Hello
I was wondering when it is (by the way, is this correct? Or should I say 'is it'?) possible to, in a sentence, use a verb in the Infinitive form or ending in 'ing' interchangeably. For example,
'I started cleaning the room' vs. 'I started to clean the room'. Is There any difference between them? When can I use them interchangeably?
'The worst thing you can do is tell him that...' vs. 'The worst thing you can do is telling him...' (is the latter possible?) do both sentences mean the same?
Thanks in advance;-)
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Bleiva,
(1) You have asked a super hard question. It is so hard that
many ordinary native speakers such as I have problems.
(2) Sometimes (maybe most of the times) it does not matter.
(3) But sometimes it
really matters!!!!!
(4) I shall give you some examples. (
Of course, I shall credit the book at the
end of this post)
I remember
locking the door. (You locked the door before you remembered that you did it.)
I remember
ed to lock the door. (You remembered before you locked it.)
My example only: I am an old man. Sometimes at 11:30 a.m., for
example, I might say to myself: Did I brush my teeth this morning? I do not
remember brush
ing my teeth. Maybe I did or maybe I didn't.
I tried
to close the window. (I did not close it; it was broken, so I could not move it.)
I tried
closing the window. (I did close the window; nevertheless, I still felt cold.)
I stopped
smoking. = I broke the habit; I stopped
to smoke. = I did not work for five minutes. During that time, I smoked. Then I returned to my work.
This next example is different. They are about the same, but some experts see a little difference. Probably many native speakers think they are the same:
Helen started
to do her homework at 8 p.m./ Helen started
doing her
homework at 8 p.m. (Some experts say that the infinitive gives the idea that she PROBABLY did not finish her work; Some experts say that the gerund gives the idea that she PROBABLY did finish her work.
All of these examples come from a book used by many teachers:
The Grammar Book/ An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course (Rowley, London, Tokyo:Newbury House, 1983). The two scholars who wrote it were
Mesdames Marianne Celce-Murcia and Diane Larsen-Freeman.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
P. S. Some experts feel that
often the infinitive is more remote or
objective/theoretical; the gerund is more immediate and emotional.
For example:
Two friends who have not seen each other for five years meet on the
street in Santiago. After they talk for 15 minutes, one of them says:
It was nice
to see you. Goodbye. OR
It was really great
seeing you. Let's have lunch one day.