Eli5: why is it that nearly every verb that gets translated into English is translated as “to X”? For example; German: “kaufen”=English: “to buy”; Spanish: “gusto” =English: “to like”. Why is that?

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Eli5: why is it that nearly every verb that gets translated into English is translated as “to X”? For example; German: “kaufen”=English: “to buy”; Spanish: “gusto” =English: “to like”. Why is that?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s called the infinitive form of a verb. It’s special in that it can be used without specifying the person or thing that is doing the action signified by the verb. So when the verb is in infinitive form it can mean an action in itself, without the actor. However, “gusto” in your example is not in infinitive, it’s first person singular present simple (meaning “I make myself liked”), or a noun (“pleasure”). Infinitives in Spanish end in “ar”, “er” or “ir”.

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