The Italian infinitive, or infinito<\/em> (-are \/ -ere \/ -ire), along with the gerundio<\/a> and the participio, is a so called “indefinite mood”, or modo indefinito.<\/em><\/a> It usually does not express any subject, it refers to another verb and “absorbs” its subject. This is a very simplified explanation, but it’s good enough for you to understand the concept of modo indefinito<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a side note, the infinito can be a subject in some sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few basic rules and facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The infinito has two tenses: semplice<\/em> and composto<\/em> (simple and compound).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some books, you can find the two tenses defined as infinito presente<\/em> and infinito passato<\/em>. That’s a consolidated practice, but it’s misleading. The infinitive is not really past or present. It happens together, before or after another action in the present, past or future expressed by another verb. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I move the second sentence to the future, the action expressed by the infinito composto <\/em>will be also set in the future. It’s not a past action, but a perfect (complete) action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infinito Semplice<\/strong><\/span> (together or after the main clause)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infinito Composto<\/strong><\/span> (before the main clause)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same example, Laura is a woman and the verb avere<\/em> changes accordingly (andata<\/strong><\/span>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The infinito<\/em> can relate clearly to a subject and act as a verb (an action)…<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first verb, lends the subject to the infinito, which does not change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preferisce leggere… <\/em>would be “lui” and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The infinito can be a noun (sostantivo) and a subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In English, you would use a gerund (Reading is beautiful). See this post for more info about the difference<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s a rather peculiar case where the infinitive has a clear subject: the imperativo negativo<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The infinito becomes changes its nature and “becomes” the imperativo<\/em> of Lui \/ Lei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the real focus of our lesson. Why do we use the infinitive instead of other tenses? One of the main reasons is because it simplifies greatly the structure of some sentences. The infinito<\/em> includes a subject and eliminates conjugations. It explains when, how, why… an action takes place. Let’s see some examples of sentences with the infinito, where the subject is implicit (hidden in the verb), compared to the complete version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don’t need to remember the definition of each function. Just keep an eye (and ear) on what you read and listen to. You will realise that the infinito is very common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are common cases when the infinito<\/em> is linked to another verb without prepositions. Please click on the links for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, we are going to see how the infinito interacts with other elements of a sentence, congiunzioni<\/a> and preposizioni<\/a>, and build common phrases. A few examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we start, if you are looking for verbs like the following…<\/p>\n\n\n\n … please look at the verbs supporting the infinito<\/em> with the preposition a<\/a>, and the preposition di<\/a>. You will find a very exhaustive list of examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will spend some time now on the preposition DA, which is very useful when it’s combined with an infinitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s another use of da + infinito<\/em>. When we want to emphasise the effect of a situation we can use it as an idiom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope this post will help you to understand better the infinito. Please solve the quiz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alla prossima!<\/p>\n\n\n \n 0<\/span> of 1 questions completed <\/p>\n\n Questions:<\/p>\n\n \n LOADING QUIZ…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n \n \n You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n Quiz is loading... <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n Sign up for free to try this quiz and get early access to new Italian lessons before anyone else.\n <\/p>\n \n
\n\n\n\nInfinito semplice e composto<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nVerbo o Sostantivo?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFunzioni dell’infinito<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Quando? (temporale)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Se…? (ipotetico)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A quale scopo? (finale)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Con quali conseguenze? (consecutivo)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Perch\u00e9? (causale)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Come? (modale)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tranne… (eccettuativo)<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nInfinito senza preposizioni<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nInfinito e congiunzioni<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nInfinito e preposizioni<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Quiz-summary<\/h4>\n\n
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Information<\/h4>\n\n \n \n <\/div>\n
Free Italian Quiz<\/h2>\n
\n \"L’infinito, the Italian infinitive from a different angle\"<\/h3>\n