Infinitive marking changes the verb into a noun. A noun is treated like a noun is treated: it takes case endings. Which form is used is not grammar, it is lexical information. We check from the dictionary which case is needed and follow the instructions. For instance we find
sevmek /ı/ 1. to love; to like. 2. to fondle, caress. Sevsinler! colloq. Now isn´t he/she something! (said sarcastically). Sev beni, seveyim seni. proverb You scratch my back and I´ll scratch yours.
|ı| means accusative and it shows in the syntax no matter if the complement is a noun or a verb:
annem|i seviyorum ACC
okuma|y|ı seviyorum ACC
Respectively
ev|e gidiyorum DAT
yüzme|y|e gidiyorum DAT
Two verbs, istemek and bilmek, however, make an exception. Their demand of accusative governing doesn’t show in the infinitive:
elma|yı istiyorum ACC
yürümek istiyorum Ø
Anyway, this works only in the simple situations where the one who wants and the one who performs the action are one and the same person. Make the sentence a little bit more complicated (‘I want him to walk’ ) and the ACC ending shows.
I was thinking about the rule that you suggested:
...that when two verbs come one after the other, the second one is infinitive
Maybe I would put it this way: there is only one finite verb in a sentence. If there is another verb it has to be subordinated to the finite verb, i. e. marked an infinitive or a participle.
Edited (6/24/2012) by Abla
Edited (6/24/2012) by Abla
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