Perfect Infinitives
Perfect infinitives can have the same meaning as perfect tenses or past tenses.
- It is nice to have heard from her. (= It is nice that I have heard from her.)
- I'm glad to have won. (= I am glad that I have won.)
- She is glad to have represented her country in the Olympics. (= She is glad that she has represented her country in the Olympics.)
- I am glad to have left school. (= I am glad that I have left school.)
The perfect infinitive is often used to talk about unreal past events.
- I meant to have posted the letter, but I forgot.
Perfect infinitives are quite common after modal auxiliary verbs like would, should and could. Note that after a modal auxiliary verb, the perfect infinitive is used without to.
- You should have asked me before borrowing my car.
- She should have consulted a doctor.
- They should have told us they weren't coming.
- I could have married anybody I wanted.
Perfect infinitives in third conditional sentences
Third conditional forms are used to talk about unreal past situations. Here we use a past perfect tense in the if-clause and would + perfect infinitive (have + past participle) in the result clause.
- If I had worked harder, I would have passed the test.
- If she had applied in time, she would have got the job.
Note that the structure modal verb + perfect infinitive does not always refer to unreal past situations. It can also be used to express our belief that something has happened.
- 6 o'clock. She should have reached home now.
See also
Tenses
The simple present tense
The present progressive tense
The present perfect tense
The present perfect progressive tense
Present tenses to talk about the future
The simple past tense
The past progressive tense
The past perfect tense
The past perfect progressive tense
Past verb forms with present or future meaning
The simple future tense
The future progressive tense
The future perfect tense
More CBSE English Grammar worksheets
Passive voice worksheet | Simple past tensePassive voice worksheet | Past continuous tense
Passive voice worksheet | Simple future tense
Passive voice worksheet | Future perfect tense