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32
votes
7answers
2k views
What is the infinitive of “can”?
Like the title says: I don't think "to can" is right :)
I mean "can" as in to be able to. I'm aware of other meanings.
I can't find the answer here. (There's What is an "infinitive"? which ...
4
votes
3answers
273 views
What causes a verb to be infinitive only?
Why are some verbs only usable in the infinitive? The one example I can think of is "to spite" (see "to wit in the accepted answer). While wiktionary claims that spited is a word, that doesn't match ...
6
votes
2answers
466 views
Why is “can” such an odd verb?
The English verb can is very strange for several reasons:
It drops the to on any infinitive verb forms that follow it. That is, unlike in the verb want in the sentence I want to eat, you would not ...
4
votes
3answers
331 views
Progressive form of “beware”
I am reading a book, called Minimalist Syntax: Exploring the Structure of English. At the beginning of chapter 2, when discussing the inflectional morphology of English verbs, the author says:
The ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Infinitive of “may” and “might”?
What’s the infinitive of the verb I use when I say “I might go” or “May I come with you”?
I think in German it’s dürfen. Is there one in English? If not, why not?
