Infinitive is a form of verb that expresses its meaning and is used in dictionaries, but doesn’t tell us who is doing the action and when they are doing it (now, in the future…). You’ve probably noticed that the use of infinitives in Spanish is much wider than in English.
Spanish infinitives always end in –ar (trabajar – to work), -er (comer – to eat) or –ir (vivir – to live).
Infinitive as a noun
Note that infinitives in Spanish can be used as nouns in sentences. In English we use gerunds (-ing forms):
Fumar no es sano. (Smoking is not healthy.)
Estudiar español en Valencia es interesante. (Studying Spanish in Valencia is interesting.)
Me gusta cocinar. (I like cooking.)
Verb + infinitive
In Spanish, we use infinitives after many verbs. In English we use either gerund or infinitive with or without to:
Por fin puede ir de vacaciones. (Finally, he can go on a holiday.)
Odio estudiar matemáticas. (I hate studying maths.)
Mi madre quiere comprar una casa nueva. (My mother wants to buy a new house.)
Verb + preposition + infinitive
Sometimes we cannot put the infinitive straight after the previous verb as we did above. Instead we have to use a preposition (a, de, con, en, por, para etc.) between the Spanish verb and infinitive.
Hemos empezado a escribir. (We started to write.)
Me olvidé de desearte suerte con tu exámen. (I forgot to wish you luck with your exam.)
Insistimos en hablar con él. (We insist on speaking with him.)
Gracias por atendernos. (Thank you for attending us.)
Infinitive instead of imperative
Infinitives in Spanish are also commonly used instead of imperatives to give orders, instructions or prohibitions.
No entrar. (No entry.)
No fumar. (No smoking.)
No tocar. (Don´t touch.)
Colocar el producto al sartén, cocinar durante 15 minutos… (Place the product on a pan, cook for 15 minutes…)
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