infinitive.

Fun with infinitives
Fun with Infinitives
 Infinitives in Spanish are unassigned
actions that when translated into
English always start with the word
“to”.
 Spanish- CANTAR
 English- “to sing”
Fun with Infinitives
 The infinitive is very versatile because you
can combine it with conjugated verbs and
verb phrases to say a variety of statements
and expressions in Spanish. These
expressions are called:
 Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
 In the “plus (+) infinitive” expressions you
have an auxiliary verb or auxiliary verb
phrase PLUS an infinitive.
 How to use these expressions is simple:
 the auxiliary verb is the first verb in the phrase
and the infinitive usually follows.
 The infinitive DOES NOT change, it stays
in the infinitive form.
Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
 TENER + que + infinitive
 to have to do something
 Tengo que estudiar. →
I have to study
 IR + a + infinitive
 to plan to do something
 Voy a estudiar. → I am going to study.
Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
 NECESITAR + infinitive
 to need to do something
 Necesito estudiar. → I need to study.
 DESEAR + infinitive
 to desire to do something
 Deseo estudiar. → I desire to study.
Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
 ACABAR + de + infinitive
 to have just done something
 Acabo de estudiar. →
studying.
I just finished
 QUEDAR + en + infinitive
 to agree to do something
 Quedo en estudiar. → I agree to study.
Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
 TRATAR + de + infinitive
 to try to do something
 Trato de estudiar. → I try to study.
 DEBER + infinitive
 to ought to do something
 Debo estudiar. → I should study.
Plus (+) Infinitive expressions
 *PREFERIR + infinitive
 to prefer to do something
 Prefiero estudiar. → I prefer to study.
 *PODER + infinitive
 to be able to do something
 Puedo estudiar. → I am able to (can) study.
 *QUERER + infinitive
 to want to do something
 Quiero estudiar. → I want to study.
Para entender mejor
 As you can see in the preceding
examples they only verbs you will
need to know how to conjugate are
the auxiliary verbs.
 On the following slides you will find
the conjugations of the auxiliary
verbs.
Conjugations
TENER
IR
Tengo
Tenemos
Voy
Vamos
Tienes
Tenéis
Vas
Vais
Tiene
tienen
Va
van
Conjugations
NECESITAR
DESEAR
Necesito
Necesitamos
Deseo
Deseamos
Necesitas
Necesitáis
Deseas
Deseáis
Necesita
necesitan
Desea
desean
Conjugations
ACABAR
QUEDAR
Acabo
Acabamos
Quedo
Quedamos
Acabas
Acabáis
Quedas
Quedáis
Acaba
Acaban
Queda
quedan
Conjugations
DEBER
TRATAR
debo
Debemos
Trato
Tratamos
debes
Debéis
Tratas
Tratáis
debe
deben
Trata
tratan
Conjugations
PODER
o
ue
Puedo
Podemos
Puedes
Podéis
Puede
Pueden
PREFERIR
QUERER
i
ie
Prefiero
Quiero
Preferimos
Queremos
Prefieres
Quieres
Preferís
Queréis
Prefiere
Quiere
Prefieren
Quieren
One last option…
 We will learn more about this later,
but you may have seen this in your
book.
 Using the phrase “me gusta”
 You can use it with an infinitive
but ONLY in the following way.
Using GUSTAR + infinitive
 *object pronoun + gusta + infinitive verb
 Me gusta leer el libro.
 I like to read the book.
 (Reading the book is pleasing to me.)
 Te gusta leer el libro.
 You like to read the book. (inf.)
 A él le gusta leer el libro.
 He likes to read the book.
 A ella le gusta leer el libro.
 She likes to read the book.
 A Ud. le gusta leer el libro.
 You like to read the book. (for.)
Using GUSTAR + infinitive
 *object pronoun + gusta + infinitive verb
 Nos gusta leer el libro.
 We like to read the book.
 Os gusta leer el libro.
 Y’all like to read the book. (inf.)
 A ellos les gusta leer el libro.
 They like to read the book.
 A ellas les gusta leer el libro.
 They like to read the book. (f.)
 A Uds. Les gusta leer el libro.
 You all like to read the book. (for.)
Using GUSTAR + infinitive
 You can use any amount of infinitives in
this construction, as well.
 Me gusta aprender y leer.
 I like to learn and read.
 Me gusta cocinar, beber y comer.
 I like to cook, drink and eat.
 Keep in mind that “gusta” NEVER changes.
 We will go into this more later. 