The perfect infinitive has the following structure: (to) have + past participle. For example: to have missed, to have written, to have worked, to have left etc. The perfect infinitive often refers to things that might have happened in the past:
You seem to have annoyed him
But perfect infinitive can also refer to something that will be completed at a point in the future:
We hope to have finished the car repair by the end of May.
A perfect infinitive is an infinitive in the form of “to have + past participle”. It is mainly used after some verbs to emphasize that something happened in the past.
She seems to be very optimistic.
She seems to have been very optimistic.
The perfect infinitive also appears in the passive voice:
He is supposed to have met the American president.
Mia is considered to have been the best manager of the company.
The perfect infinitive continuous is an infinitive in the form of “to have been + verb + ing”. It is used after some verbs to emphasize that something happened in a particular moment in the past.
He seems to have waited for a long time.
When I saw him, he seemed to have been waiting for somebody.
She pretended to have been reading, but in fact, she was listening to their conversation.
The passive infinitive is used in some constructions of the passive voice and is common after modal verbs. We use the passive infinitive when we want to focus on the receiver, or when we do not want to mention the agent (the person who does the action):
The carpet needs to be washed.
These doors should be shut at night.
He is going to be interviewed tomorrow.
The passive perfect infinitive form is used to talk about the past.
The corporation may have been sold last week. We should have been told about the dangers.
The passive -ing form is used to express a continuous action.
I don’t like being cheated. He remembers being given the
A passive gerund is a verb with -ing ending in the passive voice. It may appear in one of two forms: present (e.g. being shown) and past (e.g. having been shown).
I remember being taken to the hospital. I hate being spoken to as if I’m a child.
He showed no signs of having been warned. The notice, having been written in small letters, was not clearly visible.
When we talk about things that happened in the past but don’t happen anymore we can do it in different ways.
Used to
We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
There didn’t use to be a petrol station there. When was it built?
We can use ‘used to’ to talk about past states ….
I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school.
I used to smoke but I gave up a few years ago.
… or we can use ‘used to’ to talk about repeated past actions
Remember that ‘used to’ is only for past states/actions that don’t happen now – we can’t use it for things that still happen now. Also, ‘used to + infinitive’ should not be confused with ‘be/get used to + ‘ing’ form’ – this is covered in a separate section.
Would
Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.
My teachers would always say “Sit down and shut up!”
We can use ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.
Often either ‘would’ or ‘used to’ is possible. Both of these sentences are possible.
Every Saturday, I would go on a long bike ride.
Every Saturday I used to go on a long bike ride.
However, only ‘used to’ is possible when we talk about past states.
We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
We would live in New York when I was a kid.
Past simple
We went/used to go/would go to the same beach every summer.
We can use the past simple in the same way as ‘used to’ and ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.
I had/used to have a dog called Charlie.
We can also use the past simple for past states.
I went to Egypt in 1988.
However, if something happened only once we can’t use ‘used to’ or ‘would’ – we must use the past simple.
be used to and get used to
Be used to means 'be familiar with' or 'be accustomed to'.
She's used to the city now and doesn't get lost any more. He wasn't used to walking so much and his legs hurt after the hike. I'm a teacher so I'm used to speaking in public.
We use get used to to talk about the process of becoming familiar with something.
I'm finding this new job hard but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon. It took my mother years to get used to living in London after moving from Pakistan. I'm getting used to the noise now. I found it really stressful when I first moved in.
Be used to and get used to are followed by a noun, pronoun or the -ing form of a verb, and can be used about the past, present or future.
Some people are skinny, with bony elbows. They're skin and bones.
A stocky man has a very short, strong-looking body.
A wiry man is thin but strong.
A chubby person is a slightly fat person.
Professional models have a well-built body. Sometimes they’re skinny, with slender legs, slim hips and narrow waist and they look gorgeous.
Some men used to wear sideburns but didn’t wear beard, goatee or moustache.
People who swim are usually broad-shouldered and broad-chested.
My daughter wears a ponytail.
Peter’s so skinny that’s got bony elbows. He’s skin and bones.
A hunky man is a strong and attractive man.
A petite woman is a small and slim woman.
WORDS TO TALK ABOUT CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY
You look jolly. Have you had some good news?
He is a moody person. He has moody swings.
He’s bad-tempered / surly. You need to be careful with him because he can be very rude. He’s a bit off-hand with people.
She’s so conscientious / thorough that she always does her best in everything.
Tom is so vain / conceited / boastful. He’s full of himself.
An arrogant person tends to think he’s better than other people.
It’s easy to empathise with someone who has been through the same experience as you.
She’s trustworthy / dependable and supportive. You can rely on her.
A mean / tight-fisted / stingy person is the one who never buys their friends a drink in a bar.
A sly / cunning / crafty person is clever and good at deceiving people.
A glum person the one who always feels unhappy.
She always tries to be sensible / level-headed, showing good judgement.
If you judge something unfairly because of your personal opinion, you are a biased / even-handed person. I don’t like grumpy people, who are always complaining about everything.
You‘ve to be very careful with her because she’s very touchy. She’s easily offended or annoyed.
My son’s a fussy eater, he only likes a few things.
He’s a courageous person because he takes brave decisions.
You can’t withhold anything to Mary. She’s quick-witted person.
The children were constantly on the go when we lived in the country.
I’m afraid that his girlfriend is a bit anti-social.
she’s always thinking how to make other people happy. She’s a thoughtful person.
A thoughtless / inconsiderate person doesn’t think about other people. They’re selfish / self-centred because they only think about themselves.
An ambitious and single-minded person is the one who knows exactly what he / she wants to achieve in life and how to get there.
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