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Silly Sally Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Gerund or Infinitive?

Good greetings, again!

Do you say "The best thing to is WALKING as much as possible" or "The best thing to do is TO WALK as much as possible."?

I once read in a grammar book that it is wrong to use an infinitive in such a construction.
  

Top answer

"? This is correct.

— Philip

  • "?
  • This is correct.
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15 Answers
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Silly Sally"The best thing to do is TO WALK as much as possible."?
This is correct.
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Isn't it possible to say "The best thing to do is walking as much as possible", philip?

Thanks.
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Thanks for responding, Philip. Luckily, I could just find the book I read that in. Here it goes:

You can use the -ing form of a verb as the subject or object of a sentence. It behaves like a noun.
Swimming is good for you. NOT To swim is good for you.
I like swimming.
- TEST IT, FIX IT by Kenna Bourke

What do you now have to say?
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LaboriousIsn't it possible to say "The best thing to do is walking as much as possible", philip? Thanks.
It's the only way to say this, L. I missed the "do" there.
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Silly SallyYou can use the -ing form of a verb as the subject or object of a sentence. It behaves like a noun. Swimming is good for you. NOT To swim is good for you.
This is to caution you that an infinitive subject is unusual. However, in your original sentence there is no infinitive subject, so this bit of advi
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In my sentence, it's an infinitive object: "to walk".

The writer mentions both. She does state it more clearly in another line: "Use an -ing form (not an infinitive) as the subject or object of a sentence."
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Philip Silly Sally"The best thing to do is TO WALK as much as possible."?This is correct.
Would "walking" be wrong?
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Silly SallyIn my sentence, it's an infinitive object: "to walk".
The best thing to do is to walk as much as possible.

X IS Y
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"is" is a form of "be", which is intransitive. Therefore, your sentence can't have an object at all. What you think is an object is a subject complement.

Right. Don't know why I never thought of this point. Thanks for reminding.

Anyway, those remarks about gerunds and infinitives that you read are mostly ad
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[Edit: ... or would both work?]
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