Hi Shizuka,

Good question – yes, that is the infinitive, and I think the simplest answer to its use is that when we use the infinitive we are very clearly referring to the verb as a grammatical unit. It works somewhat like a name, identifying the verb. There is probably a more philosophical answer to this, though, in that the ‘to’ makes it clear we are considering the verb in for its function.

In practice, though, for the most part, it’s unlikely to cause problems using one format or another (infinitive or bare infinitive) to discuss the verb.

I have a question that may not be directly related to the main topic of this article, but it’s about the verb “to be”, as well as any other verb in general. My question is why is it that whenever we talk about any verb, we tend to refer to it as a “to + verb” format, e.g. “to be”, “to run”, “to sleep” and so on/so forth.

Firstly, such a format is referred to as the infinitive form of a verb, correct?

Secondly, is there any significance in referring to verbs via their infinitive form (i.e. to + “verb”)? Why can’t we just refer to a verb by its base form (be, run, sleep etc)?

Many thanks!

Regards,
Shizuka

Hi Vlastimil,

Yes they are quite tricky to get the hang of, being so specific to the context, but you are correct in your interpretation – in the first “I’m in!” is the enthusiastic agreement to the plans, while in the second “they are in for £50” is a commitment to spend that money. The second example could perhaps be a little clearer, something like:

The investors believe in the new development and are in for a million pounds.

This could also be used for non-monetary commitments, such as time-based concepts.

The investors believe in the new development and are in for the long haul.

to be in (2)
To commit to something, such as a plan, project or game. (Note, this could be
used with ‘for’ to quantify the commitment, which is different to the phrasal
verb ‘be in for’ below.)
• Who’s going to the cinema tonight? I’m in!
• Once we explained the scheme, they were all in for fifty pounds each.

I am not sure if I understood both cases properly.

1 I would like to emphasise I am free and eager to go to the cinema with the
person who asks the audience.
2 (I am a little bit lost) We introduced our price policy and then we sold
this product – each item for 50 pounds (?)
Yours faithfully
Vlastimil Čech