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ESL forum > Ask for help > Grammar help!    

Grammar help!



Belusa
Argentina

Grammar help!
 
hi everybody
Who can help me out here?
What�s correct? I�ve seen both, perhaps more often this
I love/hate/don�t mind (and all verbs expressing feelings) + ing
But I�ve also seen + to inf
Is it ok to correct the second one and insist on using the first one? What�s more grammatically correct? Is it the same? Thanks a lot for future contributions :)

19 Jan 2009      





Zora
Canada

Whoa... I am confused...

"see to" means to oversee, occupy, take charge or be in charge of...

i.e. "I�ve seen to making dinner for the party"...means I took charge and dinner is being made or will be made...

So I am confused to what you are aking since one has nothing to do with the other, or I think....

19 Jan 2009     



Mariethe House
France

I hate to see you cry
I hate seeing you cry.... both , in this example are possible with a slight difference of meaning.

   I hate singing. In this case it�s a gerund and can be replaced by a noun or has the value of a noun  so, it�s verb+ing

Maybe it is not very clear ... give us examples where you hesitate.


19 Jan 2009     



Mietz
Germany

@ zora
I think the example means Belusa�s seen sentences like: I enjoy to read a good book.
Is this correct? When is this kind of example correct - a verb expressing an emotion followed by an infinitive? -> Good question that one...

19 Jan 2009     



Zora
Canada

Ahh... I got it... sorry, the sentences were jumbled together and I was not sure what was being asked.

Both can generally be used equally, although

"hate, like, love, dislike, prefer + to infinitive" - is used generally to express a preference.

I like to ski on the weekend... (here it means you have a preference for skiing on the weekend over another sport.)

I like skiing on the weekends - means basically the same thing but supposedly you don�t prefer it over another sport...


BUT truthfully... both mean basically the same thing and most people use them without thinking about that rule. - which to me is a bit "grey" and not all that clear...




 

19 Jan 2009     



Apryll12
Hungary

The meaning of the verbs like/ hate/prefer/love changes slightly depending whether the gerund or infinitive follows them.

1. The gerund is more usual for general statements when the emphasis is on the enjoyment (or not) of the action:  e.g. Mary prefers eating out to eating at home.

2. The infinitive is more usual for more specific statements where extra information is given: e.g. Jane prefers to eat out because there�s no washing-up to do.

With the verb like + infinitive there is often the added meaning of a preferred alternative. e.g. I like to drive there may imply �I prefer that means of transport to going by train or coach�.

I hope this short extract from New First Certificate Masterclass, Oxford University Press can help you.

Have a nice day,

Krisztina

19 Jan 2009     



HARIM
Morocco

Dear Belusa,
 
There are verbs such as Like and hate .......which are followed either by to +inf or vb+ing.Both are grammatically correct ,and both have the same meaning.
 

19 Jan 2009     



Miss_Alel�
Argentina

Infinitive shows the speaker�s prospective (anticipative) view ie
looks forward in time implying theory: we stopped to help the injured
people. (First stop, second help)

Gerund reflects the speaker�s retrospective view ie looks back
implying experience or prior existence of what follows: we stopped
smoking not helping the injured people (first smoke second stop).
To look after children is difficult (theory)
Looking after children is difficult (experienced mother or perhaps
father).


http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.lang/2005-10/msg00887.html

19 Jan 2009