Joining of sentences

[kohyoongliat]

I like to play soccer. I like to play badminton more.
1. I prefer playing badminton to playing soccer.
2. I prefer playing badminton to soccer.

Which is the correct sentence when the two sentences are joined?

[Tdol]

They're both OK.

[svartnik]

I like to play soccer. I like to play badminton more.
1. I prefer playing badminton to playing soccer.
2. I prefer playing badminton to soccer.

Which is the correct sentence when the two sentences are joined?

2 lacks symmetry

[kohyoongliat]

Hi Tdol

I prefer living in England to living in Greece.
I prefer living in England to Greece.

Which sentence is correct?
"I prefer living in England to living in Greece" is correct.
The second sentence will be correct if you say like this: I prefer England to Greece.

I like to play soccer. I like to play badminton more.
1. I prefer playing badminton to playing soccer.
2. I prefer playing badminton to soccer.

They're both OK.

In both pairs of sentences, each has a pair of verbs, "living" and "playing", and yet "I prefer living in England to Greece" is incorrect but in the above sentences, you say that they are both ok.

Could you please explain to me why both pairs of sentences have the same structure and yet in the first pair, only "I prefer living in England to living in Greece" is correct.

I would be grateful if you could explain to me.

Best wishes

[Casiopea]

Kohyoongliat, this is an excellent example of why you shouldn't post the same grammar question twice.

I prefer living in England to living in Greece.
I prefer living in England to Greece.
I prefer England to Greece. <Given the same context as the others; that is, "living" is implied>

I prefer playing badminton to playing soccer.
I prefer playing badminton to soccer.
I prefer badminton to soccer.

Does that help?

[kohyoongliat]

Kohyoongliat, this is an excellent example of why you shouldn't post the same grammar question twice.

I prefer living in England to living in Greece.
I prefer living in England to Greece.
I prefer England to Greece. <Given the same context as the others; that is, "living" is implied>

I prefer playing badminton to playing soccer.
I prefer playing badminton to soccer.
I prefer badminton to soccer.

Does that help?

It certainly helps and thanks for the lucid reply.

I posted a similar question twice because the reply from the others surprised me because I had expected the answer to be as provided by you. In other words, I thought that first pair of sentences I first posted would have received the reply that both the sentences were fine. But as it turned out, the reply was that only the first sentence was okay.

In other words, I was trying to kill two birds with one stone. Not posting two pairs of sentences at the same time and yet getting the reply I had expected. It's not that I knew the answer already, but I was trying to save time.

Now you've a clear picture why it was necessary for me to post a similar question twice. Had Tdol or you responded to my question instead of the other members, I wouldn't have to do so.

Once again I would like to thank you for your reply and I hope you now understand why I had to kill two birds with two stones instead.

Best wishes

[Casiopea]

Had Tdol or you responded to my question instead of the other members, I wouldn't have to do so.

I can't speak for Tdol, but I, for one, don't see a need in adding an approval stamp to our members' posts. In the first thread you posted, click here, which, by the way, I was watching, you asked which of these sentences is correct:

I prefer living in England to living in Greece.
I prefer living in England to Greece.

Our member Harry Smith replied:

"I prefer living in England to living in Greece" is correct.
The second sentence will be correct if you say like this: I prefer England to Greece.

And he's right if you're asking about parallel structures, which you were. There is, however, more to it than that, as our member fiona adds,

I agree...the first is technically correct. Just to add though, the second is often heard in speech and is understood to mean the first. With brief comparisons like these, the parallelism is understood and therefore often neglected (speech efficiency!). The rule is important though, especially in writing and especially with longer phrases!

In other words, both sentences are acceptably correct, which is the same answer you got here, on this thread, about the same topic (parallel structure), with these examples, from Tdol, "They're both OK."

I prefer playing badminton to playing soccer.
I prefer playing badminton to soccer.

In short, the problem, as I see it, is double posting. If you feel an answer conflicts with what you know, say so, and discuss it; don't start a new thread. The purpose here is to communicate, to use English. (What good does learning English do for you, if you can't use English to discuss a problem?) On a side note--and if you are not aware of this now, please be aware of it in the future--this is not an answers forum; it's a discussion forum, where students and teachers are not only viewed as equals, but where we get that rare opportunity actually to talk about using English. I have the utmost faith and confidence in the teachers that help out and offer advice here, and so should you.

All the best.

[kohyoongliat]

Hi Casiopea

Thanks for your reply to my explanation.

In another forum, the British tutor doesn't like a member to ask more than one question at a time. In other words, if a member asks him two pairs of questions at the same time, he will tell him or her to please ask one pair of questions at a time. This is because he prefers one question at a time, not more than one. So, if a member asks him which of the pair of sentences is correct, he will answer it. Because of this, I did what the other forum tutor advised against. I hope you understand me now.

However, I will follow the way you prefer. In future, I will pose pairs of questions at one go.

As for the other teachers, I've great respect for them just as I've for you. However, perhaps it is because my English is not good enough that I did not view the teachers' answers as exactly the same as yours. I'm not a native speaker and so, I believe, I have interpreted wrongly. For that I would like to apologise to you for the misunderstanding.

With best wishes

[Ben_Adam]

That tutor isn't that polite... If he cannot deal with more than one problem per query, then he's an ... OMITTED...
This had nothing to do with this thread, bit I had to ''get it out''... :D Sorry

[kohyoongliat]

Every forum has its own rules. So we must comply with them.
If that forum's tutor prefers that way, we shouldn't question him. Be assured, he is a British teacher and so he is able to answer queries with authority. However, he prefers one question at a time, so a member of his forum should follow his way, not the other way round.

Members should respect the wishes of the teachers/moderators of the forum.