catenative

noun

cat·e·na·tive | \ ˈkatəˌnātiv, ˈkatᵊnˌātiv, -atə-, -ātiv\

variants: or catenative verb or less commonly catenative auxiliary

plural -s

Definition of catenative

: 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”)

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