Have you even seen something similar to this case in English grammar?
@evergreentree (51)
Vietnam
August 12, 2011 4:43am CST
Hi guys, I have a question related to grammatical point needing an explanation.
We all know that the verb structures of bare infinitive is :
The bare infinitive is used after certain webs which are followed by an object: let, make, see, hear, feel.
The bare infinitive is used after modal verbs: can, should, could, might.
But I witness the case when the bare infinitive is placed after verb:
Ex1 : Musician helps teach kids to rock.
Ex2: Video game help teach science.
So can you explain why we use HELP TEACH not HELP TO TEACH. And any special cases like that exist?
2 people like this
2 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Aug 11
The examples you give are both what I would call 'telegram speech' or 'headline writing'. In these forms, all redundant words like 'A', 'the', 'to' and so on are removed.
Actually, in today's speech, the use of 'to' to introduce an infinitive is often optional. For example, you might often find sentences like:
"Sophie helped her mother make the bed/lay the table" in which the use of 'to' would be considered 'old fashioned'. On the other hand, there are some occasions, such as: "I went to the Mall to buy some new shoes." where it is necessary, though, in that particular example the 'to' is NOT the 'infinitive operator' but actually stands for 'in order to'. It would be correct to say "My friend and I went to the Mall so that she could help me buy some new shoes" (In that example, 'so that' is performing the same function as 'to' in the previous one).
3 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
12 Aug 11
I totally agree with owl; he explains it's usage, and nuances, in a manner easily understood. The first thing I thought of when reading your examples was that it read like a headline or something. If it was in an article/story, I would not expect to read it written that way, but in the more conventional way of writing the same thing. Well said Owl...kudos for explaining it so well!
