How French works
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb such as to give in English or donner in French from which other forms are derived. It does not alter for grammatical categories such as tense or person (as do conjugated forms such as donne, donnerez, donnons etc.) and is used without an overt subject (you cannot say *je donner, la femme donner, etc.).
The infinitive can be used to signify the present or the past. The present infinitive refers to any individual verb in its infinitive form. It is used when the action of the main clause + occurs at the same time as that of the infinitive:
Je veux dire quelques mots
I want to say a few words
J’aurais voulu dire quelques mots
I would have liked to have said a few words
The past infinitive is made up of the infinitive of the auxiliary verb avoir or être plus a past participle . It is used when the action of the main clause occurs after that of the infinitive:
Elle est heureuse d’être allée à la soirée
She is happy she went to the party
The infinitive can be used as follows:
Where this structure is used for making general statements, the infinitive is not introduced by de:
Fumer nuit gravement à la santé
Smoking seriously damages your health
Augmenter les taux d’intérêt n’est jamais une démarche populaire
Putting up interest rates is never a popular step
However this structure is occasionally used when referring to something particular. In this case the infinitive is sometimes introduced by the preposition de:
(D’)augmenter les taux d’intérêt ne serait pas bien reçu par le public
Putting up interest rates would not be well received by the public
In this case it is always introduced by the preposition de:
La réponse du gouvernement a été d'augmenter les taux d'intérêts
The government's response was to increase interest rates
These include venir, aller, pouvoir, devoir etc.:
Je dois être au bureau à neuf heures
I must be at the office at nine o’clock
This is after verbs such as écouter, entendre, regarder, voir, sentir, forcer à, convaincre de, laisser and faire:
Elle regardait les enfants jouer dans le jardin [les enfants is the subject of jouer]
She was watching the children playing in the garden
Ses parents le laissent sortir jusqu’à 11 heures le samedi [le is the subject of sortir]
His parents let him stay out till 11 on Saturdays
Note that if the verb in the infinitive has no complement , its subject can generally come before or after the noun:
Elle regardait les enfants jouer / jouer les enfants dans le jardin
She was watching the children playing in the garden
However, in the case of faire the subject must come after the infinitive:
Le médecin a fait entrer le patient
[and not *Le médecin a fait le patient entrer]
The doctor asked the patient to come in
The infinitive is used to abbreviate the four basic types of subordinate clause when the subject of the main clause verb is the same as that of the subordinate clause verb. This is called infinitive transformation and occurs as follows:
Here infinitive transformation is generally obligatory when the subordinate clause verb is in the subjunctive :
Je veux y aller tout de suite
[and not *Je veux que j’y aille tout de suite]
I want to go there straightaway
It is not obligatory when the subordinate clause verb is in the indicative :
J’espère réussir / que je réussirai
I hope I succeed
Here infinitive transformation is obligatory after the following conjunctions taking the subjunctive - sans que, pour que, afin que, de peur / crainte que, en attendant que:
J’ai pris le parapluie sans savoir que ce n’était pas le mien
I took the umbrella without knowing it wasn’t mine
Je n’ai rien dit de peur d’offenser quelqu’un
I said nothing for fear of offending someone
This is not the case after avant que and après que:
Je veux voir la Tour Eiffel avant de partir / avant que je ne parte
I want to see the Eiffel Tower before leaving / I leave
Here infinitive transformation can occur after the reflexive pronoun où or one preceded by a preposition :
Ils cherchent un hôtel où passer la nuit
They are looking for a hotel where they can stay the night
Elle cherche un partenaire avec qui apprendre à danser
She is looking for a partner to learn dancing with
Infinitive transformation can sometimes be used in an indirect interrogative clause :
Il m’a demandé comment trouver le numéro de son ami
He asked me how to find his friend’s number
Il ne savait pas à qui s’adresser
He didn’t know who to enquire to
The infinitive can be used as the principal main clause verb in the following contexts:
The infinitive is commonly used in documents, notices etc. giving orders or instructions, as an alternative to the imperative :
Pour plus de renseignements, voir page 28
For more information, see page 28
Ne pas marcher sur la pelouse
Do not walk on the grass
Moi, m’excuser auprès de lui? Jamais!
Me, apologize to him? Never!
Que faire? Comment trouver une solution?
What can I / we do? How can I / we find a solution?