The verb in the indefinite form answers questions. How to find and what is the indefinite form of the verb

When it comes to the form of the verb, we say: “Build the verb in the form of the 2nd person plural of the future tense.” Based on this, we can say that the form of the verb is person + number + time. Building your answer according to this formula, you will never miss anything. Now let's move on to the definition of all three terms.

Person and number to determine the form of the verb

The face is the one who performs the action. To determine it, ask a question to the verb who? or what? If the answer is:

  • I / we - then this is a 1st person verb, it refers directly to the speaker or the group of people in which he is a member. For example: I cook, we build;
  • you / you - this is a 2nd person verb, it refers to the one / those with whom we are talking. For example: you lie, you go,
  • he / she / it / they - then this is a 3rd person verb, it refers to someone else (not to the speaker and not to the interlocutor). For example: he runs, she drinks, they are friends.

Time to determine the form of the verb

Determining the time is very simple: it is done almost intuitively:

  • In present tense verbs, the action is happening now, right now. Even if the time is not indicated in the sentence, you can understand it yourself. For example: sculpt (when?) now building (when?) today,
  • in past tense verbs, the action takes place in the past: yesterday, a week ago, etc. For example: drawing (when?) yesterday,
  • in future tense verbs, the action will only take place in an hour, tomorrow, etc. For example: learn (when?) tomorrow.


Infinitive

Verbs in the indefinite form do not have gender, person, or number, but they do have an aspect. These verbs end in -ty, -ty or -who. Their form is determined using the question:

  • what to do?, then it is imperfect. For example: (what to do?) read ;
  • if a question is asked about the verb what to do?, he is perfect. For example: (what to do?) read.

Other verbs also have aspect, but this is not indicated when determining their form. It is worth noting that perfective verbs do not have a present tense, because the action is either completed in the past or will be completed in the future.


It is easy to determine the form of the verb, since everything is done almost intuitively, the main thing is to remember the algorithm: person + number + time.

It would seem, what a simple thing! But this linguistic phenomenon also has its own characteristics and even "pitfalls", which will be discussed later in this article.

Brief description of the infinitive in Russian

An infinitive verb is what we see written in a dictionary entry. It has no mood, person, number, time, that is, it does not change depending on who performs the action, since there is simply no such subject. However, such a verb still has some features - aspect (perfect or imperfect) and conjugation (first or second). In addition, it is characterized by recurrence or irreversibility, as well as transitivity or intransitivity.

How to understand that the verb is in the infinitive

To determine that a given form of an action word is in fact an infinitive, you need to ask questions of the indefinite form of the verb to it. These include: " what to do?' (for example, 'read' or 'talk') or ' what to do?" (for example, "gift" or "drink"). If the verb answers them, then it is in the initial form.

In addition, there are always suffixes in: -t-, -ti-, -ch-, -st- and -sti-. It is worth noting that some linguists argue that these are the endings of indefinite verbs, since this morpheme is subject to change. However, the controversy has not subsided so far.

What is the indefinite form of the verb used for?

The Russian language is rich enough in various possibilities of using the infinitive. The indefinite form of a verb can be a subject, predicate, definition, object in a sentence, and also be an integral part of the verbal predicate, express the imperative mood or the future tense. Next, we will consider each of these cases in more detail with examples.

Specific syntactic roles of the verb in the initial form

So, a verb in an indefinite form is a subject if it is somehow characterized. For example:

  • Drawing was the meaning of his life.
  • Being a mother is the meaning of Svetlana's life.

In these proposals draw" and " to be (mother)» are subject, as they are separate, independent actions.

In addition, a sentence can contain two infinitives, one of which characterizes the other:

  • To live means to love.

Then here" live" is the subject, and " be in love"- predicate. The member of the sentence is determined in this case easily: the subject goes before the predicate. Also instead of " means" can be a dash or the words " this", "is» and the like.

An infinitive can be a definition if it is in this form, for example:

  • He went to bed determined to read a book tomorrow.

It turns out that the verb "read" here answers the question "what kind?" With what decision did he go to bed? Read (tomorrow a book). That is, a verb of an indefinite form is a definition if it refers to a noun, which means necessity, decision, desire, expression of will, and the like.

The indefinite form of the verb is also an object if, for example, it is used in such a phrase:

  • Dad asked Lena to pick up the pencil.

That is, the verb "asked" here has a full-fledged lexical meaning. Both verbs refer to different people (" asked"to dad, and" raise"- to Lena).

The infinitive is an integral part of the verbal predicate if used with a verb that denotes the beginning, continuation or completion of an action, that is, it has an auxiliary meaning. For example:

  • The puppy quickly began to fall asleep.
  • The teacher continued teaching.

"Started" and " continued" are just such verbs, therefore " fall asleep" and " lead" will be parts of the predicate.

The infinitive expresses the imperative when used in a commanding tone. For example, a squad leader might order: Be silent!", and the captain of the ship shout:" All hands on deck!»

The initial form of the verb expresses the future tense in sentences like this:

  • Yes, Ivan should not be a pilot!

That is, it must contain a certain shade of annoyance or regret.

Common spelling mistakes

In most cases, an infinitive verb is an easy thing to spell, but sometimes people get confused. This happens when the verb is reflexive. The soft sign in front of the suffix is ​​simply forgotten - Xia-, so it turns out that the verb is in the third person and singular. And sometimes it makes it very difficult to understand when reading.

In order to avoid mistakes and correctly write suffixes (or the endings of indefinite verbs), you need to mentally ask them questions every time: “h what to do?"or" h then do?» If the verb clearly answers exactly to them, it is necessary to put a soft sign. For example, in the last word in the sentence " Petya is going to sleep tonight" put a soft sign, because Petya going what to do? Get enough sleep.

Thus, the indefinite form verb is a rather interesting and important part of the language that can be used in different cases, the main thing is to learn them well.

Any verb can be put in such a form, which is called the initial. She is also called indefinite form of the verb or infinitive. The indefinite form of the verb received such a name due to the fact that it shows neither time, nor number, nor person, nor gender, that is, these signs are not defined.

Verbs in an indefinite form answer the questions what to do? what to do? Verbs that answer the question what to do? are imperfective verbs. Verbs that answer the question what to do? are perfective verbs.

The indefinite form of the verb most often ends in - be or - ti(sing, dance, go, go out, find, carry, crawl). These are suffixes. The indefinite form can be obtained with the help of other inflectional suffixes: -st (steal), -sti (carry, row).

Sometimes the indefinite form of the verb ends in -ch, but these letters are part of the root: guard - guard (root guard-, guard-), lie down - lie down (root lie-, lie down-). In some elementary school textbooks -ch is considered a suffix, and in high school they teach that -ch is included in the root.

In the indefinite form of verbs, if it ends NOT in –ti, it is always written ь. It is also written after the letter h (-ch) - this is the spelling for the rule: ь in the indefinite form of the verb.

Vowel letters in the indefinite form of verbs before -т are most often suffixes. They can be different: -a, -e, -i, -i, -o.

If they are unstressed, then there is always a spelling in their place. These suffix letters cannot be determined by the rule, they can only be recognized from the dictionary and memorized.

Suffix -a: hear, swim, jump, listen
Suffix -e: see, offend, depend
Suffix -i: build, iron, cook, glue, put, build
Suffix -ya: bark, melt, winnow, sow

In verbs, there is often a special suffix -sya or -ss. It is special because it is located after -t. To distinguish it from other suffixes, scientists gave it its name - postfix("attached after"). Examples: swim, listen.

There is confusion with the indefinite form of the verb and verbs used in the complex future tense. The future compound tense is formed just from imperfective verbs and answers the questions what will I do ?, what will they do ?, formed from the verb to be (I will write, will smile). Although the infinitive is still an infinitive, elementary school teachers teach that it is the future tense, not the initial form. In the future compound tense, only the verb "to be" changes in persons and numbers.

Morphological features of the infinitive

The infinitive or indefinite form of the verb is the invariable, non-conjugated form of the verb. It has only constant grammatical features of verbs:

View- perfect, denoting a completed action (rewrite, wash), imperfect (cook, give away).
recurrence- returnable (hear, wrap up), irrevocable (fold, close).
Transitivity- transitional (read a book, see a picture), intransitive (have fun, live).
Conjugation- I conjugation (to make, mix) and II conjugation (to love, draw).
Also the infinitive of the verb is inherent inflectional sign of pledge: active voice (Mom decided to cook lasagna); passive voice (Lasagna should be ready soon).

We train in the formation of indefinite verbs

Let's find verbs in the indefinite form in the text.

It's good in summer to get up early (what to do?) and (what to do?) go to the lake. It’s nice (what to do?) to sunbathe in the sun, (what to do?) to swim in clear water, (what to do?) to pick mushrooms, berries in the forest, (what to do?) to listen to birdsong. It is interesting (what to do?) to observe the behavior of insects, (what to do?) to play football with friends. It is useful (what to do?) to work in the garden and in the garden, (what to do?) to help the elders with the housework. I ( what will i do?) I will Great conduct(complex future tense, singular, not n.f.) summer time.

Let's put the verbs in the indefinite form.

Let's take - what shall we do?, what shall we do? take

Let's add - what shall we do?, what shall we do? add

Let's beat - what shall we do?, what shall we do? whip

Let's pour out - what shall we do?, what shall we do? pour out

Let's add - what shall we do?, what shall we do? add

Let's mix - what shall we do?, what shall we do? mix

We bake - what do we do ?, what to do? bake

Flowed - what did you do?, last century, what to do? flow (root flow-flow)

Shear - what do I do ?, current v., what to do ?, cut

I will save - what will I do?, bud.v., what to do?

I will captivate - what will I do ?, bud.v., what to do ?, captivate (root attract)

Form indefinite verbs using the given suffixes and prefixes.

Prefixes VZ-, ON-, PRI-, FROM-. Roots -DREM-, -CASHL-, -DANCE-. Suffixes -IVA-, -NU-, -YVA-, -А-, -Я-, -СЯ.

Take a nap - prefix vs-, suffix -well-,

take a nap - prefix po-, suffix -a,

cough - prefix po-, suffix -i-,

cough - prefix from-, suffix -i-,

dance - prefix po-, suffix -a-,

to dance - prefix at-, suffix -yva-,

dance - prefix from-, suffix -yva-.

Verbs in an indefinite form (in the infinitive) answer the questions what to do? The initial form of the verb. Verbs in the past tense do not conjugate (do not change by person). Imperfective verbs have three forms of tense, and their future form is complex. Verbs in the indefinite form have the endings -т, -ти or zero.

The indefinite form of the verb received such a name due to the fact that it does not show either time, or number, or person, or gender - well, just complete indefiniteness! Tense regulates all actions by tenses in English. Literally, tense translates as "grammatical tense". When we talk about time, we mean the concept of time in general. There is a special term for this concept - Infinite (infinity, limitless).

See what the "indefinite form of the verb" is in other dictionaries:

As I already said, all tense forms are formed from the indefinite form of the verb - future, past and present tense. To begin with, we will talk about the forms of the present and past tenses (Present and Past Tenses). We will not consider now also the third form of verbs (past participles). So, why is it that in some cases a verb is used, and in others a noun.

But there is no action in this sentence, i.e. I don't drive a car right now. That. action in a given period of time gives us certainty, which the infinitive cannot give. But if we talk about a palm tree (palm tree), then we are transferred from abstractions to reality and we are already talking about a specific type of trees. In the same way, we can imagine the infinitive.

Another similar quality of the infinitive and the noun is the particle to before the verb, as well as the articles before the noun. It is in the infinitive that verbs are presented in dictionaries (for example: lie, rest, work, see, study). The rule of the Russian language explains this by the fact that this form names an action, process or state, regardless of when, by whom and how this action, process or state is carried out.

The infinitive is the invariable, non-conjugated form of the verb. Souffler n'est pas jouer. To prompt doesn't mean to perform on stage. Prendre deux comprimés par jour. Take two tablets daily. Cela fait plaisir à voir. It's nice to look at. An infinitive can have the meaning of a noun. Le rire est le propre de l'homme.

Infinitive forms and their meaning

I heard children screaming in the garden. Should I write -er or -é? If the verb is in the infinitive, then -er is always written. II faudra sans doute trouver une solution. Here's chocolate for lunch. After the verbs avoir or être, you should write -é, because we are talking about participe passé: Tu serais étonné ! You would be surprised! Après avoir dîné, il rentra.

In Spain, those sentenced to auto-da-fe (burning at the stake) were dressed in yellow, a symbol of heresy and betrayal. She only names the action, but does not indicate either the time, or the person, or the gender, or the number, and answers the questions what to do? The infinitive has two grammatical features: aspect and recurrence/irrevocability. The infinitive can be any member of the sentence, for example: Flying above all is my dream. I like to dream.

1. Grammatical categories of the verb (categoriae grammaticae)

Write down an excerpt from the poem, indicating the basis of the indefinite form of the verb. Verbs in a sentence are predicates. Verbs in indefinite form have form, transitivity and intransitivity, conjugation.

The case forms of verbal nouns indicate that these nouns denoted "substantiated actions as an object of the subject's dynamic orientation." However, this theory does not find confirmation in the written monuments of the Russian language and refers to a hypothetical Proto-Slavic language (the existence of which is rejected by many researchers).

It is harmful because it inspires and propagates the false idea that the infinitive is a verb. In favor of the fact that the infinitive in Russian is a form of a verb, it says that the infinitive has a grammatical feature - a form (perfect and imperfect). Such a property of verbs as reflexivity is also inherent in the infinitive: bathe and bathe.

The infinitive in English is a non-personal form of an English verb that denotes only an action, without specifying either a person or a number. The infinitive answers the questions: what to do? The infinitive in English has four forms in the active (active) voice and two in the passive (passive). If the personal endings of the verb are stressed, then the conjugation is determined by the endings that are written as they are heard.

Check if the given verb is formed from a verb with stressed endings using the prefix: DRINK

The difference between a suffix and an ending is that the second one serves exclusively to connect words in a sentence, while the first one, even the formative one, has a semantic component. One can argue about the suffixes of indefinite tense, before they were considered the ending of a special kind, but not about the generic ending, which changes with declension - and nothing more.

7. Future tense first (futúrum primum simplex activi et passivi)

All forms of the verb have morphological features of aspect (there are perfect or imperfective) and transitivity (they are transitive or intransitive). Among the verb forms, there are conjugated ones (they change according to moods, tenses, persons or genders, as well as numbers) and non-conjugated ones (the initial form of the verb, participles and participles). The infinitive denotes an action regardless of mood, time, person, number, that is, without its connection with the agent (subject).

Borisoglebskaya E.I., Gurchenkova V.P., Kurbyko A.E. and others. Russian language: A guide for applicants to universities

In a sentence, the infinitive can be any part of the sentence. Example (4) - the infinitive is not included in the predicate and is an addition in the sentence if it denotes the action of another person (object), not the one called the subject. The verb has two stems: the stem of the infinitive and the stem of the present/simple future tense. These two stems are different for many verbs. Verbs in Russian belong to one of two types: imperfective or perfective.

The number of tense forms and the way they are formed depends on the type of the verb. Verbs change according to moods. There are transitive and intransitive verbs. In Russian, verbs have forms of three moods: indicative, conditional (subjunctive) and imperative.

The infinitive is the initial meaning of the verb. The peculiarity of the infinitive is that it denotes only a pure action, not tied to the person who performs it, does not indicate whether one or more persons perform the action, and also does not give an idea of ​​the time of the action. That is, the infinitive does not have the definiteness of the past, present or future tense.

This part of speech is also called the "indefinite form of the verb", because it does not characterize any details of the action being performed, revealing only its original meaning. latin word infintus, from which the term is derived, can be translated as "uncertain".

The indefinite form of the verb: rules and examples

The infinitive can only answer questions:

  • "What to do?";
  • "What to do?".

It is impossible, for example, to ask "Doing what?""What is he doing?","What are we doing?""What are they doing?""What you are doing?","What did you do?""What will you do?", since the infinitive is the indefinite form of the verb. Time and face remain unclear, and no reference is made to the details of what is happening.

Infinitive suffixes

The infinitive ends with word-forming suffixes:

  • -t - give birth, grow up, die;
  • -ch, - protect, burn, flog;
  • -ti - carry, grow, row.

It can also be supplemented with a postfix -s (s), by which we can judge which indefinite form of the verb is irrevocable, and which is reflexive:

-s (-sya) - toil, pray, beware.

Signs of the infinitive

The infinitive is the form of the verb that always remains the same. It cannot be conjugated, presented in a different time or person. Infinitives can only have constant verbal features that are present in any verb, regardless of their form. Such signs include transitivity/intransitivity, recurrence/irreturnability and perfection/imperfection.

Transitive and intransitive infinitives

The transitivity of the verb is determined in accordance with the presence of an additional word of the indefinite form of the verb, denoting an object or phenomenon, to which the action is partially transferred. Intransitive verbs consist of a single word denoting the action itself. The transitive infinitive can include:

  • nouns or pronouns put in the accusative case without a preposition: make an injection, thread;
  • nouns put in the genitive case, without a preposition, which express the share of something, or involvement: wait for trouble, pour water;
  • nouns or pronouns put in the genitive case, if the verb has a negative expression: be unable to notice them.

Thus, these words are part of the verb, filling it with meaning, and without them the essence of the action is lost. Part of the action, in turn, goes to the object or circumstance, giving it a specific semantic load.

Reflexive and irrevocable infinitives

The indefinite form of the verb can also be reflexive and non-reflexive. Irreversible verbs express an action performed by someone or something in relation to someone or something. Returns express an action directed by someone or something on itself, or mean another closed interaction or state of the object and have a postfix at the end -sya (sya). On the -sya the reflexive indefinite form of the verb usually ends. The rule says that reflexive verbs cannot be transitive.

Examples of irrevocable infinitives: put on, put on, peek. Examples of reflexive infinitives: get dressed, get down, sneak.

As we can see from the above examples, some reflexive verbs can be obtained from non-reflexive ones by simply adding a postfix -sya(as in the case of the pair " lower-lower"). This only changes the direction of the action, but the general meaning remains. In rare cases, according to the rules and norms of the use of verbs, it is impossible to use the verb in both its word forms - perfect and imperfect, as, for example, the reflexive indefinite form of the verb is unacceptable for "put on" (example " put on-dress"). "Put on" denotes an action performed in relation to some object or person, while "dress" can refer exclusively to the object that performs the action (it can be used in other word forms, but provided that this reflexive meaning is preserved) . Although such a limited indefinite form of the verb is not often encountered, the rule remains the rule. Also, from some imperfect forms of verbs, we will not be able to make a perfect one, based on their key meaning, which we can see on the example of the verb "peep" - you can’t peep behind yourself. By the same principle, in Russian there is no imperfect form of the verb "sneak" - you can't " sneak"anything.

Perfect and imperfect infinitives

Infinitives can also be perfective or imperfective. The indefinite form of the imperfective verb expresses actions that continue in time and do not have a specific binding - these are, as it were, eternal actions, and without additional indications in the context, it does not give us an idea of ​​the completion or incompleteness of the action. A question would be relevant here. "What to do?". Examples:

Perfective infinitives say that the action has already been done, or will certainly be done, that the result is already there, or will still be (of course, in cases of negation or question, it may have a relatively indefinite coloring). A question would be relevant here. "What to do?". Examples:

  • After reading the note should have been burned.
  • Thank me that you didn't have to burn that note.
  • Were you instructed to burn the note?

Only a small number of dual infinitives contain Russian. The indefinite form of the verb, which is both perfective and imperfective, can be used this way and that, depending on the environment, without changing its word form. That is, she answers the question "What to do?", and to the question "What to do?". Examples:

  • An order was issued to continue to execute all traitors. - "What to do?";
  • An order was given to execute the traitor. - "What to do?";
  • In the village they are used to marrying girls quickly. - "What to do?";
  • By autumn, Martha managed to marry all her girls. - "What to do?";
  • It's hard to tell your heart. - "What to do?"
  • How to tell your heart not to love? - "What to do?"
  • Exploring caves is very interesting, but at the same time dangerous. - "What to do?"
  • Tomorrow we have to explore these caves. - "What to do?"
  • You can attack them from any direction, while I will smash them head on. - "What to do?"
  • You will have to attack them from the right, and I will go in from the flank. - "What to do?"

Conjugation of verbs

The conjugation of verbs reflects their change in accordance with person and number. Although the infinitives themselves cannot have a person, number or gender, and, therefore, cannot be conjugated, they nevertheless serve as a derivational basis for other verbs, therefore they are assigned to any of the two verb groups according to the type of conjugation - either to I , or to II. The endings of indefinite verbs related to the first group: -e, -yu(except for verbs of exceptions). The forms of these verbs have endings -u and -yu, -eat and -eat, -eat and -eat, -eat and -eat, -eat and -ete. The endings of indefinite verbs related to the second group: -and and on -I(except for verbs of exceptions). When conjugated, the forms of these verbs have endings -u and -yu, -ish, -it, -im, -ite, -at and -yat.

Function of the infinitive in a sentence

Verbs, as usual, perform the function of a predicate in a sentence. Together with the subjects, they form the grammatical basis of sentences. However, the infinitive, due to its peculiarities of use, can perform completely different functions in a sentence. Therefore, the role of any of the members of the sentence in this case can be played by the indefinite form of the verb. An example of the use of infinitives as various members of a sentence:

Morphological analysis of the infinitive in a sentence

To carry out the morphological analysis of a verb in a sentence, you need to determine its part of speech, general grammatical meaning, ask him questions, determine the word form, indicate permanent and non-permanent morphological features, as well as its function in the sentence. Since the indefinite form of the verb does not change, the morphological analysis of the infinitive is carried out without indicating inconstant verbal features.