bad thing

[navi tasan]

Are these sentences all correct and if they are, do they mean exactly the same thing:
1-You did a bad thing to talk to him.
2-You did a bad thing talking to him.
3-You did a bad thing by talking to him.

4-You made a mistake to talk to him.
5-You made a mistake talking to him.
6-You made a mistake by talking to him.

 

[RonBee]

Are these sentences all correct and if they are, do they mean exactly the same thing:
1-You did a bad thing to talk to him.
2-You did a bad thing talking to him.
3-You did a bad thing by talking to him..

1. No.
2. No.
3. No.
Try: "Talking to him was a bad idea."

4-You made a mistake to talk to him.
5-You made a mistake talking to him.
6-You made a mistake by talking to him.

4. No.
5. No.
6. No.

Try: "It was a mistake to talk to him."
Or: "Talking to him was a mistake."

While I may have made a mistake, to disagree with me would probably be a bad idea.

Cordially,
RonBee
8)

 

[Tdol]

I don't know if this is a BE\AE things, but I feel differently about these sentences, although Ron's examples are more natural.

Are these sentences all correct and if they are, do they mean exactly the same thing:
1-You did a bad thing to talk to him. NO
2-You did a bad thing talking to him. YES (you could add IN)
3-You did a bad thing by talking to him. YES

4-You made a mistake to talk to him. NO
5-You made a mistake talking to him. YES (you could add IN)
6-You made a mistake by talking to him. YES

Given that our answers are so different, I would like to see what other AE & BE speakers feel . :lol:

 

[Daruma]

Sentence 6 may be good.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/23/afghan.war.stories/
One retired Marine corporal said the United States had made a mistake by sending troops to solve what is ultimately a political problem in Afghanistan.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/2002/10/23/becker_trial/
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - German prosecutors asked a court on Wednesday to jail Boris Becker for tax evasion after the former tennis great confessed he had made a mistake by failing to pay $3 million in taxes during his career.