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 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.
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| Joe-Bob: Etudier n'est pas facile! |
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Joe-Bob: Studying is not easy! |
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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.
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| Ne pas marcher sur l'herbe. |
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Do not walk on the grass. |
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after verbs
The infinitive is often used directly after these conjugated verbs:
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| Verbs of movement: (In this category, the infinitive indicates purpose.) |
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aller, descendre, partir, rentrer, retourner, revenir, sortir, venir, etc. |
| Verbs of preference: |
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adorer, aimer, désirer, détester, préférer, vouloir |
| Verbs of opinion: |
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compter, croire, espérer, nier, penser, valoir mieux (impersonal: il vaut mieux) |
| Verbs of perception: |
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écouter, entendre, regarder, sentir, voir |
| Verbs of ability, obligation and necessity: |
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avoir beau (to do something in vain), devoir, faillir (to almost do something), falloir (impersonal: il faut) pouvoir, savoir |
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| Tex et ses amis sortent dîner. |
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Tex and his friends are going out to have dinner. |
| Tex compte savourer un bon dîner français, mais Joe-Bob veut manger un hamburger. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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| pour or afin de |
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Tammy arrive pour sortir avec Tex et ses amis. |
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Tammy arrives [in order] to go out with Tex and his friends. |
| avant de and sans |
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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. |
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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 |
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Elle finit par comprendre que choisir un restaurant était impossible. |
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She finally understands that choosing a restaurant was impossible. |
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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:
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| aider à, to help to |
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s'habituer à, to get used to |
| s'amuser à, to have fun at |
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hésiter à, to hesitate to |
| apprendre à, to learn to |
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inviter à, to invite to |
| arriver à, to succeed in, to manage to |
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se mettre à, to start to |
| s'attendre à, to expect to |
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se préparer à, to prepare to |
| chercher à, to try to, to attempt to |
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renoncer à, to give up |
| commencer à, to start to |
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réussir à, to succeed at |
| se décider à, to make up one's mind to |
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servir à, to be used for |
| encourager à, to encourage to |
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tenir à, to be anxious to, to be eager to |
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verbs followed by 'de' before an infinitive:
When the following verbs are followed by an infinitive, the preposition de is required:
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| (s')arrêter de, to stop |
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permettre (à quelqu'un) de, to permit someone to |
| conseiller de, to advise to |
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persuader de, to persuade to |
| se contenter de, to content oneself with |
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se presser de, to hurry to |
| décider de, to decide to |
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promettre de, to promise to |
| s'efforcer de to try hard to, to endeavor to |
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proposer de, to propose to |
| essayer de, to try to |
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refuser de, to refuse to |
| s'excuser de, to apologize for |
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rêver de to dream of |
| finir de, to finish |
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se soucier de, to care about |
| mériter de, to deserve, to be worth |
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se souvenir de, to remember to |
| oublier de, to forget to |
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to avoid the subjunctive
The infinitive is often used in impersonal expressions to avoid the subjunctive when a specific subject is not necessary.
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| Edouard: Il est tout à fait barbare de manger des hamburgers! |
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Edouard: It is completely uncivilized to eat hamburgers! |
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in an interrogative or exclamatory phrase
The infinitive may be used in an interrogative phrase or exclamatory phrases to express a dilemma.
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| Tex se demande: Quel restaurant choisir? Où aller? |
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Tex wonders: Which restaurant to choose? Where to go? |
| Oh! Etre en France! Boire un bon vin rouge! |
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Oh, to be in France! To drink a good red wine! |
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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.
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| Tammy demande aux autres de ne pas se disputer. |
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Tammy asks the others not to fight. |
| Tex promet de ne se battre avec personne. |
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Tex promises not to fight with anyone. |
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Pas is sometimes omitted in the negative with an infinitive after the verbs savoir,
pouvoir, oser and cesser.
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| Tex et ses amis ne savent que faire |
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Tex and his friends don't know what to do |
| et Tammy n'ose parler. |
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and Tammy doesn't dare speak. |
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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.
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| Après avoir suggéré plusieurs restaurants, ils choisissent un restaurant français. |
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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! |
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After arriving at the restaurant, Joe-Bob and Corey order hamburgers. They are stubborn! |
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