Verb-governed infinitival complementation in the recent history of English

Verb-dependent non-finite complementationand, in particular, to- and bare-infinitive complementclauses have been the subject ofextensive investigation and debate. The aim ofthis monograph is to contribute to the existingliterature by modelling the variation in relationto a selection of verbs that govern to- andbare-infinite complements in the recent historyof American and British English. Using methodologiesprovided by corpus linguistics andmultivariate analyses, this book attempts toaccount for the forces that make certain verbsshow a preference for either to-infinitive orbare-infinitive complementation from MiddleEnglish onwards, and to provide a comprehensivedescription of the factors that influencethe choice of infinitival. Specifically, thismonograph deals with morphological, syntacticand semantic/pragmatic variation betweento- and bare-infinitive complementation inEnglish, governed by, specifically, dare, needand help.