to prevent - to hinder

[dilodi83]

do "to prevent someone from doing" and "to hinder someone from doing" have the same meaning? Can they be used in the same context?

[SoothingDave]

Hinder | Define Hinder at Dictionary.com

There is a second definition of "Hinder" to mean "prevent" but I would not use the word that way. I would use it to mean to make difficult.

[dilodi83]

For example:
1) Bad weather condition hindered us from going to the party.
2) Bad weather condition prevented us from going to the party.
3) I think her father cannot hinder her from seeing you.
4) I think her father cannot prevent her from seeing you.

A) Are these sentences acceptable with both the verbs?
B) Can these verbs be followed by an infinite rather than "from + ing"?

[emsr2d2]

For example:
1) Bad weather condition hindered us from going to the party.
2) Bad weather condition prevented us from going to the party.
3) I think her father cannot hinder her from seeing you.
4) I think her father cannot prevent her from seeing you.

A) Are these sentences acceptable with both the verbs?

They're all acceptable but they mean different things. With 2 and 4, it is clear that something either did not happen or will not happen.

With 1 and 3, it's not absolutely certain. It could be that the weather and the father made it/will make it difficult for something to happen.


B) Can these verbs be followed by an infinite rather than "from + ing"?

I'm nof sure what you mean. Do you want to know if it's possible to say "Bad weather conditions prevented us to go to the party"? If so, no. One is prevented from doing something.

emsr2d2

[Leandro-Z]

I agree with SoothingDave. For example:

An injury hindered him from playing (= He succeeded in recovering in spite of his injury. Perhaps he didn't play his best, but he took part in the match).

An injury prevented him from playing (= His injury made it impossible for him to participate in the match. However hard he might have tried to recover, he finally couldn't play the match).

[birdeen's call]

An injury hindered him from playing (= He succeeded in recovering in spite of his injury. Perhaps he didn't play his best, but he took part in the match).

The equality sign is misleading here. This sentence doesn't mean that he succeeded in recovering.

[SoothingDave]

That's what I am saying. Use "hinder" to mean "cause difficulty" and use "prevent" to mean "prevent."

If I read "the injury hindered him" I would think it means that he did play, just not at 100% of his ability.

If you mean the injury prevented him from playing, I recommend you do not use "hinder."

[Leandro-Z]

So, birdeen's call, was I correct or wrong? Do not make such statements when you don`t know!

[birdeen's call]

So, birdeen's call, was I correct or wrong? Do not make such statements when you don`t know!

I would like to suggest respectfully that you were wrong. SoothingDave provided his opinion. He said that, on hearing such a sentence, he would think the player did play. However, emsr2d2, also a native speaker, gave an opinion too, which was a different one. This alone means that the equality sign you used was misleading, since it took only one opinion into account. Also, SoothingDave said

Use "hinder" to mean "cause difficulty" and use "prevent" to mean "prevent."

Note that the fact that something causes difficulty doesn't imply that it does not prevent. On the contrary. It often happens that something that causes difficulty turns out to prevent. Yes, when you use "hinder", I may judge from the fact that you haven't used "prevent" that no preventing took place. However, I may well be mistaken in my judgement too.

Finally, note what AHD has to say on this.

To hinder is to hold back and often implies stopping or prevention