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Copysnake Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
about Infinitive
"The will to live is what we need"
I am much confused with which grammar terminology i should use to describe the infinitive "to live". I know it's a infinitive, but it follows a noun. if a infinitive follows a noun, it should be attributive adjunct, or complement, or appositive?
i know "will" as a modal verb followed by infinitive without the symbol "to". and i know infinitive as attributive adjunct often follows a noun that should be the subject or object of the verb of the infinitive. but i didn't realize that a noun that also could serve as a verb could followed by infinitive. or maybe i just misunderstand the whole situation? so i holp someone could help me out, thanks a lot!
I am much confused with which grammar terminology i should use to describe the infinitive "to live". I know it's a infinitive, but it follows a noun. if a infinitive follows a noun, it should be attributive adjunct, or complement, or appositive?
i know "will" as a modal verb followed by infinitive without the symbol "to". and i know infinitive as attributive adjunct often follows a noun that should be the subject or object of the verb of the infinitive. but i didn't realize that a noun that also could serve as a verb could followed by infinitive. or maybe i just misunderstand the whole situation? so i holp someone could help me out, thanks a lot!
Top answer
Forget 'will' as a verb. It's purely a noun here. the will to live the desire to prosper the strength to survive They are all the same structure.
- Forget 'will' as a verb.
- It's purely a noun here.
- the will to live the desire to prosper the strength to survive They are all the same structure.
- I don't know whether the infinitive to live is better described as an adjunct or a complement, but I suspect it's a complement.
- Maybe someone else can explain that part.
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5 Answers
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Forget 'will' as a verb. It's purely a noun here.
the will to live
the desire to prosper
the strength to survive
They are all the same structure.
I don't know whether the infinitive to live is better described as an adjunct or a complement, but I suspect it's a complement. Maybe someone else can explain that part.
CJ
the will to live
the desire to prosper
the strength to survive
They are all the same structure.
I don't know whether the infinitive to live is better described as an adjunct or a complement, but I suspect it's a complement. Maybe someone else can explain that part.
CJ
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I think both terms are vague enough to be synonymous. Here are the general definitions from the Linguistic Glossary:
An adjunct, broadly defined, is an optional constituent of a construction. A noun adjunct is a noun that functions as a modifier of a noun.This term is likely to be used by various authors in a variety of restricted senses.
Traditionally, a com
An adjunct, broadly defined, is an optional constituent of a construction. A noun adjunct is a noun that functions as a modifier of a noun.This term is likely to be used by various authors in a variety of restricted senses.
Traditionally, a com
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Mister MicawberThese suggest that a complement is a kind of adjunct.Yes, those definitions are vague, but I think the OP is dealing with a transformational grammar approach in which the two terms are defined so as to be mutually exclusive. It takes a lot of theoretical machinery to develop the concepts, and I have never had the patience to follow it through
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Could bepleased actually be Radford?! I get the hair/physics example, though.
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Mister MicawberCould bepleased actually be Radford?!Not yet. Time will tell.
CJ
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