What I want is <to> read [Pseudo cleft sentence]
- Thread starter Jigen
- Start date
sdgraham
Senior Member
USA English
What I want is read this book.
What I want is to read this book.
Can I omit the "to" in pseudo cleft sentences with verbs like want,hope,wish,desire...?
Your question is too general, e.g.
"I hope you come to my party," but
"I want you to come to my party."
I wish I had a million dollars
etc.
DonnyB
Moderator Emeritus
English UK Southern Standard English
No: in your example you need the full infinitive form, which in English is "to read".
e2efour
Senior Member
UK English
In British English I would say What I want is to read this book.
In the same way I would not accept What she wants is go to Moscow.
But if we add the infinitive earlier, then the to becomes optional.
Example, What I want to do is (to) climb Mount Everest.
In the same way I would not accept What she wants is go to Moscow.
But if we add the infinitive earlier, then the to becomes optional.
Example, What I want to do is (to) climb Mount Everest.
e2efour
Senior Member
UK English
You can write is or are. However, it has been estimated that in in what-clauses in which what is the object (as in What she hopes to see) the plural is used three times more often than the singular when the subject of the main clause (children) is plural.
See http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/the-only-problem-is-are-bubbles.2776505/#post-14034258.
See http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/the-only-problem-is-are-bubbles.2776505/#post-14034258.
Forero
Senior Member
USA English
No, only with one verb, do, when what (or all, the only thing, etc.) is the direct object of do:
What I want to do is read this book.
What I do is read this book.
With do, it is best to omit the to to help the sentence hang together and to avoid ambiguity (e.g. "All I do is to read this book" could mean that everything I do is in order to read this book.)