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So I was asked to rewrite the following sentence with the correct tense of the verb given in bracket: It is I who (be) to do it. Initially I believed, the following would be correct: It is I who has to do it. But after researching for a while I think I am wrong and the has verb needs to be replaced with am. Any suggestions?

Jonak
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    Does this answer your question? Is "It is you who are mistaken!" correct? See also He was to get an ice cream, is to , was to . Be to + infinitive – niamulbengali Jan 21 '21 at 19:05
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    Does this answer your question? It is I who am at fault? // niamulbengali's find is a few months earlier. //// Obviously, the question is asking for the correct form/s of 'be' here; has/have do not fulfil question requirements, whether they give grammatical sentences or not. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 21 '21 at 19:06
  • An actual answer would help. – Jonak Jan 21 '21 at 19:08
  • From John Lawler at the duplicate (tailored): "Verb agreement is invariant under clefting, so if the predicate is 'am to do it' in the original (ie 'I am to do it'), it will still be 'am to do it' in the clefted variant." ==> 'It is I who am to do it.' – Edwin Ashworth Jan 21 '21 at 19:15
  • Please suggest an appropriate answer. Has/have are forms of be verb, aren't they? Please help. – Jonak Jan 21 '21 at 19:16
  • No, they're not. Please (1) respect that duplication is not seen as helpful to ELU's primary goals, (2) read John Lawler's answer addressing clefting, and (3) realise that "Aren't has/have parts of the verb be?" shows a real need to get to grips with basics, far before addressing cleft structures. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 21 '21 at 19:19
  • In relative clauses like this, you have a choice: "It is I who am to do it" (simple agreement) or the less formal "It is me who is to do it" (3rd person override). But, depending on context, you could have "It is I who have to do it", or "it is me who has to do it" (both with a strong meaning of obligation equivalent to "must"). – BillJ Jan 21 '21 at 20:10

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"Is" could be the right form. There are plenty of examples here.

  • And it is I who is to restore the fruits of my labor to the entire world.

However, this usage is reckoned with as a common mistake (The Most Common Mistakes in the English Language), and you should really use "am".

  • It is I who am to do it.
LPH
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  • Is the sentence "It is I who have to do this" grammatically right? – Jonak Jan 21 '21 at 19:30
  • @Jonak It should be, the principle is the same; but in this case also you find "has" a lot. This is a little like "It's me": it is called correct nowadays, although you can still say "It is I." – LPH Jan 21 '21 at 19:40
  • Yes, but it doesn't include the verb to be! – Kate Bunting Jan 22 '21 at 09:27