Reduced infinitives: Omitting the infinitive phrase after ‘to’

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  • Reduced infinitives

    B2 grammar chart on reduced infinitives with rules, examples, and exceptions for using or omitting ‘to’

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    ‘To’ can be used instead of a complete infinitive phrase

    When the meaning is clear, we don’t need to repeat an infinitive or verb phrase that has just been mentioned. Instead, we can use just to. This avoids repetition and makes sentences shorter.

    • ‘Are you going to watch the film?’ ‘Yes, I’m going to.’ (= I’m going to watch the film.)
    • She promised to help me, and she really wanted to. (= She wanted to help me.)
    • I don’t play tennis now, but I used to. (= I used to play tennis.)
    ❗ When the repeated verb is be, we usually keep the full infinitive (to be).

    • I know I‘m not very positive, but I really try to be. (= to be positive)

    When can we use this type of reduced infinitive?

    We can use to instead of the full infinitive phrase after many common verbs, adjectives, and nouns. As the meaning is clear from the context, we don’t repeat the whole phrase.

    After common verbs

    Some of the most frequent are: agree, decide, expect, hate, hope, plan, promise, refuse, want, would like/love.

    • She promised to come, but I’m not sure she wants to.
    • ‘Will you pay him back?’ ‘I’m planning to.’

    After common adjectives

    Some of the most frequent are: afraid, delighted, glad, happy, ready, willing.

    • I need to go, but I’m not sure I’m ready (to).
    • We can start working on this if you are willing (to).

    After common nouns

    Some of the most frequent are: chance, decision, need, plan, way, attempt.

    • If we want to win, this will be our last chance (to).
    • You can go whenever you want, but there’s no need (to).
    ❗ Note how to can be dropped in many of these sentences.
    That’s why we put it in brackets. In the next section, we’ll see when we can omit the whole infinitive, including to.

    Omitting the whole infinitive, including ‘to’

    Sometimes we can leave out the whole infinitive, including to. We can drop to if the meaning is clear and the verb, adjective, or noun doesn’t need a complement to make sense on its own.

    • We can start unpacking whenever you’re ready (to).’ (= ready to start unpacking)
    • Of course you can bring a dessert, but there’s no need (to). (= no need to bring a dessert)

    When we don’t usually drop ‘to’

    We normally keep to after verbs that require a complement, for example: afford, advise, be able, choose, decide, plan, pretend.

    • ‘Will you pay him back?’ ‘I’m planning to.’
    • ‘Will you pay him back?’ ‘I’m planning.’
    • ‘Will you buy a new car?’ ‘We can’t afford to.’
    • ‘Will you buy a new car?’ ‘We can’t afford.’

    We also usually keep to after would like/love/hate/prefer and after want and choose.

    • ‘Would you like to join us?’ ‘Yes, I’d like to.’
    • ‘Would you like to join us?’ ‘Yes, I’d like.‘
    ❗ But to is often dropped after want and always after like when used after conjunctions like if, when, what, or as.

    • You can leave if you want (to).
    • You can come over when you like.
    • You can come over when you like to.

    Finally, to is also kept with negative infinitives (not to)

    • We can avoid including this rule if we agree not to.
    • We can avoid including this rule if we agree not.