Introduction

The infinitive is a non-temporal and non-personal mood. It is used in dictionaries to give the lexical meaning of the verb, and is given as a basis for the conjugations. It functions both as a verb and as a noun, hence its designation of ‘nominal form of the verb’. The use of the infinitive can be problematic because:

1. – There is no one-to-one correspondence between an English and a French infinitive, as English often uses a form in ‘-ing’ instead (see also chapter 16 Present Participle, section 3.4).

2. – There is no one-to-one correspondence between French and English as regards which preposition – if any – to use before the infinitive as a verb.

3. – There are cases when French can (and sometimes must) use an infinitive clause when English uses a subordinate clause.

4. – It is a frequent mistake to confuse an infinitive in er with a past participle in ‘é’, as they share the same sound.

NB: In this chapter, examples given concentrate on noun subjects and objects of the infinitive. For further details of the position of pronoun subjects and objects of the infinitive, see chapter 31 Personal Pronouns, section 2.2.3.

Forms

The infinitive has two forms, present and past, which do not have any real temporal value. The present infinitive expresses the non-accomplished aspect, and the past infinitive expresses the accomplished aspect.

The present infinitive

The present infinitive is the usual form of the infinitive.