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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

What you need to do is finish your homework.

Subject - What you need to do

Verb - is

Object - finish your homework

Why not 'What you need to do is to finish your homework' or 'What you need to do is finishing your homework'?

Can verb serve as object without -ing or to?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

The verbs are to do & finish. A verb is a word describing an action, therefore is isn't a verb. I always think can to go before it.

— Dave Phillips

  • The verbs are to do & finish.
  • A verb is a word describing an action, therefore is isn't a verb.
  • I always think can to go before it.
  • To finish, To Do etc (To is- wrong)
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7 Answers
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The verbs are to do & finish.

A verb is a word describing an action, therefore is isn't a verb.

I always think can to go before it. To finish, To Do etc (To is- wrong)
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Oh dear.

Yes, "is" is a verb. In fact, I'd argue that "to be" is the most important verb in the English language.

The subject of the sentence is indeed "What you need to do." (I think I've said this exact line to my children! "No you do not need to go watch Wizards of Waverly Place. What you need to do is finish your homework!"

I think I'd label "[to] finish yo
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I stand corrected. Of course it is a tense of to be! Thanks for correcting me.
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Brain cramps ease with the application of beer.
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Thank you for your reply.

So there is an implicit [to] before 'finish'?

Thanks!
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AnonymousSubject - What you need to do
Verb - is

Object Predicate Nominative - finish your homework
You can't have an object after a linking verb like "is". That is, you can't call it that.
Anonymous'What you need to do is to finish your homework'
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Hence the reason I disappeared to the pub! Great minds think alike!
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