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Is it correct to say, "I don't feel to trust him," particularly in British English?
I'm actually a native speaker, but I live in Italy with my Italian wife, and so I've got so used to her (English language) mistakes, that sometimes I don't even know if they're mistakes or not.
In any case, this is something my wife says, but it doesn't sound quite natural to me, but I'm just not sure any more.
Is there a more natural way of saying it (in British English, or other dialects)?
I have come across this usage of the catenation feel + to-infinitive at Church ('I felt to ask him...'; 'I felt to go to ...') but consider it to be non-standard. I can't find dictionary or Google Ngram support for the catenative usage. Perhaps it is a downtoning of 'I felt led to ask him...' here.
The feel + that-clause
I don't feel [that] I can trust him.
I felt [ ] I ought to ask him.
(whether the 'that' is included or not) is quite acceptable, of course.
I'd say, "I don't feel like trusting him."
I think I would say 'I do not feel inclined to trust him'. I can understand why the Italian might be different. Most would agree that the Italians are more 'touchy-feely' than the English. What a fabulous place it is. Lucky you!
