[General] start operation/start operating

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jiaruchan

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My cousin called me yesterday to ask which to choose between:

The train started operation in 1998.
& The train started operating in 1998.

I told him it should be the first one. Today he called me back saying his teacher said 'started operating ' was the correct choice.

What do you think of it? Thank you.
 

euncu

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***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

The train started operation in 1998.Period

The train started operating in 1998 was one of the fastest trains at that time.
 

jiaruchan

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***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

The train started operation in 1998.Period

The train started operating in 1998 was one of the fastest trains at that time.

It sounds you choose as I chose.

However, the second one you've revised a bit seems to use [start] 's past participle to modify [the train] to make the part The train started operating in 1998 subject of the sentence. Am I understanding it correctly?
 

euncu

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I'm really bad when it comes to grammar terms, but at least I know what subject is. :)
And, yes, the part you colored acts as the subject (but as I mentioned before, I can't say what a grammarian would call it)
 
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