Omitting "to" in [To + verb + and + "to" + verb] pattern

Hi, Meriem,

@Meriem posted:

Q1: Why don't we have "to" before the verb "dine" in the following example? Is it because it borrows it from "to come"?

Q2: Is adding "to" before "dine" considered as wrong?

Example (1): Whenever he feels lonely, he invites a neighbour to come and dine with him.

In case the sentence is written in the following manner:

Example (2): Whenever he feels lonely, he invites a neighbour to dine with him.

I think we should keep the "to" since it follows the pattern:
[Verb + object + to + infinitive] Isn't it?

When you have two or more infinitives, you can use "to" only once. This is especially true when you have a verb of movement which is not semantically as strong as the action that follows, which makes the sequence of verbs sound as a unit: go and ask, come and see

In Example (1), you have a verb of movement (come), so it is reasonable that you should eliminate "to" before "dine" (come and dine is like a unit).

In Example (2), you need "to" before "dine" because it is the only infinitive in the pattern.

Interestingly, in informal English, we can even follow "come" and "go" with a bare infinitive, without "to" or "and": "They want to come/go dine with them."

Thank you David and Gustavo, that was clear.