To

Question

Hi.I sometimes find sentences with no 'to' before verb.Could you please let me know why these sentences below don't have infinitive marker 'to'  ?eg.What she does is (to) turn the subject inside out and on its head.All you can do is (to) pray.Thank you very much in advance.

Rover_KE · Accepted Answer

This is called the bare infinitive, which omits to.

Bare Infinitive
The bare infinitive is not used in as many contexts as the full infinitive, but some of these are quite common:
The bare infinitive is used as the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_verb after the dummy auxiliary verb do, or most http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_auxiliary_verb (such as will, can, or should). So, "I will/do/can/etc. see it."
Several common verbs of perception, including see, watch, hear, feel, and sense take a direct object and a bare infinitive, where the bare infinitive indicates an action taken by the main verb's direct object. So, "I saw/watched/heard/etc. it happen." (A similar meaning can be effected by using the present participle instead: "I saw/watched/heard/etc. it happening." The difference is that the former implies that the entirety of the event was perceived, while the latter implies that part of the progress of the event was perceived.)
Similarly with several common verbs of permission or causation, including make, bid, let, and have. So, "I made/bade/let/had him do it." (However, maketakes a to-infinitive in the passive voice: "I was made to do it.")
After the had better expression. So, "You had better leave now."
With the verb help. So, "He helped them find it." (The use of the to-infinitive with the verb help is also common.)
With the word why. So, "Why reveal it?" (Use of the to-infinitive following why is also common.)
The bare infinitive is the dictionary form of a verb, and is generally the form of a verb that receives a definition; however, the definition itself generally uses a to-infinitive. So, "The word 'amble' means 'to walk slowly.'"
The bare infinitive form coincides with the present http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_mood form as well as the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperative_mood form, but most grammarians do not consider uses of the present subjunctive or imperative to be uses of the bare infinitive. (Wikipedia)

Kook j · Answer

Thank you very much Rover_KE for your guide. That's what I needed.

CalifJim · Answer

kook jWhat she does is (to) turn the subject inside out and on its head.All you can do is (to) pray.

After these constructions with "do", the "to" is optional.

CJ

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Bare Infinitive

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