Bill Situ
English and ESL Instructor
Sometimes, we might need to use a verb in the subject of a sentence. However, it is never proper to just use the verb in the base form when it appears in the subject:
Run is very good for one's health. (Subject = "run")
Do research is necessary for this assignment. (Subject = "do research")
Go to school is something I do everyday. (Subject = "go to school")
Instead of using the base form, we need to use the gerund form. A gerund is a verb form that combines the present participle with the "ing" ending. If we change the highlighted verbs above into the gerund form, they would look as follows:
Running is very good for one's health.
Doing research is necessary for this assignment.
Going to school is something I do everyday.
Now the sentences are grammatical!
Run is very good for one's health. (Subject = "run")
Do research is necessary for this assignment. (Subject = "do research")
Go to school is something I do everyday. (Subject = "go to school")
Instead of using the base form, we need to use the gerund form. A gerund is a verb form that combines the present participle with the "ing" ending. If we change the highlighted verbs above into the gerund form, they would look as follows:
Running is very good for one's health.
Doing research is necessary for this assignment.
Going to school is something I do everyday.
Now the sentences are grammatical!