Hey Kathleen (and everyone)--

Given the parallel in your paraphrase between "seemed to have planned" and
"may have planned," would it be reasonable to parse "seem to" as a complex
modal auxiliary, lie "have to" ('hafta'), "ought to" ('oughta') and "be
going to" ('be gonna')?

Seth

*Dr. Seth Katz*
*Associate **Professor*
*Associate Chair*
*Department of English*
*Bradley University*
*Peoria, IL  61625*
*(309) 677-2479*

*Executive Director / Faculty Adviser*
*Bradley University Hillel*
*(309) 676-0862*

On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 6:46 AM, John Chorazy <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi Kathleen - but "almost seemed" or "seemed almost" would mean something
> very different than "almost planned" in this sentence. If I'm reading this
> correctly, it feels like the intention of the speaker is to suggest that
> Stead seemingly plans his entrances, not that he almost plans them.
>
> -John
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 3:22 PM, Kathleen Ward <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I would think that this is sentence contains an infinitive clause,
>> "almost to have planned his entrance,"  functioning as the complement to
>> the main verb, "seems."
>>
>> It's also an example how awkward a sentence can be when you are bound and
>> determined not to split the infinitive "to have planned" with the adverb
>> "almost."
>>
>> Kathleen Ward
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 6:51 AM, Scott Woods <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear List:
>>>
>>> How would you analyze the verb in the following sentence?
>>>
>>>     A professional individualist, William T. Stead seemed almost to have
>>> planned his entrance.
>>>
>>> How would you analyze: "almost to have planned his entrance"?
>>>
>>> Here is a similar sentence which seems easier to analyze.
>>>
>>>      A professional individualist, William T. Stead may have planned his
>>> entrance.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for the help,
>>>
>>> Scott Woods
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>>
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>
>
>
> --
> John Chorazy
> English III Academic and Honors, AP Lit
> Advisor, *Panther Press*
> Pequannock Township High School
> 973.616.6000
>
>
>
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