He needed to eat / eating.

[oksuz_]

Hi,

He found the courage to go outside because he needed to eat / eating.

Which form of 'eat' should be used in this sentence? And why? Or both of them is possible.

Thank you.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I would say 'he needed to eat something' because 'he needed eating' sounds as if 'he needed to be eaten'.

 

[Rover_KE]

He found the courage to go outside because he needed to eat/eating. [No spaces around the slash.]

Which form of 'eat' should be used in this sentence? And why? Or are both of them [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] possible?

Please note my corrections to your post — especially the way to ask your question.

 

[Skrej]

Both are possible, but there is a difference in meaning.

Need + infinitive indicates that the subject should perform that infinitive. Need + gerund indicates that said gerund should happen to the subject.

He needed to eat. = He required food for sustenance.
He needed eating. = Somebody or something should consume him.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Can we say 'He' is the patient of 'eating' in 'He needed eating'?

 

[Rover_KE]

I've never known 'patient' to have that meaning.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I found that meaning at http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/patient_1?q=patient

'patient
3 (grammar) the person or thing that is affected by the action of the verb.'

 

[ChinaDan]

Hi,

He found the courage to go outside because he needed to eat / eating.

Which form of 'eat' should be used in this sentence? And why? Or both of them is possible.

Thank you.

...to eat.

The context shows that "He" is fearful of going outside, yet finally did so because of the compelling motivation of needing to eat.

Some have [facetiously?] suggested "... he needed eating", which is to say, he needed to be eaten. That is not logical as it fails to provide the necessary motivation to overcome the fear keeping him inside. Well, unless he has some very peculiar psychology at work; Vorarephilia is a possible, but rather extreme, explanation.

The simplest, most obvious answer is, "...to eat".

 

[Skrej]

Can we say 'He' is the patient of 'eating' in 'He needed eating'?

No, but see Piscean's post #9 regarding how the gerund form does passivize things with the verb 'need' (it's the same in AmE).

I think that may be what you're alluding to with this question.

 

[ChinaDan]

...It may not be logical, but that's the message the words convey, which is why 'eating' is the incorrect form.

If we agree that "eating" is incorrect, then I have no idea what you are disagreeing with. I said in my post;

...which is to say, he needed to be eaten.

...which seems to be the lesson you are trying to teach me despite my having demonstrated and used this very thing.

Is there an actual point here that I've missed? Or is this just about putting me in my place again? :lol: