Proceeding without a definite plan for upcoming labor negoti

[AsadA969]

Proceeding without a definite plan for upcoming labor negotiations, like the firm had agreed to last year, it would surely have proven to be a disaster in the face of the skilled and resolute opposition involved this time.


A. Proceeding without a definite plan for upcoming labor negotiations, like the firm had agreed to last year, it would surely have proven to be a disaster

B. Proceeding without a definite plan for upcoming labor negotiations, as the firm agreed last year to do, would surely have proven to be a disaster

C. Going ahead without the presence of a definite plan for upcoming labor negotiations, like the firm had agreed last year to do, would surely have proven disastrous

D. To proceed without the presence of a definite plan for upcoming labor negotiations, as the firm had agreed to last year, would surely have proven disastrous

E. Going ahead without their having a definite plan for upcoming labor negotiations, as they agreed to last year, it would surely have proven to be a disaster for the firm

[AsadA969]

Can you help me to fin the subject in choice D?
if the example is:
To drink without me blah blah blah would .....
^^ It seems that ''to drink'' is the subject but my brain still not convinced to announce ''to drink'' as a subject! If the sentence is something like below then it could make sense to me..
To drink something without me blah blah blah would .....
^^ In this example, ''to drink something'' could be the subject. Am I missing anything, here?

[Whit Garner]

Hi MdAbuAsad!

A lot of weird constructions can be the subject of a sentence (or the subject of any clause for that matter). Infinitives (to ___ constructions) are one possible construction. And it doesn't matter if the infinitive is followed directly by a prepositional phrase (p.p.), if there is an object of the infinitive before the p.p. (your preferred example), or if the infinitive stands alone.

Examples of Infinitives as subjects:
To swim in that water would be a big mistake. (followed directly by p.p.)
To buy a house in this market would take a miracle. (followed by the object "the house" before the p.p.)
To laugh would be rude. (the infinitive alone)

Another weird subject construction is a relative pronoun clause starting with "that." See the Official Guide question about "A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan...".

I hope this helps!

Whit

[AsadA969]

Hi MdAbuAsad!

A lot of weird constructions can be the subject of a sentence (or the subject of any clause for that matter). Infinitives (to ___ constructions) are one possible construction. And it doesn't matter if the infinitive is followed directly by a prepositional phrase (p.p.), if there is an object of the infinitive before the p.p. (your preferred example), or if the infinitive stands alone.

Examples of Infinitives as subjects:
To swim in that water would be a big mistake. (followed directly by p.p.)
To buy a house in this market would take a miracle. (followed by the object "the house" before the p.p.)
To laugh would be rude. (the infinitive alone)

Another weird subject construction is a relative pronoun clause starting with "that." See the Official Guide question about "A ruined structure found at Aqaba, Jordan...".

I hope this helps!

Whit

yes, it helps me. Thanks a lot...

[Whit Garner]

Excellent! Happy to help