Do is ...

[notletrest]

According to a Chinese scholar of English,"An infinitive without to as the completement of subject can be in the front of a sentence, for example, Die is the last thing I shall do, doctor." (NG1493)
Hence comes the one by me , "Swim is I want to learn this summer."
What do you think of the two?
Thanks!

 

[Tdol]

They're not the same:
The last thing I shall do is die :tick:
I want to learn is swim :cross:

 

[notletrest]

They're not the same:
The last thing I shall do is die :tick:
I want to learn is swim :cross:

I agree with you. The Chinese scholar's example is right. But his conclusion is wrong. So I made a wrong sentence by purpose to illustrate his conclusion is not right.
Thanks!

 

[philo2009]

But his conclusion (by which, I presume, you mean his analysis) is quite correct. Provided you begin with a grammaticallly acceptable sentence in which a bare infinitive stands as subject complement (such as The last thing I shall do is die), that infinitive can indeed be fronted for emphasis.

The problem with your example is that, as other contributors have indicated, it originated from a non-sentence (*I want to learn is swim).
The problem lies therefore, not in his analysis, but in your own attempt to apply it.

I would suggest that the root of your confusion is simply lack of awareness of the rules that permit the formation of a sentence such as

The last thing I shall do is die.

in the first place, where omission of 'to' is either optional, or (as here) obligatory. The possibility of fronting is, by comparison, a minor issue.