Infinitive Subjects: referring to activities

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Infinitive Subjects

Shakespeare

"To be, or not to be,
that is the question."

Referring to activities, quotes and definitions

An infinitive, similar to a gerund, is:

a noun formed from a verb (an activity)
a singular noun
used mostly for intended (future) activities
used as a subject or object
often used in bulleted lists

Gerund Subject vs. Infinitive Subject

SUBJECT - GERUND PHRASE	SUBJECT - INFINITIVE PHRASE
Starting a sentence with an infinitive is not as common as using a gerund. (noun phrase)	To start a sentence with an infinitive sounds awkward as if one is giving a formal speech.

Infinitive Use

QUOTES	DEFINITIONS
Infinitives are frequently used in quotes.	Infinitives are commonly used in dictionary definitions:
To believe is very dull.	KNOW – 1. To perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty. 2. To regard as true beyond doubt: "I know she won't fail." 3. To have a practical understanding of, as through experience; be skilled in: "knows how to cook." 4. To have fixed in the mind: "knows her Latin verbs." 5. To have experience of: "a black stubble that had known no razor"-- ;William Faulkner 6. To be acquainted with: "He doesn't know his neighbors." 7. To be able to distinguish; recognize as distinct: "knows right from wrong." 8. To discern the character or nature of: "knew him for a liar." 9. Archaic To have sexual intercourse with .
To doubt is intensely engrossing.
To be on the alert is to live.
To be lulled into security is to die. -Oscar Wilde

Practice

Restating Infinitive Phrases (Parallel Infinitive Use)

Change the 'infinitive' phrase to a 'gerund' phrase .
Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.

#	YOUR RESPONSE	ANSWER
e.g.	To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything. (To know) (to imagine)	Knowing is nothing at all; imagining is everything.
1.	To live is to learn. (To live) is (to learn)	is
2.	To know is to care. (To know) is (to care)	is
3.	To know what we know and to know what we do not know -- that is understanding. (To know) (to know)	what we know and what we do not know -- that is understanding.
4.	To see is to believe. (To see) is (to believe)	is
5.	To think something does not cause as much trouble as to say something. (To think) and (to say)	something does not cause as much trouble as something.
6.	To be successful in love, one must know how to begin and when to stop. (To be)	successful in love, one must know how to begin and when to stop.
7.	To give lip service to someone requires little effort. lip service = to say what others want to hear	lip service to someone requires little effort.
8.	To know all is to forgive all. (To know) and (to forgive)	all is all.
9.	To stumble once is better than to always be tottering. (To stumble) (to be) stumble = to lose one's balance and fall totter = to be about to fall; to be unsteady on one's feet	once is better than always tottering.
10.	To forgive is heavenly, to forget is divine. (To forgive) (to forget)	is heavenly, is divine.