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A friend said to me that two (or more) to-infinitives are treated as singular (whereas gerunds can be treated as plural depending on the situation). Is it true?

Or, in this example sentence, which verb should I use?

"To control the process and to make improvement (was/were) my objectives."

Denver
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    That's up to the speaker. If they intend the two infinitives to refer to a single event or state or phenomenon or action or whatever, they can use the singular: To wash the car and to dry it in the shade is my objective. Contrariwise, they can refer to two separate things, and get the plural: To repair the steps and to paint the porch are my objectives. – John Lawler Feb 21 '19 at 01:04
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    'Bacon and eggs is my favourite meal.' / 'Bacon and eggs are both to be found on aisle 17.' Logical ( / notional) agreement after a coordinate phrase allows for the more logical verb form to be selected. This extends to situations where the nominals are to-infinitive clauses. However, the second marker is often omitted with composites: To sit and wait wasn't an option. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 21 '22 at 12:02

2 Answers2

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In a comment, John Lawler wrote:

That's up to the speaker. If they intend the two infinitives to refer to a single event or state or phenomenon or action or whatever, they can use the singular: To wash the car and to dry it in the shade is my objective. Contrariwise, they can refer to two separate things, and get the plural: To repair the steps and to paint the porch are my objectives.

tchrist
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In a comment, Edwin Ashworth wrote:

'Bacon and eggs is my favourite meal.' / 'Bacon and eggs are both to be found on aisle 17.' Logical ( / notional) agreement after a coordinate phrase allows for the more logical verb form to be selected. This extends to situations where the nominals are to-infinitive clauses. However, the second marker is often omitted with composites: To sit and wait wasn't an option.

tchrist
  • 134,759