infinitively

Infinitively is an adverb formed from the noun infinitive. It refers to something relating to or expressed by the infinitive, the non-finite form of a verb such as to eat or to be. In standard English usage, infinitively as a word is uncommon in everyday speech and is more likely to appear in linguistic descriptions or grammars.

In grammar, the infinitive is a basic non-finite verb form. English distinguishes the to-infinitive (to + base form) and the bare infinitive (the base form without to). The term infinitival is the corresponding adjectival form used to describe constructions that involve infinitives, such as infinitival clauses or infinitival phrases. Infinitively, by contrast, is the adverbial form used in linguistic analysis to indicate that a statement concerns the infinitive form or the manner of expressing with an infinitive. This adverb is largely confined to technical discussion rather than everyday usage.

Usage and contexts. Infinitively appears most often in books or articles that analyze sentence structure, non-finite clauses, or the behavior of verbs in different languages. For example, a linguist might say that a clause is analyzed infinitively or that a verb is used infinitively after certain verbs. In typical prose, speakers would simply say that a verb is used in the infinitive form rather than using the adverb infinitively.

See also. Infinitive, to-infinitive, bare infinitive, infinitival, non-finite verb.