Is the preposition "de" required in this sentence?

[Liquinn3]

Hoy tengo la oportunidad de escribir más.
Hoy tengo la oportunidad escribir más.

I can't figure out whether the preposition "de" is required.

Could someone confirm whether it's needed or not?
Thanks.

[Rusty]

It's needed.

The infinitive, contrary to what most people are taught, does NOT have a built-in preposition.
In your sentence, the infinitive is acting a as noun. It's the object of the preposition. You must provide the preposition.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Rusty

It's needed.

The infinitive, contrary to what most people are taught, does NOT have a built-in preposition.
In your sentence, the infinitive is acting a as noun. It's the object of the preposition. You must provide the preposition.

Gracias por tu clarificación.

This follows the same rule, right?

Tengo la intención de escribir más mañana.

Gracias.

[Rusty]

Of course. The infinitive, when used as a noun, is translated 'verb+ing' into English.

I have the intention of writing more tomorrow.
I have the opportunity of writing more.

You may also substitute 'to write' in the sentences above, where I wrote 'of writing', but that is where the confusion comes from.
When you use 'to write' in English, you're using a full infinitive, not a verb. 'Writing', a gerund (which is a noun that looks like a verb with an 'ing' ending), can usually be substituted for the full infinitive.

So, "I like reading" and "I like to read" are equivalent sentences. They mean the same thing. In Spanish, the infinitive "leer" would be used in both cases.
Me gusta leer.

We are quite used to saying "Reading is fundamental," but not "To read is fundamental," yet both mean the same thing. In Spanish, the infinitive is used in both cases.
Leer es fundamental.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Of course. The infinitive, when used as a noun, is translated 'verb+ing' into English.

I have the intention of writing more tomorrow.
I have the opportunity of writing more.

You may also substitute 'to write' in the sentences above, where I wrote 'of writing', but that is where the confusion comes from.
When you use 'to write' in English, you're using a full infinitive, not a verb. 'Writing', a gerund (which is a noun that looks like a verb with an 'ing' ending), can usually be substituted for the full infinitive.

So, "I like reading" and "I like to read" are equivalent sentences. They mean the same thing. In Spanish, the infinitive "leer" would be used in both cases.
Me gusta leer.

We are quite used to saying "Reading is fundamental," but not "To read is fundamental," yet both mean the same thing. In Spanish, the infinitive is used in both cases.
Leer es fundamental.

Thank you for the reply.

I understand.

[Michael Visser]

De is a very important and versatile preposition with many different meanings. It combines with the definite articles le and les to form du and des respectively. French de can be used as the equivalent of various English prepositions, including of, from, in, by. De can also be used to express one’s origin — where that person comes from.

[Liquinn3]

Originally Posted by Michael Visser

De is a very important and versatile preposition with many different meanings. It combines with the definite articles le and les to form du and des respectively. French de can be used as the equivalent of various English prepositions, including of, from, in, by. De can also be used to express one’s origin — where that person comes from.

Why isn't the preposition needed here?

La verdad es que...
La razón es que...

But it is here?
Tengo la impresión de que.

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by Liquinn3

Why isn't the preposition needed here?

La verdad es que...
La razón es que...

But it is here?
Tengo la impresión de que.

Look at these sentences that you have asked about in this thread:

Hoy tengo la oportunidad de escribir más.
Tengo la intención de escribir más mañana.

The underlined phrases "la oportunidad", "la intención" and "escribir más" are noun phrases. In each case, the second noun phrase ("to write more", "writing more") is being used as an adjective that modifies the first noun phrase ("the opportunity" or "the intention"). Spanish grammar does not permit using one noun to modify a second noun: the only way to use a noun to modify another noun is to put in in a prepositional phrase, and the choice of preposition is almost always determined by the noun that is being modified. Most of the time the correct preposition is "de".

La verdad es que...
La razón es que...

These sentences also connect two noun phrases; the second noun phrase modifies the first one. However, the verb "ser" connects them, and "ser" does not require the assistance of "de" to do that; in fact, when the preposition "de" immediately follows "ser" it almost always indicates possession:

"Este libro es de María" = "This book is Maria's"