What are the subjects in these sentences?
- Having to walk the dogs drives me crazy.
- Walking the dogs drives me crazy.
In the first sentence, what is the subject? What would the correct verb tense (drive or drives) be for this sentence?
In the second sentence, it seems that "walking" is a gerund and also the subject of the sentence. Since "walking" is singular, the verb would be "drives." Is this correct?
I am a native English speaker, but I was never taught what to do in situations like these. I would like some clarification for future writing. Thank you.
grammar american-english
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
- Having to walk the dogs drives me crazy.
- Walking the dogs drives me crazy.
In the first sentence, what is the subject? What would the correct verb tense (drive or drives) be for this sentence?
In the second sentence, it seems that "walking" is a gerund and also the subject of the sentence. Since "walking" is singular, the verb would be "drives." Is this correct?
I am a native English speaker, but I was never taught what to do in situations like these. I would like some clarification for future writing. Thank you.
grammar american-english
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
In the first sentence, it's having to walk the dogs. (Or being required to walk the dogs or simply [that] requirement.) It's singular and should be drives.
– Jason Bassford
8 mins ago
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
– Ben
6 mins ago
add a comment |
- Having to walk the dogs drives me crazy.
- Walking the dogs drives me crazy.
In the first sentence, what is the subject? What would the correct verb tense (drive or drives) be for this sentence?
In the second sentence, it seems that "walking" is a gerund and also the subject of the sentence. Since "walking" is singular, the verb would be "drives." Is this correct?
I am a native English speaker, but I was never taught what to do in situations like these. I would like some clarification for future writing. Thank you.
grammar american-english
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
- Having to walk the dogs drives me crazy.
- Walking the dogs drives me crazy.
In the first sentence, what is the subject? What would the correct verb tense (drive or drives) be for this sentence?
In the second sentence, it seems that "walking" is a gerund and also the subject of the sentence. Since "walking" is singular, the verb would be "drives." Is this correct?
I am a native English speaker, but I was never taught what to do in situations like these. I would like some clarification for future writing. Thank you.
grammar american-english
grammar american-english
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
asked 32 mins ago
BenBen
161
161
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Ben is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
In the first sentence, it's having to walk the dogs. (Or being required to walk the dogs or simply [that] requirement.) It's singular and should be drives.
– Jason Bassford
8 mins ago
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
– Ben
6 mins ago
add a comment |
In the first sentence, it's having to walk the dogs. (Or being required to walk the dogs or simply [that] requirement.) It's singular and should be drives.
– Jason Bassford
8 mins ago
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
– Ben
6 mins ago
In the first sentence, it's having to walk the dogs. (Or being required to walk the dogs or simply [that] requirement.) It's singular and should be drives.
– Jason Bassford
8 mins ago
In the first sentence, it's having to walk the dogs. (Or being required to walk the dogs or simply [that] requirement.) It's singular and should be drives.
– Jason Bassford
8 mins ago
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
– Ben
6 mins ago
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
– Ben
6 mins ago
add a comment |
0
active
oldest
votes
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Ben is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f480295%2fwhat-are-the-subjects-in-these-sentences%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
0
active
oldest
votes
0
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Ben is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ben is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ben is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ben is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f480295%2fwhat-are-the-subjects-in-these-sentences%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
In the first sentence, it's having to walk the dogs. (Or being required to walk the dogs or simply [that] requirement.) It's singular and should be drives.
– Jason Bassford
8 mins ago
That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
– Ben
6 mins ago