bare infinitive
Verb without "to"
A bare infinitive is the simplest form of a verb, used without the word "to" that normally precedes it.
English speakers use bare infinitives after modal verbs like can, will, and must: She can swim rather than She can to swim.
They also appear after certain verbs of perception and causation: I saw him leave, Let me help.
The term distinguishes this form from the full or "to-infinitive" that appears elsewhere in English.
Verb lacking tense
- unmarkedHaving no visible identification
- uninflectedWithout grammatical modification
- tenselessUnmarked for temporal reference
- causativeExpressing what produces effects
control · raising · ellipsis · complement · clause · construction · syntax · morphology
Give permission
go
Move from here
speak · write · give · take · know · think · understand · find · say · tell
nonfinite
Verb lacking tense
- unmarkedHaving no visible identification
- uninflectedWithout grammatical modification
- tenselessUnmarked for temporal reference
causative · control · raising · ellipsis · complement · clause · construction · syntax · morphology · lemma
let
Give permission
hear · watch · feel · notice · observe · have · bid · dare · need · why-not
stripped
Had coverings removed
- unmarkedHaving no visible identification
- plainBasic and unremarkable
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
stem · unadorned · unmodified · basic · essential · core · pure · simple · fundamental · underlying
- verbalsgerund, participle, present participle, past participle, gerundive
- infinitivesto be, to do, to go, to make, to get
- verb grammarconjugation, tense, verb form, verb tense, participle