The INFINITIVE form of a verb is the form which follows to:
| to ask to believe to cry to go |
to protect to sing to talk to wish |
This form is indistinguishable from the base form. Indeed, many people cite this form when they identify a verb, as in “This is the verb to be“, although to is not part of the verb.
Infinitives with to are referred to specifically as TO-INFINITIVES, in order to distinguish them from BARE INFINITIVES, in which to is absent:
| To-infinitive | Bare infinitive |
| Help me to open the gate | Help me open the gate |
