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Persian Learner Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Sentence analysis

Hi.


Advertisers get psychologists to study the way consumers think.

Is the underlined part an infinitive phrase in form class?

What's its function so?


  

Top answer

Persian Learner an infinitive phrase in form class I don't even know what an infinitive phrase in form class is. From what I've learned about grammar, I would say that this is an example of a catenative structure (get someone to do something). It's called a causative.

— CalifJim

  • Persian Learner an infinitive phrase in form class I don't even know what an infinitive phrase in form class is.
  • From what I've learned about grammar, I would say that this is an example of a catenative structure (get someone to do something).
  • It's called a causative.
  • Persian Learner What's its function so?
  • That "so" at the end is not good English.
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11 Answers
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Persian Learneran infinitive phrase in form class

I don't even know what an infinitive phrase in form class is.

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CalifJimI don't even know what an infinitive phrase in form class is.

Our university professor says the head word/phrase usually determines the form of the phrase in question.

For example, the head word in a prepositional phrase is the preposition. Then we think about the function.

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Persian LearnerAdvertisers get psychologists to study the way consumers think.

"to study the way consumers think" is a non-finite clause (form class) and complement (function) in the predicate.

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OK. I think I know (more or less) what you're getting at. "get" is the verb of the main clause, which is a finite clause. After that, starting with "psychologists", you have a non-finite clause. "psychologists" (an NP) is the subject of that non-finite clause and the infinitive part is the VP of that clause. The clause as a whole is a complement in the main VP.

Make a

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Anonymous"to study the way consumers think" is a non-finite clause (form class) and complement (function) in the predicate.

Right. It seems to be a matter of a little controversy whether "psychologists" belongs in the main clause or in the complement clause. I haven't read the arguments on each side carefully enough to know which I would ch

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CalifJimMake any sense?

It couldn't make more sense.

Thank you very much.

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CalifJimIt seems to be a matter of a little controversy whether "psychologists" belongs in the main clause or in the complement clause.

It may be both, i.e., an object in the main clause and a subject in the non-finite one.

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AnonymousIt may be both, i.e., an object in the main clause and a subject in the non-finite one.

Indeed, but if we say things like that, won't we shock the linguists?

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Geoffrey Leech, late prominent British linguist, analyzed non-finite clauses that way, for example:

The non-finite infitive clause "for you to tell everyone" he analyzed like this: "for" - the conjunction, "you" - the subject, "to tell" - the predicator, and "everyone" - the object.

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There are almost as many ways to analyze English as there are linguists.

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