the basic form of a verb such as be or run. In English, an infinitive is used by itself, for example swim in She can swim (this use is sometimes called the bare infinitive), or with to (the to-infinitive) as in She likes to swim. （动词的）不定式（英语中的动词不定式可单独使用，如 She can swim 中的 swim，或带 to，如 She likes to swim） Modal verbs generally take the bare infinitive. 情态动词通常用不带 to 的不定式。 The use of the split infinitive is now generally acceptable. 分裂不定式的用法现在已被广泛接受。 You use ‘have’ to form the perfect infinitive of a verb. 用have 来构成动词的不定完成式。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bare
- perfect
- passive
- …
- form
- take
- split
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (as an adjective): from Latin infinitivus, from infinitus, from in- ‘not’ + finitus ‘finished, finite’, past participle of finire, from finis ‘end’. The noun dates from the mid 16th cent.
Idioms
split an infinitive
to place an adverb between ‘to’ and the infinitive of a verb, for example to say ‘to strongly deny the report’. Some people consider this to be bad English style. 使用分裂不定式（在 to 和动词不定式之间插入副词，如 to strongly deny a rumour，有人认为这种用法有语病）