infinitivmarker

An infinitivmarker is a grammatical element used to mark the infinitive form of a verb in certain languages. It may be a separate word or particle (such as to in English or te in Dutch) or a bound morpheme attached to the verb stem (such as -mak/-mek in Turkish or -a/-ä in Finnish). Its primary role is to indicate non-finite verb forms and to introduce infinitival clauses or complements.

Across languages, the infinitive marker shows considerable typological variation. English uses the analytic marker to before the verb in most infinitives: to eat, to see. German often uses the particle zu before the infinitive in subordinate clauses or after certain verbs, though many verb phrases with modals do not take zu. Dutch commonly uses te before the infinitive in many contexts (for example, om te eten). Swedish uses att before infinitives in non-finite clauses. Turkish marks the infinitive with the suffix -mak/-mek attached to the verb stem, and Finnish uses the infinitive suffix -a/-ä.

Function and syntax of the infinitive marker involve licensing infinitival clauses, complement-taking verbs, purposes, and various non-finite constructions. In languages with a distinct marker, the infinitive can serve as a non-finite complement to adjectives, nouns, or verb families, while in languages with suffixal markers the infinitive status is carried by morphology rather than a separate word.

Historically, infinitive markers often descend from prepositions, particles, or adjectives that become bound to the verb over time, producing either analytic systems (separate words) or synthetic systems (suffixes). The exact form and necessity of the marker vary widely by language and construction.