[Grammar] with or without 'to'

[Heidi]

Dear teachers,

Can you please tell me in the following sentence we should use 'to' or not?

'If we want to buy someone a gift, the first thing we need to do is to find out what are the things they enjoy'

 

[sarat_106]

Dear teachers,

Can you please tell me in the following sentence we should use 'to' or not?

'If we want to buy someone a gift, the first thing we need to do is to find out what are the things they enjoy'

You need 'to' after the verb 'is'. Excepting certain verbs, such as hear, see, make, let, after the object where bare inifinitive is a necessity, else where you need infinitive with ‘to’
I did not see him enter the house.
I cannot make you do this work.
I can't let you go to bedhungry..

 

[2006]

Dear teachers,

Can you please tell me in the following sentence if we should use 'to' or not.

The above is not a question, so you shouldn't put a question mark at the end.

'If we want to buy someone a gift, the first thing we need to do is to find out what [STRIKE]are the[/STRIKE] things they enjoy'
That "to" is optional.

2006

 

[Heidi]

Dear 2006,
Thanks for your correctness!

'If we want to buy someone a gift, the first thing we need to do is to find out what things they enjoy'
That "to" is optional.

Does 'optional' mean both '...is to find out...' and '...is find out...' are correct?

 

[Barb_D]

Yes. If something is optional, it is correct with it, and it is correct without it.