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A couple questions about these uses of infinitivesGrammar questions– conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax, etc. |
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#1
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A couple questions about these uses of infinitives
For the first three images below, I know the answers are "El vivir", "El limpiar" and "El escuchar", but I'm not clear on why the "El" is needed.
![]() ![]() ![]() For these next three images, I know the answers are "pulsar", "hacer clic", and "ver", but I'm not entirely clear why infinitives are used where it seems imperatives should be used instead. I imagine it has to do with there not being a specific audience for the messages, but 'm not sure. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#3
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Adding to what Angélica explained, the gerund is the English-language equivalent to the Spanish infinitive being used as noun. The English gerund always acts as a noun in a clause and it looks like a verb with an -ing ending.
(By the way, you shouldn't confuse the gerund with the English present participle, which also looks like a verb ending in -ing. The latter is put to other uses (never a noun).) This explains why 'living', 'cleaning', and 'listening to' are nouns (gerunds) in the first three examples, instead of a verb (which is what most English speakers would think). When the infinitive is used as a command (order), it seems to us English speakers that it should be conjugated as such. But the Spanish language makes use of the infinitive to get around giving a direct command to the general public, usually seen on traffic signs or billboards and in some user manuals. Last edited by Rusty; August 12, 2022 at 07:48 PM. |
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