Infinitive with to

Examples with the Infinitive with to

After the following phrases we use the infinitive with to in English:

1. after phrases with: the first, the last, the next etc.,

• Hillary was the first to climb Everest.
• Gene Cernan was the last man to walk on the moon.
• He is the next to be served.

2. after superlatives

• She is the youngest person to win a Nobel Prize

3. after adjectives

• I was stupid to believe her.

4. after special verbs (agree, choose,fail, forget, hope, learn, promise, regret*, want, …)

• I fail to see the funny side.

* After regret the to-infinitive is used when announcing bad news: We regret to inform you the 18:30 train has been cancelled.

5. after question words

• I don’t know what to say.
• Can you tell me how to get to the station?

6. after want/would like

• I want you to tell me the truth.

7. after Verb + Object

• I helped my friend to empty their garage.

Attention!

• I want to help you. (I help you.)
• I want you to help me. (You help me.)