Question

How is the infinitive phrase used in the sentence, "He wants to tell you about his day."?

Answer 1

Hint: The infinitive form of a verb is a very basic form of a verb. It is generally preceded by ‘to’. Example: to eat, to run, to sleep etc. Example: I love to run everyday. This is an infinitive form or to- infinitive. Example: I run every day. It does not contain an infinitive form of verb. The word ‘run’ here is a finite verb which functions as the main verb. We will see what is the infinitive verb in the given sentence “he wants to tell you about his day”.

Complete answer:
Let us discuss the infinitive phrase in the given sentence “he wants to tell you about his day”.
The infinitive form of a verb as discussed in the hint is to+verb. Let us segregate the given sentence to identify the infinitive phrase in the given sentence.
He(subject) wants (verb) to tell you about his day (infinitive phrase as it shows to+tell ).
Therefore, he serves as the subject and wants is the verb which is an action by the subject ‘he’.
If we ask the question “what does he want” the answer will be the infinitive phrase “to tell you about his day”, which also serves as the direct object in the given sentence.

Note:An infinitive is a non finite verb that cannot be used as the main verb of the sentence. Also, ‘to’ is not a preposition, it is called the sign of the infinitive.
Example: I like to exercise every day.
Example: I would like to ask you something.