Perfectum with multiple verbs

Question

I know, that in perfectum sentence containing modal verb, the order of words looks something like this :

Ich habe nach Hause gehen wollen

My question is, how do I order words in perfectum sentence, when it contains multiple verbs, but none of them is modal ? Is it the same case as with modal verbs ? Something like :

Ich habe deutsch lernen beginnen

Answer 1

Note that we have to distinguish between monoclausal and multiclausal structures. Monoclausal structures occur with:

• temporal auxiliaries (haben, sein plus past participle; werden plus infinitive)

• modals (modal verbs plus infinitive)

• passive auxiliaries (for instance werden plus past participle)

• and combinations thereof.

In monoclausal structures, the order at the end is as follows:

als das Haus gebaut₃ worden₂ ist₁

In order to talk about order, it is useful to give each verb a rank, starting with the finite verb at rank 1. In the above example, the perfect auxiliary ist (rank 1) governs the passive auxiliary worden (rank 2), which governs the past participle gebaut (rank 3). Yet the order is exactly the opposite: 3-2-1, i.e. in monoclausal structures the order is descending.

Some additional examples:

ob man das Problem lösen₃ können₂ wird₁
dass die Steuern gesenkt₃ werden₂ müssen₁

However, there are also multiclausal structures, where the embedded clauses are called Infinitivkonstruktionen. These always involve zu-infinitives. The hallmark of these structures is that the lowest ranked verb, together with all its dependents, can occur in the Nachfeld (extraposed). In the following examples, I have used a vertical bar | to indicate where one clause ends and the other one starts.

seit ich begonnen₂ habe₁ | Deutsch zu lernen₃
obwohl er versprochen₂ hat₁ | das Problem zu lösen₃

In contrast to the auxiliaries involved in monoclausal structures, verbs allowing Infinitivkonstruktionen usually introduce some kind of lexical meaning: anfangen etc.; versprechen, befehlen, bitten etc.