As described in [Infinitive Clauses](/en/infinitive_clauses), infinitive clauses are analyzed with a supersense if and only if they serve as a purpose adjunct, or in certain purpose-related constructions (result; complement of entity-referring indefinite pronoun; commercial service; that which something is good or bad for, or sufficient or excessive for).
The special label [ss `i] is reserved for all other uses of infinitival [p en/to], as well as [p en/for] whenever it introduces the subject of an infinitive clause.[^1]
Infinitivals warranting [ss `i] include:
- [ex 001 "I want [p en/to `i] meet you. [complement of control verb]"]
- [ex 002 "I would_like [p en/to `i] try the fish. [<i>would_like</i> is a polite alternative to <i>want</i>]"]
- [ex 003 "It seems [p en/to `i] be broken. [complement of raising verb]"]
- [ex 004 "You have an opportunity [p en/to `i] succeed. [complement of noun]"]
- [ex 005 "I’m ready [p en/to `i] leave. [complement of adjective]"]
- [ex 006 "I’m glad [p en/to `i] hear you’re engaged! [complement of emotion adjective]"]
- [ex 008 "These new keys are expensive [p en/to `i] copy. [tough-movement]"]
- [ex 009 "My plan is [p en/to `i] eat at noon. [infinitival as NP]"]
- [ex 010 "It’s impossible [p en/to `i] get an appointment. [infinitival as NP, with cleft]"]
- [ex 011 "I know how [p en/to `i] lead. [complement of wh-word]"]
- [ex 012 "I have nothing [p en/to `i] hide. [complement of indefinite pronoun]"]
- [ex 015 "I have something [p en/to `i] do. [complement of indefinite pronoun that doesn't refer to an entity]"]
Multiword auxiliaries—such as quasi-modals <i>have_to</i> ‘must’, <i>ought_to</i> ‘should’, etc., as well as <i>have_yet_to</i>—subsume the infinitival [p en/to], so no label on [p en/to] is required:
- You have_to choose a date.
Whenever [p en/for] introduces a subject of an infinitival clause, the [p en/for] token is labeled [ss `i] (regardless of whether [p en/to] receives a semantic label; see [Infinitive Clauses](/en/infinitive_clauses)):
- [ex 015 "I need [[p en/for]<sub>[ss `i]</sub> you [p en/to]<sub>[ss `i]</sub> help me]."]
- [ex 016 "I opened the door [[p en/for]<sub>[ss `i]</sub> Steve [p en/to]<sub>[ss Purpose]</sub> take out the trash]."]
[^1]: Essentially, our position is that these uses of infinitivals are more like syntactically core elements (subject, object) than obliques, and thus should be excluded from semantic annotation under the present scheme.