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Joined: Mar 2009
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 6 |
Yes, that is an issue, isn't it? 'To' is an inherent part of the infinitive form in English, and yet a completely separate word, which is odd enough in itself, but then to have it be the same word as the preposition! We need excessive homophone police. (This rapidly becomes clear when teaching English as a second language!)
However, as an English teacher, I beg mercy - the last thing we need in yet another spelling of 'to/too/two' tu teach!
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
To is used as an auxiliary word with the infinitive in one use of the infinitive. There's no to 'I can write this.'
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
(This rapidly becomes clear when teaching English as a second language!)
Even better than learning a second language is teaching one. The to in the English infinitival form is related to the preposition to. That much can be ascertained by parallel constructions in other Germanic languages and in some Romance ones.
I once listened to a historical linguist give a good lecture on the particles of a language: all those little parts of speech left overs like preopositions, adverbs, verbal particles, etc. The preposition problem is English was exacerbated by the lose of case in the nominal paradigms ...
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
There's no to 'I can write this.'
Same sitch in German, you have as in er will lernen 'he wants to learn' vs er hatt Lust, den Dom zu besichtigen 'he'd like to visit the cathedral'.
[Addendum: In Indo-European languages, the infinitival forms are thought to have developed after the break up into daughter dialects. (Cf. Latin -Vre, Greek -ειν (-ein), Sanskrit -tum, and Germanic -Vn.]
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
There's no to 'I can write this.'
Same sitch in German, you have as in er will lernen 'he wants to learn' vs er hatt Lust, den Dom zu besichtigen 'he'd like to visit the cathedral'.
[Addendum: In Indo-European languages, the infinitival forms are thought to have developed after the break up into daughter dialects. (Cf. Latin -Vre, Greek -ειν (-ein), Sanskrit -tum, and Germanic -Vn.] (didja have html on?) 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
(didja have html on?)
Nope, but I do now.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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