Unit 18: Infinitives
1 Definition
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb such as to give in English or donner in French from which other forms are derived.
The infinitive never changes its ending (as do conjugated forms such as donne, donnerez, donnons etc.) and does not take a subject (you cannot say *je donner, la femme donner, etc.).
2 Tense 
The infinitive can be used to express actions in either the present or the past. The present infinitive of a verb refers to any individual verb used in its basic infinitive form:
Je voudrais venir à la soirée
I'd like to come to the party
The past infinitive is made up of the infinitive of the auxiliary verb avoir or être plus a past participle :
Il regrette d'avoir perdu le document
He regrets having lost the document
As the past infinitive in English always takes have as an auxiliary, be careful when forming the past infinitive of être verbs or pronominal verbs:
Elle est heureuse d'être venue à la soirée
She is happy to have come this evening
3 Uses
The infinitive is most commonly used:
3.1 With modals etc.
In a construction involving a modal verb or other preceding verb:
Je dois être au bureau à neuf heures
I must be at the office at nine o'clock
J'ai oublié de fermer les rideaux
I forgot to close the curtains
3.2 After adjective constructions
After a construction involving an adjective :
Je serais très heureuse d'aider votre mère
I'd be very happy to help your mother
Elle n'est pas prête à y aller
She's not prepared to go there
3.3 After prepositions
After any preposition other than en:
Il a dit cela pour plaisanter
He said that as a joke
3.4 As subject of a sentence
As the subject of a sentence. Note that the infinitive is generally used on its own and not introduced by de:
Fumer nuit gravement à la santé
Smoking seriously damages your health
Augmenter les taux d'intérêt n'est jamais une démarche populaire
Putting up interest rates is never a popular step
3.5 In documents, notices etc.
In documents, notices etc. giving orders or instructions, as an alternative to the imperative :
Pour plus de renseignements, voir page 28
For more information, see page 28
Ne pas marcher sur la pelouse
Do not walk on the grass
3.6 In the past infinitive
The past infinitive is most commonly used in a construction involving après:
Après avoir vérifié que toutes les fenêtres étaient fermées, il est rentré chez lui
After checking that all the windows were shut, he went home
Après être arrivés au restaurant, nous avons commandé quelque chose à boire
On arriving at the restaurant, we ordered something to drink
Search Grammar
Type in a word and click go:
Hints:
- Try one word at a time
- Searching for the singular may not find the plural (e.g. searching for ‘verb’ will not give the same results as a search for ‘verbs’)
Grammar Glossary
Open the grammar glossary in a pop-up window.
The grammar glossary can also be accessed by clicking on any word in the text with a grey underline.
Grammar Exercises
Jump to exercises on:
Audio speed
You are listening to the audio examples at normal speed. Listen at a slightly slower speed.