Diachronic changes in the use of the to -infinitive and - ing forms in subject position

Abstract

This study aims to quantitatively examine shifts in the frequency of the to -infinitive and the - ing form in subject position from Modern English to contemporary English, an area largely neglected in previous research. Although in the Early Modern English period the two forms showed little difference in frequency, in the Late Modern English period the frequency of the - ing form declined to a minimal level due to the influence of prescriptive grammar. This trend has since reversed in present-day English, where the to -infinitive is now used with extremely low frequency, except in religious texts. Notably, three specific constructions have been used with high frequency consistently since the beginning of the Modern English period: the to-to construction, the would construction and the require construction.