infinitive verb and auxiliary verb

white   Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:36 am GMT
Hello!

I am a bit confused!
What is infinitive verb?
What is auxiliary verb?
Brennus   Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:34 am GMT
Examples:

Infinitive form = To sing

Auxiliary verbs with 'sing': Can, have to, may, might, must, need to, ought to, should, will etc.

I CAN sing
You HAVE TO sing
She MAY sing
He MIGHT sing
They MUST sing
We NEED TO sing
You OUGHT TO sing
They SHOULD sing
We WILL sing

Other names for "auxiliary verbs" are "helping verbs" and "helper verbs." All languages have them. Not just English.
Mary   Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:53 am GMT
Just to clarify: the word "to" is not a part of the auxiliary verbs have, need, and ought in the sentences above. These verbs are followed by the infinitive form of the verb:

You HAVE to sing
We NEED to sing
You OUGHT to sing

The infinitive form is also used after the present participle (base verb + ing) in continuous verbs:
I AM GOING to see the fireworks.
We ARE TRYING to fix the car.
etc.
Brennus   Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:53 am GMT
Mary,

Re: Have to, need to, ought to,

You are partially right although they are still auxiliary verbs even in their infinitive forms. Please see web link below:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ought
white   Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:15 am GMT
Thanks for ur reply.

I am just using parser software that shows the link between the words of a sentence.

For example, for the sentence " I must go now", the parser shows that



+---I----+
| |
I must go now.

and it explain that I connects certain verbs with infinitives.

In this case , must is infinitive or auxiliary?
Mitali roy   Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:43 am GMT
I want to speak English perfectly, So what can I do?
Mitali roy   Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:46 am GMT
I want to speak English perfectly, So what can I do?
Geoff_One   Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:47 am GMT
The well known split of an infinitive:

to boldly go
Guest1   Tue Nov 21, 2006 8:21 pm GMT
Actually, the infinitive of the verb "sing" is "sing," as in "I will sing." (cf. Old Eng. singan; ic willu (want to) singan.)

Forms using the preposition "to" before them are called supines ("I go to sing." cf. Old Eng. ic ga to singenne, where "singenne" is the dative form of a verbal noun used in the same sense as you would say "I go to play or I go to school."

In English, we are so accustomed now to calling the supine form the infinitive, that it's almost becoming correct.