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Carter Lee Posted 6 years ago
Grammar

How to parse when native speaker faced that "

Hi.

I found a word ccoercion which mean is

the use of https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/force to https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/persuade someone to do something that they are https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/unwilling to do.


In especially, I wonder that how native speaker parse above sentence.

1. the use of force to / persuade someone ~

2. the use of force / to persuade someone ~


Because of this question that I found similar with preposition + verb style sentence frequently.

Sometimes I'm confused whether one preposition is belong to verb or just followed by verb.

How to distinguish this preposition pattern of sentence?

  

Top answer

When "to" is placed in front of the plain form of a verb, it is not called a preposition. It is considered part of the verb, and the combination of to and the verb is called an infinitive, a full infinitive, or a to -infinitive. Infinitives: to see, to do, to find, to ask, to try, to say to is not a preposition in any of the infinitives shown above.

  • When "to" is placed in front of the plain form of a verb, it is not called a preposition.
  • It is considered part of the verb, and the combination of to and the verb is called an infinitive, a full infinitive, or a to -infinitive.
  • Infinitives: to see, to do, to find, to ask, to try, to say to is not a preposition in any of the infinitives shown above.
  • A preposition is followed by a noun phrase: to [the bank], in [the room], for [a friend], with [a blue shirt], to [the end of the line], against [the tall concrete wall], etc.
  • ) Carter Lee the use of force / to persuade someone This is the proper parsing.
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1 Answers
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When "to" is placed in front of the plain form of a verb, it is not called a preposition. It is considered part of the verb, and the combination of to and the verb is called an infinitive, a full infinitive, or a to-infinitive.

Infinitives:

to see, to do, to find, to ask, to try, to say

to is not a preposition in

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