Re: Adjectives, Particles, and This ( etc ), and Conjunctions...

jesse bangs wrote:


> > > The function of "to" is essentially equal in both cases. The infinive
> with
> > > "to" IMHO has the same meaning as dative (allative, illative) of abstract
> > > noun derived from verb.
> >
> > Well, I don't think "to" is equivalent in these two cases. The first case
> > functions as a preposition, but the second is almost like an inflectional
> > particle bound to the verb -- you can't dissect it from the verb and still
> > retain the infinitive meaning. Just IMHO...
>
>Plus, "go to sleep" is an idiomatic expression that can't really be
>analyzed on the basis of its grammatical constituents.  A better example
>is "I want to sleep," but in that case the "to" is seen more as belonging
>to "want" than "sleep", as evidenced by the ellipsis "I want to" and the
>colloquial contraction "wanna."
I'm not so sure I would group "to" with "want" in these cases. Semantically
"to" indicates that "sleep" does not have a tense. We can even add in words
between "want" and "to" as in

I want John to sleep.

whereas we cannot add much between "to" and "sleep".




Marcus Smith

"Sit down before fact as a little child,
be prepared to give up every preconceived notion,
follow humbly wherever and to whatsoever abysses Nature leads,
or you shall learn nothing."
                -- Thomas Huxley