Below are explanations for the two Infinitive Phrase Samples:

Infinitive Phrases from The Brothers Karamazov

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

As the interactive exercise instructs, the first step is to highlight any words that could be an infinitive phrase:

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

There appears to be only one infinitive phrase in this sentence:

1. TO PASS: nominal - direct object of CAME - infinitive phrases are often used to create nominals from action in order to fill noun roles

Challenge Sample from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

When Dorothy was standing in the doorway, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun has been burning the tops of the long blades for decades, until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.

Again, the first step is to highlight any words that might be an infinitive phrase:

When Dorothy was standing in the doorway, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun has been burning the tops of the long blades for decades, until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere.

For this sample, there appears to be only one infinitive phrase in this passage:

1. TO BE SEEN: adjectival - modifies COLOR - this is an infinitive phrase with a passive construction (BE + [-en] + SEE)

Tips to Keep in Mind

The KEY MARKER for identifying infinitive phrases is TO + verb in its base form. Infinitive phrases often serve nominal roles, esepcially as direct objects. So pay close attention if an infinitive phrase follows directly after a main verb phrase. In most cases, it will be the direct object. Remember, an infinitive phrase is never part of a main verb phrase. Otherwise, an infinitive phrase will be adjectival if it follows immediately after a noun. Adverbial infinitive phrases will most often appear at the beginning or end of a clause and provide extra information about time or place, but the key tests for determining if infinitive phrases are adverbial are always movement and deletion.

If you have questions about these sample analyses, please contact your instructor or start a conversation in your work group.