In Nominative^x, Constructions^x, Modals^x

Your questions reveal the limitations of the traditional technical vocabulary for discussing grammatical structures! You can think of infinitives as a direct objects of the verb want. On the other hand, want takes a clause as its complement. I want (He helps us). But the...

CalifJim wrote: If a student points to some construction and asks me if it's the subjunctive or not, I can't reply, 'No, it's a monkey!' Now there you are wrong! You are the teacher and can say any dang thing you want! In fact a smart retort like that might go a long way toward making your...