What are the subjects in these sentences?

Asked Jan 08 '19 at 06:02

Active Jan 08 '19 at 06:02

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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.

asked Jan 08 '19 at 06:02

Ben

2

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 Jan 08 '19 at 06:25
1

In both cases, the non-finite clause is subject: "having to walk the dog" and "walking the dogs". Non-finite clause subjects take singular agreement, so "drives" is correct. – BillJ Jan 08 '19 at 11:14
Possible duplicate of Making adult decisions "is" or "are" really not fun: Which is correct? – herisson Jan 08 '19 at 12:23
See also “Doing such stunts ARE punishable” or “Doing such stunts IS punishable”? – herisson Jan 08 '19 at 12:24

What are the subjects in these sentences?

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