Language Learning Foundations: The Infinitive

[This is the first in a series of short posts about things you should know that will help you learn languages faster and easier. These posts will discuss words and concepts that language-learning materials often mention but not always define.]

The infinitive form of a verb is the verb in its most basic form, without any grammatical inflection or conjugation. It’s the form of the verb as you’d see it in the dictionary.

Examples:

  • English: to eat (the “to” in English marks our infinitive)
  • Spanish: comer (-er, -ir, -ar suffixes mark infinitives)
  • Russian: кушать (-ть or -ти suffixes mark infinitives)

Note that since not all languages use verb conjugation, the concept is more necessary to understand in some languages than others. Chinese verbs, for example, do not change for tense or person; Chinese verbs don’t conjugate. Instead, adverbs (e.g., “yesterday”) and other additional words supply the necessary context.

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