Another Grammar Lesson (off topic)

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]

At 03:41 PM 1/21/98 -0800, Richard Packham wrote:


>I would like to add to what Till said about infinitives.

>

>Actually - and perhaps this is a quibble - the infinitive of a simple verb

>in English is really only one word: eat, talk, sing.  But in many situations

>English grammar requires us to provide the infinitive with a special

>"marker" word:  to.


TILL
I disagree.  It isn't so much that many situations in grammar require us to
provide the infinitive with the marker "to"; it would be more exact to say
that some situations in English grammar permit the marker (to) to be
dropped.  "I made it work," would be an example.  These situations, however,
are fairly rare compared to the number of times that "to" has to be used in
idiomatic English.

I made him go with me.
I required him to go with me.

Notice that both of these sentences mean the same thing, but if the marker
"to" is placed before "go" in the first one, the result is awkward,
unidiomatic English.  If the marker "to" is dropped from the second one, the
result is awkward, unidiomatic English.  Go figure.

Farrell Till
Skepticism, Inc.
jftill@midwest.net

• Previous message: Another Grammar Lesson (off topic)
• Next message: Another Grammar Lesson for an Errantist (don't tell Nancy Todd)
• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]