Infinitive clauses : tensed or untensed

Abstract EN

In this paper, the researcher accounts for two different points of view concerning the tense of infinitive clauses in English language when functioning as verb complementation, and explains their bases and justifications.

Some grammarians postulate that infinitive clauses complementation are tensed clauses, having the feature [+ tense], since they, sometimes, indicate time relations different from that of the matrix clause, while most grammarians and linguists say that infinitive clauses, in their two types-'to'-infinitives and bare infinitives, are tenseless clauses ; they are nonfinite clauses.

Grammarians state that infinitive clauses functioning as verb complementation are tensed clauses due to the presence of some temporal time relations different from those of their matrix verbs (i.e different from the tense of the matrix verbs).

Such idea is not a decisive one because the change in the time relations appears to be due to some aspectual differences in 'to'- infinitive clauses ; to the semantic properties of some matrix verbs ; and due to the use of some items as tomorrow, yesterday, etc.

These reasons are not adequate enough to make the infinitive clause as tensed clauses ; not all infinitives convey different time relations ; grammarians' studies don't cover all the types of infinitives ; moreover, the use of certain infinitive complements depends on the matrix verbs that select their complementation and that impose the different time relations.