How to find out what to put after TO BE

[Kotfor]

The problem is that it is not clear what should be used after this verb (TO BE). I can't come up with any logic (rules) which would help me prevent making mistakes. If you see any logic here - please reveal it for learners.

1) All I do is drink (a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

2) My task was to watch/watching after her.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

3) All you need to remember is watching after her.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

4) What we hope to accomplish is to point out the abuse.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

How do I know when I should use a bare infinitive, an infinitive with to or the gerund after to be? I don't see how.

[emsr2d2]

The problem is that it is not clear what should be used after this verb (TO BE). I can't come up with any logic (rules) which would help me prevent making mistakes. If you see any logic here - please reveal it for learners.

1) All I do is drink (a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

2) My task was to watch/watching after her.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)
Only "My task was to watch over her" is correct.


3) All you need to remember is watching after her.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)
Unless you're talking about remembering something you did in the past, then it should be "All you need to remember is to watch over her".

4) What we hope to accomplish is to point out the abuse.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

How do I know when I should use a bare infinitive, an infinitive with to or the gerund after to be? I don't see how.

I'm not going to try to come up with a rule at this stage because two of your sentences weren't entirely correct. I have put the amended versions above in red.

I have changed "watch after" which I have never heard to "watch over". The alternative is "watch out for".

[Kotfor]

Thank you.
It is interesting but some english speaking people found this sentence to be correct.

Here it is a few sentences to back it up

1) Our task was doing maintenance and repairs to keep the station in a good state for the return of the shuttle flights and resumption of major ISS construction

2) Our second daunting task was watching the bird.

3) A light sprinkling or a sudden downpour can be upon you in a flash when you are concentrating avidly on a specific task - even if that task is watching the sky

[billmcd]

The problem is that it is not clear what should be used after this verb (TO BE). I can't come up with any logic (rules) which would help me prevent making mistakes. If you see any logic here - please reveal it for learners.

1) All I do is drink (a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

2) My task was to watch/watching after her.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

3) All you need to remember is watching after her.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

4) What we hope to accomplish is to point out the abuse.(a bare infinitive, infinitive with to, gerund)

How do I know when I should use a bare infinitive, an infinitive with to or the gerund after to be? I don't see how.

I can understand your concern about use of the bare infinitive etc.and emsr2d2 has given you a glimpse of some uses. There are more rules and associated verbs than can be detailed here. Suggest you Google "infinitives, gerunds uses" or similar terms and browse a few results until you find the most comprehensive set of rules to meet your interest.

[Kotfor]

I can understand your concern about use of the bare infinitive etc.and emsr2d2 has given you a glimpse of some uses. There are more rules and associated verbs than can be detailed here. Suggest you Google "infinitives, gerunds uses" or similar terms and browse a few results until you find the most comprehensive set of rules to meet your interest.

Thank for advice. But I am afraid there is none which would shed the light on this issue. I will explain why. This is a VERY SPECIFIC issue. It is not a broad issue relating to "infinitives, gerunds uses", not at all, this issue comes down to the usage of "infinitives, gerunds " only after the verb TO BE.

(...only after the verb TO BE)

I find it to be a critical element here.

[Kotfor]

Another thing about to remember

Some examples on the internet (It seems to me that they imply the future action after the verb TO REMEMBER.)

1) ... The second thing you need to pay attention to is that the watering places and the feeders are positioned in the right places and they're clean.......The last basic thing to remember is collecting the eggs.

Seems like it is said about the future in this context.

2) Level 6: in order to qualify for the 45% rakeback, the magic number to remember is collecting 16000 VIP points within a period of 1 month.

3) The last thing to remember is doing what has to be done to make it so there is more money coming in than there is going out of the household

[billmcd]

Thank for advice. But I am afraid there is none which would shed the light on this issue. I will explain why. This is a VERY SPECIFIC issue. It is not a broad issue relating to "infinitives, gerunds uses", not at all, this issue comes down to the usage of "infinitives, gerunds " only after the verb TO BE.

(...only after the verb TO BE)

I find it to be a critical element here.

While it may be a "VERY SPECIFIC issue" for you, it also seems that you are VERY RELUCTANT to do any homework. Can you tell me how you know "there are none that would shed light on this issue"?

[Kotfor]

While it may be a "VERY SPECIFIC issue" for you, it also seems that you are VERY RELUCTANT to do any homework. Can you tell me how you know "there are none that would shed light on this issue"?

The point is taken. )) My answer is:

The matter is that I have been trying to find these rules for this SPECIFIC ISSUE for quite a long time (several months) and failed to find any. If you are lucky to have found some I would be more than happy to familiarize myself with them.

[TheParser]

:

If you are lucky to have found some I would be more than happy to familiarize myself with them.

I have found a very helpful thread. Where? Right here at usingenglish.com.

Please go to the search box and type in "Worthwhile etc." (Sorry, but I am too

stupid to be able to link to it.)

A member named MikeNewYork gives some very helpful advice in this 2006 thread.

Enjoy!

[Kotfor]

MikeNewYork has posted more than 6000 posts, I don't know how you find it feasable for me to find it there. It's almost like looking for a drop in the ocean.

By the way it is very easy to paste a link here. Just copy the link from your browser and paste it here.