{"id":15643,"date":"2012-12-05T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T16:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=15643"},"modified":"2012-11-26T15:25:56","modified_gmt":"2012-11-26T22:25:56","slug":"verbs-that-require-infinitives-on-the-gmat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/verbs-that-require-infinitives-on-the-gmat\/","title":{"rendered":"Verbs that Require Infinitives on the GMAT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Some verbs require the infinitive, and the GMAT expects you to know them. First, consider a couple practice\u00a0Sentence Correction<\/a>\u00a0problems exploring these idioms.<\/p>\n

1) The Sherpa people, indigenous to the mountainous regions of eastern Nepal, are known\u00a0to have their ability of performing with ease\u00a0the demanding tasks of mountaineering at some of the highest known altitudes.<\/p>\n

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    1. to have their ability of performing with ease<\/li>\n
    2. to have the ability with their performing with ease<\/li>\n
    3. for their ability to perform with ease<\/li>\n
    4. for their ability of performing with ease<\/li>\n
    5. in the ability to easily perform<\/li>\n
        2) The FDA enacted these recent restrictions\u00a0both to prohibit individual physicians from forming financial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and to forbid the companies to advertise\u00a0directly to the physicians.<\/p>\n
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        1. both to prohibit individual physicians from forming financial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and to forbid the companies to advertise<\/li>\n
        2. both to prohibit individual physicians to form financial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies while forbidding the companies to advertise<\/li>\n
        3. to both prohibit individual physicians from forming financial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and also to forbid the companies from advertising<\/li>\n
        4. both to prohibit individual physicians from forming financial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies as well as to forbid the companies from advertising<\/li>\n
        5. to prohibit both individual physicians to form financial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and to forbid the companies from advertising<\/li>\n
            <\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n

            Infinitive<\/h2>\n

            The infinitive forms of verbs are the \"dictionary form\" of the verb, the form you would find if you looked the verb up in a standard dictionary.\u00a0 We construct the infinitive as follows: \"to\" + [the infinitive form].\u00a0 For almost every verb in English, the infinite form is identical to the present tense of the verb, what we would use after the pronoun \"I\" in the present tense ---- I walk, I eat, I listen ----- these become the infinitives: to walk, to eat, to listen.\u00a0 The only verb for which the infinitive form is wildly different from any of the present tense forms is the most irregular verb in the entire language: the verb \"to be\", with present test forms am\/is\/are.<\/p>\n

            The infinitive itself acts as a noun in a sentence.\u00a0 Nevertheless, since the infinitive is the form of a verb, it can take adverbs & direct objects.\u00a0 When we attach all these other forms to the infinitive, we create an\u00a0infinitive phrase<\/a>.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Verbs + infinitives<\/h2>\n

            Certain English verbs idiomatically demand the infinitive: that is to say, the only grammatically correct construction that can follow them is an infinitive or an infinitive phrase.\u00a0\u00a0 Here are a few important examples of these verbs:<\/p>\n

            *\u00a0allow<\/strong>\u00a0A to do X<\/p>\n

            *\u00a0choose<\/strong>\u00a0to do X<\/p>\n

            *\u00a0decide<\/strong>\u00a0to do X<\/p>\n

            *\u00a0forbid<\/strong>\u00a0A to do X<\/p>\n

            *\u00a0persuade<\/strong>\u00a0A to do X<\/p>\n

            *\u00a0try<\/strong>\u00a0to do X<\/p>\n

            Notice, those six verbs are all about volition and intention.\u00a0 These verbs are common in English, and common on the GMAT Sentence Correction.\u00a0\u00a0 The GMAT wants you to know these idioms: each one of these six verbs must have an infinitive, and it is an idiom mistake to follow them with anything else ---- \"I persuaded her into \u2026\", \"I forbid him from doing \u2026.\" ---- all automatically incorrect.<\/p>\n

            Another verb that requires special mention is the verb \"to\u00a0want<\/strong>.\"\u00a0 In most constructions you are likely to see on the GMAT, this verb also idiomatically takes an infinitive.\u00a0\u00a0 Following the verb \"want\" with a \"that\"-clause is always wrong on the GMAT.\u00a0 One alternate acceptable construction is what is called an \"object complement\": the structure of this form is \"want\" + [direct object] + [adjective].\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n

            *The sheriff wanted the bandit dead.<\/p>\n

            *The CFO wants the overseas division solvent before the end of the year.<\/p>\n

            This is a common form in casual speech, and there's an off chance it could appear on a GMAT Sentence Correct in the future.\u00a0 In other words, don't automatically discount the verb \"want\" if it is not followed by an infinitive: it could be an \"object complement.\"<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Other words + infinitives<\/h2>\n

            There are a few other constructions that require the infinitive<\/p>\n

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