Which of these sentences is correct?

[miki]

Hi.
Which of these sentences is correct?

- They don't contribute to increase the violence of people.
- They don't contribute to increasing the violence of people.

Why?.

Thanks,
Miki.

[Marylin]

Originally Posted by miki

Hi.
Which of these sentences is correct?

- They don't contribute to increase the violence of people.
- They don't contribute to increasing the violence of people.

Why?.

Thanks,
Miki.

Who or what is "they"?

They don't contribute to the increase of violence (in people).

I am not sure about the "in people" thing. Is there any other violence coming from somewhere else?

[miki]

They are video games.

[Marylin]

Originally Posted by miki

They are video games.

They don't contribute to the increase of violence (in people).


Ahh....OK. Not all video games, however, have violence in them.
How about:

They (Violent video games) don't always contribute to acts of violence/or agressive behavior. (your pick)

[miki]

Ok, I like your proposal, more than mine. But my question was about the use of "increasing" or "increase" in the sentence:

They don't contribute to increase/increasing of violence (in people).

Are both or them correct?.

Greetings.

[Marylin]

Originally Posted by miki

Ok, I like your proposal, more than mine. But my question was about the use of "increasing" or "increase" in the sentence:

They don't contribute to increase/increasing of violence (in people).

Are both or them correct?.

Greetings.

Yes, I just gave you an option so we can say:

They don't contribute to the increase of violence in young people.

If you say young people, it sounds better because you have the word people you wanted to put in but also you are narrowing down the group to those that like violent games.

[HCaulfield]

Miki:

It should go contribute to increase, not to increasing. Also, I think it should be violence in people.

Hope it helps

[miki]

Ok.

Finally, "to increase" and "in people" (or "in young people").

Marylin, you make me realize that it's better to narrrow down the group of people.

Thanks, Marylin and HCaufield.

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by miki

Hi.
Which of these sentences is correct?

- They don't contribute to increase the violence of people.
- They don't contribute to increasing the violence of people.

Why?.

Thanks,
Miki.

contribute to + noun

'to increase' is an infinitive verb, whereas 'to increasing' is a prepositional phrase with the gerund (noun) 'increasing' as its object. Gerunds don't work in that environment, as HC mentions, so changing the base verb 'increase' to another kind of noun: 'the increase', as Marylin points out, is your best bet.

Mind you, it's still an awkward sentence. "increase" implies that people are becoming more and more violent these days even without video games.

Video games do not contribute to the increase in violence in people.