In Anglo-Saxon the nominative (or accusative) ended in -an, with a single n.
| Lufian | = to love | = amare. |
| Bærnan | = to burn | = urere. |
| Syllan | = to give | = dare. |
In Anglo-Saxon the dative of the infinitive verb ended in -nne, and was preceded by the preposition to.
| To lufienne | = ad amandum. |
| To bærnenne | = ad urendum. |
| To syllanne | = ad dandum. |
The genitive, ending in -es, occurs only in Old High German and Modern High German, plâsannes, weinnenes.
[§ 280]. With these preliminaries we can take a clear view of the English infinitives. They exist under two forms, and are referable to a double origin.
1. The independent form.—This is used after the words can, may, shall, will, and some others, as, I can speak, I may go, I shall come, I will move. Here there
is no preposition, and the origin of the infinitive is from the form in -an.
2. The prepositional form.—This is used after the majority of English verbs, as, I wish to speak, I mean to go, I intend to come, I determine to move. Here we have the preposition to and the origin of the infinitive is from the form -nne.
[§ 281]. Expressions like to err = error, to forgive = forgiveness, in lines like