Use of "to" with no verb at the end of a sentence in reference to the previous sentence

Question

Consider:

She told him to break it up.
He didn't want to.

I know it means he didn't want to break it up, but how does one explain the use of to in the second sentence? I understand what's left out, and I get it re: the ellipsis—but I don't understand why to is there at all.
Couldn't one simply say He didn't want and leave it at that?

tchrist · Answer

In a comment John Lawler wrote:

Yeah. If the infinitive is already given in the preceding sentence (to break it up), the infinitive complementizer to functions as a pro-infinitive in the next clause, and one can omit the rest of the verb phrase.

Use of "to" with no verb at the end of a sentence in reference to the previous sentence

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