infinitive and gerund

[English4everyone]

I have a question about the difference between the infinitive and the gerund.
Should we use the infinitive or the gerund after "learn"? Is there any rule for that (learn)?
And is there any way to learn the difference between the infinitive and the gerund better and more easily?
For example, which is correct?

A)
1) I learned driving from my dad.
2) I learned to drive from my dad.

B)
1) I learned driving when I was 17.
2) I learned to drive when I was 17.

 

[SlickVic9000]

(Not a Teacher)

Set A: Sentence 1 is fine.
In sentence 2, I'd add a 'how' before 'to drive'.

Set B: They're both acceptable, but I would use sentence 2.

 

[Barb_D]

I don't think the gerund form is ungrammatical, but I don't find it natural.

 

[emsr2d2]

I have a question about the difference between the infinitive and the gerund.
Should we use the infinitive or the gerund after "learn"? Is there any rule for that (learn)?
And is there any way to learn the difference between the infinitive and the gerund better and more easily?
For example, which is correct?

A)
1) I learned driving from my dad.
2) I learned to drive from my dad.

B)
1) I learned driving when I was 17.
2) I learned to drive when I was 17.

Sometimes the gerund works and sometimes it doesn't:

- I learnt driving from my dad. Unnatural, in my opinion.
- I started driving when I was 17. Natural.

- I learnt cooking from my mother. Unnatural.
- I started cooking when I was 10.

 

[English4everyone]

Thank you for all the replies.
But it's still vague. :-(
Can anyone explain more?

 

[tzfujimino]

Thank you for all the replies.
But it's still vague. :-(
Can anyone explain more?

Hello, English4everyone.:-D
"driving" is a gerund which comes from the verb "drive".
It is a noun indeed. Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
As Barb and others pointed out, "I learned/learnt driving." is grammatical, but the problem is whether it is natural or not.
And... it is not natural. All we (non-native speakers) can do is to accept the fact.

 

[English4everyone]

Again I would like to thank everyone, and sorry for bringing up this discussion again.
Any other comments are appreciated. :up:

 

[miwalko]

Whether you should use the infinitive or the gerund depends on the verb. For instance, you say I want to speak English and I practice speaking English. In grammars, student books, etc., you can find lists of verbs that go either with the infinitive or with the gerund, see e.g. Verb Lists: Infinitives and Gerunds
What makes things complicated is that some verbs (like, stop) can go with both and there's a slight difference in meaning between the two, but that's a different story.

 

[Barb_D]

I also think there are some regional variations on what sounds natural.

For example, in a recent thread, a BrE speaker said "The printer needs fixing" was normal. That would not sound very natural here (in the US). I would be much more likely to say "The printer needs to be fixed."

This may be more common in the Southern part of the US, though.

And to make it worse, "This essay needs some proofreading" sounds okay.