Could you tell me, please, the use "to" in these sentences is obligatory?
1. "He wants to write stories and be a writer." or Can I say " He wants to write stories and TO be a writer."
2. "It helps to keep fit and to be healthy." or "It helps to keep fit and be healthy (without to)".

Question

Could you tell me, please, the use "to"  in these sentences is obligatory?
1. "He wants to write stories and be a writer." or Can I say " He wants to write stories and TO be a writer."
2. "It helps to keep fit and to be healthy." or "It helps to keep fit and be healthy (without to)".

Answer

You can say both forms. You only really need to use 'to' once, although it wouldn't be incorrect to use it twice, as in your examples. (It might actually help if you wanted to specify an action!)

Answer

I agree that both forms are correct & acceptable. Usage in modern American English is to practice economy of words in a sentence, therefore we tend to avoid redundancy. For example, the first sentence uses the modal verb "to want," which requires an infinitive to follow. We could say: "He wants to write stories and he wants to be a writer." In the interest of word economy, we omit the second occurence of "wants to."

Another way of saying it, is that it is a matter of personal style.

Richard

Answers · 4

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