To + infinitivo

¿Cómo sabemos cuándo hay que usar ‘to + infinitivo’ (to know, to see, to find etc), y no el gerundio o el infinitivo solo? Puede ser algo difícil, pero hay tres reglas para saber cuándo usamos la construcción ‘to + infinitivo’. Veamos las reglas.

¿Cuándo usamos el to + infinitivo?

1. Usamos ‘to + infinitivo’ después verbos específicos, (ask, plan etc.).
2. Usamos ‘to + infinitivo’ después de los adjetivos para dar una razón, (happy, difficult etc).
3. Usamos ‘to + infinitivo’ para mostrar propósito.

Se usa ‘to + infinitivo’ después de verbos específicos

Want	Did they really want to jet ski?
Learn	You must learn to behave.
Plan	She’s planning to take a Spanish course.
Hope	David hopes to become an astronaut.
Decide	Don’t decide to leave so soon, please.
Help	Can you help me to solve this?
Promise	Our clients promised to make a deal with us.
Would like	He wouldn’t like to come with us.
Decide	We’ve decided to try.
Agree	Don’t agree to stay if you don’t want to.
Ask	I’m asking you to do it for me.
Would love	She’d love to join in.
Would hate	I’d hate to know.
Wait	They’ve been waiting to see their favourite actor.
Seem	The washing seems to be done.
Manage	Could you manage to make an appointment?
Offer	My employer offered me more vacation time.
Choose	You can choose to leave if you want.
Can afford	Henry can’t afford to go.
Demand	I’m demanding you to leave at once!
Prepare	Please, prepare to wait, there’s a long line.
Arrange	He’ll arrange for you to arrive at 22:00.
Deserve	James doesn’t deserve to win the lottery.
Claim	Are you claiming to be a charlatan?
Appear	My bike doesn’t appear to be working.
Intend	They intend for you to have great success.
Expect	I don’t expect you to understand.
Tend	They tend to have an absent mind.
Would prefer	They’d prefer to come tonight.
Refuse	You guys can refuse to bail.
Pretend	Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

Se usa ‘to’ + infinitivo’ después de la mayoría de los adjetivos para dar una razón

Happy	My wife and I are happy to give you this gift as a token of our appreciation.
Difficult	The way the world can be difficult to master.
Big	You’re too big to challenge him.
Nice	It’s very nice to see you today.
Kind	It’s very kind of you to do that.
Mean	I was being mean in order to hurt them.
Grateful	I was being grateful to encourage you.
Proud	They are proud to be my parents in law.
Surprised	The locals were surprised to see me.
Anxious	I’m feeling anxious to wash the dishes.
Pleased	They are so pleased to meet us.
Sad	I’m sad to see you leave.

Se usa para mostrar intención de una entidad (persona, animal, empresa), pero no de una cosa

• I interviewed her to know what had happened.
• I bought the vase to give to my mom.
• Mary opened the door to see who was there.
• We’re going to find the suspect to put him in jail.
• I rang my mum to see how she was going.
• You need to study a lot to pass your exam.
• He turned the light on to see better.

Al utilizar la construcción ‘to + infinitivo’, es aconsejable que leas este artículo que explica y elabora sobre el uso de ‘to’ y ‘for’.

Ver también