Other points to note in the text- Demonstratives – pronouns: celle(line 39); cela(line 49); and adjectives: ce(line 25); cette(line
7); cet(line 9); ces(line 49) (see Chapter 14) - Relative pronouns: ce que(lines 9, 21, 40–1) (see Chapter 11)
- Personal pronouns: le prouvent(lines 3–4); on le lui a tant répété; il lui manque(lines 33–4); Lui
dire(line 36) (see Chapter 10) - Impersonal verbs: il lui manque(lines 33–4); il est trop tard(line 35) (see Chapter 25)
Discover more about the infinitive
1 USAGE
In addition to the uses seen in the text, the infinitive may also be:
a Used independently- as a verbal noun, functioning as the subject of a sentence, e.g. Travailler tout le temps n’est pas
bon pour la santé; Corriger leurs fautes sans les décourager, voilà le problème. One may even find
one infinitive acting as the complementof another, e.g. Voir c’est croire(Seeing is believing).
See also Chapter 23 text, lines 15–19 and 20–2. Note that here again French uses an infinitive
where English would use a verb form in ‘-ing’. - after the preposition àoften appears as an approximate alternative to a conditional clause, e.g.
À en juger d’après les apparences. .. (To judge by/If we are to go by appearances.. .) - following a noun, preceded by à, e.g. une chambre à louer; un repas à emporter
- following adjectives used in impersonal constructions, e.g. Il est impossible de comprendre cela;
C’est impossible à comprendre - following an adjective, preceded by à/de, e.g. Je suis prêt à partir; Je suis content de vous voir.
b Used after another verb
With no preposition- after a verb expressing ‘liking’, ‘wishing’, ‘hoping’, e.g. Je veux partir; J’adore danser; J’espère le voir
- after a verb of motion, e.g. Je viens vous voir; Je suis allé le chercher. See also Chapter 6 for the
use of aller+ infinitive to refer to future events - after sembler, paraître, etc., e.g. Elle semble se contenter de très peu
- after the verbs laisserand faire(sometimes called ‘factitives’ or ‘causatives’), e.g. Je les ai laissés
jouer; Ils ont fait construire une maison(They had a house built). It is to be noted that in this
latter example English uses a past participle – ‘built’ – where French must always have an
infinitive. For the use of object pronouns with this construction, see Chapter 10.
Preceded by à/de
For further details of verbs which take à/debefore a following infinitive, see Chapter 23.
c Used after après
After the prepositionaprès, French uses a past infinitive (see 2 below) where English would normally
use a present participle, e.g.Après avoir écrit sa dissertation(After writing/having written... ).142 French Grammar in Context