Complex Structures In English: Infinitive Categories

Abstract

English non-finite forms of the verb are the subject of constant research and controversy among scholars. Their binary morphological nature and diverse distribution in a sentence is very important when creating a text (discourse). The infinitive is the root of the verb paradigm, which has acquired more and more verb nature over the centuries, while maintaining its own noun signs. Aspect, gender, and other verb characteristics were revealed in the infinitive later after a long period of transformation. The English verb also underwent changes and its category of person and number moved from morphology to part of the syntactic field.

The ability of the infinitive to form a secondary predication means that it moves from the periphery of the verb system almost to the level of personal forms.

If the personal verb is realized in the only position, the component of the predicate for the infinitive is one of many possibilities. Expression of verb categories by infinitive depends on its syntactic position and semantic factor. The retroactive infinitive and its positioning in the sentence are discussed, as well as the classification of cases of unmarked infinitive is given. The unmarked infinitive is not considered an invariant of the infinitive, but its special form.