how to conjungate verbs after verb to be?

willosbourne · #1 (**permalink**) 12-Jun-2006, 16:19

I would like to have a doubt explained, and it is about what verb tense we should leave the verbs after the verb to be as for instance:

"All he does in life is (play or playing?) soccer."

What form is correct after the verb? "play" or "playing"?

thanks a lot!

tedtmc · #2 (**permalink**) 12-Jun-2006, 17:05

I'd say both are correct.

'Play soccer' is a verb, referring to the action.
'Playing soccer' is a noun (gerund or verbal noun), referring to the pastime/hobby/profession.

BTW, the correct spelling is 'conjugate'.

Casiopea · #3 (**permalink**) 12-Jun-2006, 17:30

Welcome, willosbourne.

1. All he does in life is play soccer.

The main verb is 'is'. The subject is 'All he does'. It has a subject and a verb of its own. The subject is 'he' and its verb 'does' is emphatic. It's inserted for emphasis.

Main verb: All he does is play soccer.

Take out 'does' and it's replaced by 'play',

Main verb: All he plays is soccer.

Switch the words around,

Main verb: Soccer is all he plays.
Main verb: Soccer is all he does play.

2. All he does in life is playing soccer.


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