. | | Note that the preposition en is followed by a present participle, not the infinitive. (En sortant, Joe-Bob a dit au revoir. On leaving, Joe-Bob said good-bye.) The infinitive may be used to complete the sense of an adjective or a pronoun. Generally infinitives following a noun or adjective are preceded by the preposition de. (Edouard ne serait pas content de manger un hamburger. Edouard would not be happy to eat a hamburger.) However, adjectives and nouns are followed by the preposition à + infinitive to indicate a passive sense or a function: C'est bon à manger. (It's good to eat.), une salle à manger (dining room), de l'eau à boire (drinking water). verbs followed by 'à' before an infinitive When the following verbs are followed by an infinitive, the preposition à is required: | | aider à, to help to | s'habituer à, to get used to | | s'amuser à, to have fun at | hésiter à, to hesitate to | | apprendre à, to learn to | inviter à, to invite to | | arriver à, to succeed in, to manage to | se mettre à, to start to | | s'attendre à, to expect to | se préparer à, to prepare to | | chercher à, to try to, to attempt to | renoncer à, to give up | | commencer à, to start to | réussir à, to succeed at | | se décider à, to make up one's mind to | servir à, to be used for | | encourager à, to encourage to | tenir à, to be anxious to, to be eager to | | verbs followed by 'de' before an infinitive: When the following verbs are followed by an infinitive, the preposition de is required: | | (s')arrêter de, to stop | permettre (à quelqu'un) de, to permit someone to | | conseiller de, to advise to | persuader de, to persuade to | | se contenter de, to content oneself with | se presser de, to hurry to | | décider de, to decide to | promettre de, to promise to | | s'efforcer de to try hard to, to endeavor to | proposer de, to propose to | | essayer de, to try to | refuser de, to refuse to | | s'excuser de, to apologize for | rêver de to dream of | | finir de, to finish | se soucier de, to care about | | mériter de, to deserve, to be worth | se souvenir de, to remember to | | oublier de, to forget to | | to avoid the subjunctive The infinitive is often used in impersonal expressions to avoid the subjunctive when a specific subject is not necessary. | | Edouard: Il est tout à fait barbare de manger des hamburgers! | Edouard: It is completely uncivilized to eat hamburgers! | |  in an interrogative or exclamatory phrase The infinitive may be used in an interrogative phrase or exclamatory phrases to express a dilemma. | | | Tex se demande: Quel restaurant choisir? Où aller? | Tex wonders: Which restaurant to choose? Where to go? | | Oh! Etre en France! Boire un bon vin rouge! | Oh, to be in France! To drink a good red wine! | | negation of infinitives Ne pas, ne plus, ne rien, or ne jamais are placed side by side before the infinitive to make it negative. Ne personne, however, straddles the verb. | | Tammy demande aux autres de ne pas se disputer. | Tammy asks the others not to fight. | | Tex promet de ne se battre avec personne. | Tex promises not to fight with anyone. | | Pas is sometimes omitted in the negative with an infinitive after the verbs savoir, pouvoir, oser and cesser. | | Tex et ses amis ne savent que faire | Tex and his friends don't know what to do | | et Tammy n'ose parler. | and Tammy doesn't dare speak. | | past infinitive constructions The infinitive of avoir or être plus the past participle of a verb is used after the preposition après to describe a preceding action in the past. Note the past participle agreement in past constructions with être. | | Après avoir suggéré plusieurs restaurants, ils choisissent un restaurant français. | After having suggested several restaurants, they choose a French restaurant. | | Après être arrivés au restaurant, Joe-Bob et Corey commandent des hamburgers. Ils sont têtus! | After arriving at the restaurant, Joe-Bob and Corey order hamburgers. They are stubborn! | |   | | |  | | | Fill in the blank with the correct translations of the English indicated in parentheses. | | | 1. | Tex adore ______ au café. (going) | | 2. | ______ est bon pour le coeur et la ligne. (dancing) | | 3. | Prière de ______ . (do not enter) | | 4. | Ce soir les amis sortent pour ______ . (to have dinner) | | 5. | Tex écoute ______ Serge Gainsbourg. (singing) | | 6. | Trey espère ______ une petite amie bientôt. (to find) | | 7. | Vous devez vérifier votre argent avant de ______ . (ordering) | | 8. | Commençons par ______ un hors-d'oeuvre. (ordering) | | 9. | On ne fête pas son anniversaire sans ______ un morceau de gâteau. (having) | | 10. | Edouard! N'oublie pas d' ______ le ketchup. (to bring) | | 11. | Après ______ le dîner, nous irons danser. (having finished) | | 12. | Que ______ ? (to do) | |  | |  | | | |
