nounsinfinitives

Noun infinitives are infinitive forms of verbs that function as nouns within a sentence. In English, the to-infinitive can act as a noun phrase, an arrangement often called an infinitival noun or infinitival clause. For example, in the sentence “To err is human,” the infinitive phrase “to err” serves as the subject. In “Her plan to win the race succeeded,” the infinitive clause “to win the race” modifies the noun plan and participates in the noun phrase.

Infinitival nouns can appear as subjects, objects, or complements, and they commonly occur after nouns that express goals, plans, or needs, as in “the decision to move,” “the hope to repair the car,” or “the desire to learn.” They also participate in predicates that equate or describe, as in “To travel is to grow.”

They are distinct from gerunds, which are verb forms ending in -ing that function as nouns in their own right (for example, “Reading helps me relax”). Infinitives preserve the base verb form with to (to read, to write) and can carry nuance related to intention, possibility, or abstract action. English also allows finite clauses and non-finite verbal clauses to mix with noun phrases, producing complex noun phrases like “a need to improve.”

Cross-linguistically, noun infinitives or nominalized infinitives are common. Some languages nominalize infinitives with affixes or separate nouns (for example, German das Lesen; French le lire). In linguistic terminology, these forms are often described as non-finite clauses used as nouns, highlighting their role as verbal forms functioning as heads of noun phrases.