Is "past infinitive" a canonical name in English grammar?

Question

An ELL post uses a term "past infinitive"

If the speaker uses the past infinitive here (to have started) they are setting the temporal focus later than the time the lesson should have started.

I am aware of the concept of past simple, present perfect, etc. I am also aware of the concept of infinitive.

I understand that the "past infinitive" refer to "to have started" in the original discussion. I just did't know the term before, and I googled it. top results link to something like French grammar.

Is "past infinitive" a canonical name in English grammar?

@JavaLatte I was trying to say "related to a rule, principle, or law, especially in the Christian Church". Btw, what does "Re" stands for? — WXJ96163, Mar 22 '20 at 02:55
@JavaLatte How about just focus the first half, "related to a rule, principle, or law". — WXJ96163, Mar 22 '20 at 02:58
@AeonAkechi with JavaLatte's help, I guess I got it. You were saying the correct term is "perfect infinitive", rather than "past infinitive", right? — WXJ96163, Mar 22 '20 at 03:12
@AeonAkechi: In some analyses/terminological systems, the perfect can be considered a type of past tense. — sumelic, Mar 22 '20 at 07:24
I suppose you could call it the perfect-infinitival, though that is not a 'standard' term. Such clauses are not canonical. — BillJ, Mar 22 '20 at 10:07
@BillJ Can you explain why you don't think clauses containing perfect infinitival forms are canonical? — HeWhoMustBeNamed, May 06 '20 at 06:05

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 22 '20 at 03:25

1

The Oxford guide to English grammar, in section 112.2.b, uses the term perfect to-infinitive. If you google past infinitive, you will find some references, but the majority of sources use the term perfect infinitive.

answered Mar 22 '20 at 03:25

JavaLatte

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Is "past infinitive" a canonical name in English grammar?

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