catenative

noun

cat·​e·​na·​tive

ˈkatəˌnātiv,

ˈkatᵊnˌātiv,

-atə-,

-ātiv

variants or catenative verb or less commonly catenative auxiliary

plural -s

: a verb often followed by a function word (such as to or on) that occupies a position other than final in a succession of two or more verbs together forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence (such as ought in "I ought to go home now" and try and keep in "they tried to keep on working")

Word History

Etymology

catenate entry 1 + -ive entry 2

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