On the Constituency of Infinitives

Abstract

Two sorts of analyses have been proposed for the constituent structure of the infinitival complements found in sentences like John tried to leave and John appeared to leave. One analysis maintains that such 'bare' infinitives are sentential, the superficially absent complementizer and subject being represented by lexically empty categories. The alternative holds that they are a type of verb phrase $(overline{ ext{VP}})$ complement, represented as they appear superficially, lacking both complementizer and subject. The present paper argues in support of the former view, and more generally that ALL infinitives are clausal. A specific analysis is presented, with a range of arguments bearing on the alternatives considered.