I need to go - I might go
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb. The infinitive form has to before the verb (e.g. to think, to understand, to throw, etc.). When there is no 'to' before the verb, we call it bare infinitive (think, understand, throw, etc.). We will use the infinitive or the bare infinitive depending on the previous verb:
Bare infinitive
We use the bare infinitive after will, must, should, can, ought to, would, may, might:
We need to use the bare infinitive after some verbs, such as need (except when it is the main verb), make, let, see, watch, hear, etc:
The bare infinitive is also used with the expressions better, had better, would rather, rather than and sooner than:
Infinitive
We use the infinitive after many verbs: need, learn, like (especially in American English), talk, want, would like, etc:
Description | Author | Language | |
---|---|---|---|
Introduction to verb patterns and when we use 'verb + to + verb' or 'verb + verb'. | BBC Learning |
Sources
This grammar section includes materials sourced from the following: Linguapress,