[Originally posted on 12/20/18 on the Duolingo French for English speakers forum by CommeuneTexane]
Verb conjugations are classified in two ways: tense and mood. Tenses reflect a time frame (e.g. present tense), while moods reflect a speaker’s attitude. So far, you’ve mainly used the indicative mood (for facts and certainties), but it is only one of seven moods.
The Infinitive Mood
The infinitive mood is an impersonal mood that isn’t conjugated nor associated with any subject pronoun. It can be used in a variety of constructions, either with or without prepositions.
Without Prepositions
Infinitives are often the objects of other conjugated verbs such as vouloir, pouvoir, and aimer. You learned this in “Verbs: Present 1”.
- Ça va venir. — It is going to come.
- Je veux danser. — I want to dance.
- J’aime avoir un chat. — I like having a cat.
Infinitives can also act like nouns and can be used as subjects.
- Faire du café est facile. — Making coffee is easy.
- Cuisiner et nettoyer sont ses responsabilités. — Cooking and cleaning are his/her responsibilities.
Here, note that French infinitives can often be translated as English gerunds (with an -ing ending), especially when they’re subjects.
After Verbs + Prepositions
As you learned previously, some verbs must be followed by a preposition to complete their meaning (e.g. penser à). An infinitive can be used as a object when it follows such prepositions.
- Elle parle de cuisiner le poulet. — She is talking about cooking the chicken.
- Je pense à changer de job. — I am thinking about changing jobs.
- Je vous remercie de laver les verres. – I thank you for washing the glasses.
Since infinitives can act like nouns, they can follow être + de to describe or define a subject (as a subject complement).
- Mon travail est de cuisiner. — My job is to cook.
- L’objectif est d’apprendre le français. — The goal is to learn French.
The preposition pour (“for” or “in order to”) can come before an infinitive to express the purpose of an action.
- Je lis pour apprendre. — I read [in order] to learn.
- Je viens pour parler. — I am coming [in order] to talk.
Keep in mind that conjugated verbs should never come after prepositions.
After Nouns
An infinitive can also modify a noun when used with de or à. It may take practice to decide which preposition should be used, but in general, use de whenever the infinitive has an object.
- Merci de laver les verres. — Please wash the glasses.
- Il prend le temps de manger une pomme. — He takes the time to eat an apple.
Use à when the verb in the sentence is avoir (with the translation “to have”).
- J’ai une décision à prendre. — I have a decision to make.
- Il a un examen à préparer — He has an exam to prepare.
À can also be used to indicate the purpose of a noun.
- une maison à vendre — a house for sale
- l’eau à boire — drinking water
After Adjectives
Infinitives can be used with the construction il est + adjective + de to create impersonal expressions. Remember from “Common Phrases” that an impersonal statement is one with a dummy subject instead of a real one.
- Il est possible de manger maintenant. — It is possible to eat now.
- Il est nécessaire de boire de l’eau. — It is necessary to drink water.
However, if the subject il is a real thing instead of just a dummy subject, then you must use à instead of de.
- Cette tâche est facile à faire. — This task is easy to do.
- C’est bon à savoir. — That’s good to know.
To further illustrate the difference, consider these two different translations of “It is fun to read.” The first is a general statement, while the second is a statement about a real subject.
- Il est amusant de lire. (Impersonal) — It is fun to read. / Reading is fun.
- Il est amusant à lire. (Real) — It (e.g. a book) is fun to read.
As a consequence, the construction c’est amusant de lire is improper because the only impersonal personal pronoun is il and ce/c’ is a demonstrative pronoun (“this” or “that”) representing a real thing, like ceci or cela. However, please note that [c’est + adjective + de + an infinitive] is massively used in spoken French, as well as [c’est + adjective + que+ a subordinate clause].
Causative Faire
Faire often appears before a verb to indicate that the subject causes something to happen instead of performing it. It’s often used in relation to cooking, where the verb often describes what the food does, not the person cooking.
- Il fait bouillir le thé. — He boils the tea.
- J’aime faire griller du poulet. — I like grilling chicken.
It can also be used to indicate that the subject has directed someone else to perform an action.
- Je le fais réparer. — I am having it fixed.
- Je fais nettoyer les tapis. — I am getting the rugs cleaned.
- Elle se fait coiffer tous les deux mois. — She gets her hair done every other month.
- Il se fait faire un costume. — He is having a suit made.
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