Can an infinitive noun phrase be used as the subject of a question?

Asked Dec 14 '16 at 08:19

Active Dec 14 '16 at 08:19

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It is fine to say:

To get the details is very important

But is it OK to say:

Is to get the details very important?

asked Dec 14 '16 at 08:19

Kent Tong

I'd put it as marginally acceptable. Extraposition would be the more common option in both examples, but in the question form it comes very close to being required. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 14 '16 at 08:32
Difference between a gerund acting as subject and an infinitive acting as a subject?. As advised above, "It is very important to get the details. / Is it very important to get the details?" are more idiomatic. – Dec 14 '16 at 09:25
Is to err human? Is to forgive divine? – deadrat Dec 14 '16 at 10:20
It sounds awkward to me. I'd say Is getting the details very important? – Barmar Dec 17 '16 at 09:37
Thanks for that major clue, deadrat. To err and to get are human and to forgive, divine.
However, give err any detail and it needs a preposition… or does to err detail/a detail/the detail work?

Aren’t to err on detail/about a detail/over the detail needed?

Is that an extension of user140086’s gerund/infinitive suggestion? I get confused by such…
– Robbie Goodwin Jun 18 '17 at 00:06

0 Answers0