Re: AmE: cleaning the car

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Re: AmE: cleaning the car

Eric Walker

25 Jun 2009 10:31

> In AmE:
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Do you feel that the first isn't correct? How about the other two?

The #1 form is clearly wrong. You will hear (and read) both of the other
forms commonly, but I believe that the precisian will prefer the #3 form,
inasmuch as after the auxiliary "do" the infinitive typically appears in
its "simple" (no "to") form.

(As a sidebar, the modern infinitive is an evolved form: originally the
verbal was the object of the preposition "do".)

Signature

Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/

Marius Hancu	25 Jun 2009 10:08
Hello: In AmE: 1. The first thing I did yesterday was cleaning the car. 2. The first thing I did yesterday was to clean the car. 3. The first thing I did yesterday was clean the car. Do you feel that the first isn't correct? How about the other two? Thanks. Marius Hancu

Re: AmE: cleaning the car

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