Lesson 218 - Parts of the Sentence - Verbals - Noun Infinitives

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An infinitive is a verbal that is to plus a verb form. It can be used as a noun. 

 

Examples: 

to be, to see, to be seen, to be eaten

Noun infinitives may be compound. 

 

Example: 

I want to eat and to sleep.

The noun infinitive can be a subject, a direct object, a predicate nominative, an appositive, or an object of a preposition.

 

Examples:

To eat is fun. (subject)

I like to eat. (direct object)

A fun thing is to eat. (predicate nominative)

My hope, to travel, never happened. (appositive)

I want nothing but to save. (object of preposition)

Noun infinitives can have with them direct objects, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives or modifiers to form what is called a infinitive phrase. 

 

Example: 

To eat solid foods is hard for babies. 

To eat is the noun infinitive used as the subject, and it has its own direct object foods with the adjective solid, which together make up the subject of the sentence.

Instructions: Find the compound noun infinitives and noun infinitive phrases in the following sentences and tell if they are used as a subject, a direct object, a predicate nominative, an appositive, or an object of a preposition.

1. Their war aims, to kill the people and to destroy the nation, were not accomplished.

2. They wanted to score and to win the game.

3. The woman's hobby was to camp and to hike.

4. I only desired one thing, to forgive you and to forget our differences.

5. To see and to hear are highly developed senses in many animals.

--For answers scroll down.

Answers:

1. Their war aims, to kill the people and to destroy the nation, were not accomplished.

    - appositives

2. They wanted to score and to win the game.

    - direct objects

3. The woman's hobby was to camp and to hike.

    - predicate nominatives

4. I only desired one thing, to forgive you and to forget our differences.

    - appositives

5. To see and to hear are highly developed senses in many animals.

    - subjects

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