Learn English – What part of speech is “want to” in “I want to look at you”
parts-of-speech
I want to look at you.
Which "parts of speech" does "want to " belong to?
Best Answer
"Want" is a verb. "To" here is part of the infinitive verb, "to look".
The most basic parts of your sentence are the subject, "I", and the verb, "want". "I want". The rest tells us what you want. "To look". So "I want" something. What do I want? I want to look. Then we have the preposition "at", which begins the prepositional phrase "at you". This modifies the verb "to look". What sort of looking do you want to do? You want to look "at you" (whoever you are speaking to).
"to go" and "to buy" are verbs, of course. The sentence is a shortened form of "I want to go and buy a gift/present". You could also say: I want to go (in order) to buy a present.
Best Answer
"Want" is a verb. "To" here is part of the infinitive verb, "to look".
The most basic parts of your sentence are the subject, "I", and the verb, "want". "I want". The rest tells us what you want. "To look". So "I want" something. What do I want? I want to look. Then we have the preposition "at", which begins the prepositional phrase "at you". This modifies the verb "to look". What sort of looking do you want to do? You want to look "at you" (whoever you are speaking to).