- Joined
- Jul 28, 2009
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- British English
- Home Country
- UK
- Current Location
- UK
Wow. 4 pages in so I'm late to the party and loath to join in at all as I mostly teach "use of English", not convoluted grammar. However, I can honestly say that I've never heard anyone say that the infinitive is not a verb.
For me, the infinitive is the verb and everything else that stems from it is a form of that verb. I do recall someone on this forum saying that the bare infinitive should be deemed the main verb and then everything else stemming from it (including the infinitive) is a form of that verb. My view of it might be outdated but it stems from my English grammar education and from learning three foreign languages, in which the infinitive was always the form given first.
Feel free to kick me off this thread if I've misunderstood the point. I readily admit that my detailed knowledge probably isn't up to it.
For me, the infinitive is the verb and everything else that stems from it is a form of that verb. I do recall someone on this forum saying that the bare infinitive should be deemed the main verb and then everything else stemming from it (including the infinitive) is a form of that verb. My view of it might be outdated but it stems from my English grammar education and from learning three foreign languages, in which the infinitive was always the form given first.
Feel free to kick me off this thread if I've misunderstood the point. I readily admit that my detailed knowledge probably isn't up to it.