The Spanish infinitive

The infinitive (el infinitivo) is the basic form of a verb you find in a dictionary. It is a non-finite (or "in-finite", hence infinitive) verb form, which means that it has no expressed or implied subject and shows no tense.

In English, do and write are infinitives, although we usually place the word to in front of them (i.e. to do, to write) to make it clear that we are referring to the infinitive. Additionally, many constructions in English use the infinitive preceded by to. For example:

In Spanish, all infinitives have one of the following endings: -ar -er or -ir. The ending gives an indication of the verb family (or conjugation) that they belong to. For example: hablar (to talk), beber (to drink), vivir (to live). Here are example sentences using these infinitives:

The Spanish infinitive is often used after modal verbs (e.g. deber, poder) and after many other verbs, nouns or adjectives, sometimes linked by a preposition (e.g. a, de) and sometimes not (you just have to learn this!). Here is a short text that illustrates this varied use:

All prepositions, when followed by a verb in Spanish, are followed by the infinitive. In English, all prepositions except to take the -ing form of the verb. For example:

Infinitives used as nouns

The infinitive is used when the verb is used as a noun, usually the same as the English gerund (-ing verbal form used as a noun):

Infinitives used to express actions in a short way

The infinitive can also be used to summarise an action, without indicating time or tense:

Infinitives used as commands

The infinitive is also used for commands in contexts such as instructions and notices:

So far, all these examples have been using the simple form of the infinitive in Spanish, but we also have El Infinitivo Compuesto (perfect infinitive) which uses the verb haber.  

To learn more about specific contexts and structures using the infinitive, see Infinitivo.