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MIG Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Bare Infinitive.

Hi. Please help me with the sentence below.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is planning his retirement in the next nine months from the software giant he helped build, ...
"Build" is a bare infinitive because "helped" is a causative verb.

Am I right?
  

Top answer

HELP is not a causative verb. It is one of those rare non-modals that can be followed by a bare infinitive, that's all.

  • HELP is not a causative verb.
  • It is one of those rare non-modals that can be followed by a bare infinitive, that's all.
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9 Answers
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HELP is not a causative verb. It is one of those rare non-modals that can be followed by a bare infinitive, that's all.
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Thank you fivejedjon.Emotion: smile
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Hi.
Please pardon me for asking this question again.
I have searched many sites but I couldn't find even a source saying "help" is a non-modal.
I have learned that non-modals are Be, Do, Have.
Please help me to understand why "help" is a non-modal?
I am very confused.
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MIGI have learned that non-modals are Be, Do, Have.
Those are the three primary auxiliaries.

The core modals are: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.

Dare and need can function as modals.

No other verbs are modals. Help is not a modal.
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Thank you fivejedjon.Emotion: beer

I think I have mistaken non-modals with primary auxiliaries.
Please help me to understand that w
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I used 'non-modal' in an earlier post simply to stress that the verb I was talking about was not a modal. All verbs, except the modals, are non-modal.We don't normally need to point this out, any more than we need to point out that all animals (except cats) are non-feline.
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Thank you very much fivejedjon.Emotion: beer
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MIGI have learned that non-modals are be, do, have.
The term can be used to refer to those auxiliaries.
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Thank you Aspara Gus.Emotion: beer

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