不定式是历次大学英语四级考试必考的内容。不定式在句子中可做主语、宾语、表语、定语、状语和宾语补语。
1)不定式做主语一般表示具体的某次动作。
【例如】To complete the 30storied building in one year was
quite a difficult task.
To do that implies taking responsibility.
当主语较长，谓语较短时，常用it做形式主语，而将不定式放到谓语的后面。
【例如】It is important for modern young people to master at least two foreign languages.
It做形式主语，不定式放在谓语动词之后常用
于下列结构中：
a) It is＋形容词(easy, important, difficult, foolish, inconvenient, unnecessary, right, wrong...)＋( for/of sb.)＋不定式
【例如】It is essential to reserve a table in advance of Christmas Eve. hard to put my hopessintoswords.
It is not easy to catch fish with your hands only.
It is important for us young people to learn English and master it.
b) It is＋名词(a pleasure, a pity, a pleasant thing, one’s duty, an honor, a shame, a crime, no easy job...)＋不定式
It is a sheer waste of time to read that kind of trash.
It is a pity to have to go without her.
It is a glorious death to die for the people.
c) It takes (sb.) some time (hours, months, days, a lot of time, patience...)＋不定式
It takes me three hours to learn English each day.
It took them half the night to get home in the snow.
2)不定式作表语不定式作表语常表示将来的动作，主语常常是表示意向、打算、计划的词，如wish, idea, task, purpose, duty, job等。
【例如】The most important thing for one’s health is to have plenty of exercise.
My chief purpose has been to point out the difficulties of the matter.
The purpose of the organization is to greet all new comers to the city and to provide them with any necessary
information. What I wanted was to get the work done as quickly as possible.
3)不定式作宾语不定式常在下列动词后面作宾语：
afford,agree,apply,arrange,ask,attempt,beg,begin,care, choose,claim,consent,demand,decide,desire,determine,
expect,fail,hope,hesitate,hate,intend,learn,like,manage,mean,neglect,offer,plan,preparepretend,promise,refuse,resolve,seek,tend,threaten,want等。
【例如】I like to go out for walks in the warm sunshine in spring.
My mother hates to move from place to place, for she feels tired.I decide to work hard and get doctor’s degree.
The room is designed to be my study,but now it has to be used as a bedroom for the children.
She failed to finish the assignment in time, and she was worried about it.
There is a man at the reception desk who seems very angry and I think he means( )trouble. (CET-4 1997, 1)
A) making B) to make C) to have made D)shavingsmade
mean后面一般加不定式，所以A和D可以排除。根据句意，他看起来非常生气，他想找麻烦，不定式的动作还没有实施， 应用一般式，因此答案为B。不定式作宾语还常用在下面结构中；主语＋动词＋it＋形容词＋不定式。
【例如】 We found it impossible to get everything ready in time.I think it important to learn English well in college.使用这种句型的常见动词有：believe, consider, declare, feel,find, guess, imagine, prove, realize, suppose, think,等。
4)“whword＋不定式”结构不定式前加一个疑问代词(what,which, who, whom, whose)或疑问副词(where, when, how, why)，以及连词whether构成特殊的不定式短语，其作用相当于一个从句，这样的不定式短语常在某些动词后面作宾语。常见的可以接这种不定式短语的动词有：know, see, decide, tell,ask,consider,discover,explain,findout,forget,guess,hear,imagine,inquire,learn,observe,perceive,remember,think,understand,wonder等。
