Tagged Questions
1
vote
1answer
50 views
“A tool to do” vs. “a tool that does” vs. “a tool for doing”
I'm the curator of the Open Web Platform Daily Digest link. In the "Tools" section of each daily I write entries in this format:
tool_name, tool_description
For example:
hapi, a server framework ...
0
votes
2answers
65 views
“Committed to supporting X” vs. “committed to support X”
I'm trying to edit a speech and found a commonly used phase which I'm not sure if I should amend it or not. The sentence goes like this:
[a subject] is committed to supporting [a project].
...
-2
votes
0answers
102 views
Which one is grammatical, “it's time for cooking” or “it's time to cook”?
Which one is grammatical?
It's time for cooking.
It's time to cook.
1
vote
5answers
103 views
“stop to do something” vs. “continue to do something”
A transcript of a recent speech by Barack Obama contains the following sentence:
Boston police, firefighters, and first responders as well as the National Guard responded heroically, and continue ...
3
votes
3answers
145 views
Is “to practice volleyball requires stamina” grammatical?
Is the sentence "to practice volleyball requires stamina" grammatically correct? As opposed to the sentence "practicing volleyball requires stamina"?
Another example:
To ensure safety ...
-3
votes
1answer
138 views
When do we use “to” as an infinitive marker? [closed]
In these two sentences:
I look forward to get.
I look forward to getting it.
Why is the first sentence incorrect? When do we use to as an infinitive marker?
0
votes
0answers
19 views
“need to be washed”, “need washing”, or “need washed”? [duplicate]
The car needs to be washed.
The car needs washing.
The car needs washed.
What's the subtle differences between them?
0
votes
3answers
187 views
Why is a gerund used after the verb “confess to”
A simple form of the verb is often used after to, but sometimes the simple form is replaced by a gerund. For example:
He confessed to having a secret admiration for his opponent.
Edwards ...
3
votes
5answers
304 views
Infinitive vs. present participle (time relations)
I was told that one of the following refers to the past and the other to the future. I cannot decide which is which and would appreciate it if someone could explain the difference between these ...
0
votes
3answers
61 views
“Attempts to acquaint” vs. “attempts at acquainting”
The research study is an eye-opener and attempts to
acquaint/attempts at acquainting us with the problems of poor
nations.
For me, attempts to acquaint sounds more apt. But I am not sure ...
-1
votes
1answer
183 views
“Feel committed to [gerund/infinitive]”
Does "feel committed to" require an infinitive or gerund complement?
For example, which of the following is grammatical?
I feel committed to following up on that.
I feel committed to follow ...
1
vote
1answer
179 views
“Heard me [infinitive]” vs. “heard me [gerund]”
"Heard me [infinitive]" vs. "heard me [gerund]"
At that time, you wouldn't have heard me talk about it.
At that time, you wouldn't have heard me talking about it.
At that time, ...
2
votes
1answer
154 views
Correct usage of infinitives
I am not sure about the usage of infinitives in this sentence:
Finally, one of the accused confessed to have forged the director's
signature on the report.
Could anyone explain correct usage?
...
2
votes
1answer
323 views
in order to [gerund] or [infinitive]?
There are few questions and answer on the choice of gerund versus infinitive.
From what I understand, when conveying a purpose the infinitive should be used:
I use my key in order to open the ...
1
vote
2answers
306 views
Infinitive or Gerund for celebration of an event?
Which of the following sentences would be correct in a baby shower invitation.
My grandparents are looking forward to celebrate my arrival in February.
My grandparents are looking forward to ...
4
votes
1answer
398 views
The choice between the gerund and the infinitive in a certain construction
I am pretty much sure that for native speakers the issue I am going to bring up might look as an uncalled question as they can easily figure out which form of a verbal part of speech should be used, ...
7
votes
3answers
495 views
Help identifying an error type “tried to help me learning”
I have a friend from Russia who is trying to learn English and recently used the sentence "He tried to help me learning..." (implied: the English language)
It is obviously wrong and I corrected it ...
-1
votes
1answer
3k views
“Prefer to do something” vs. “prefer doing something” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When should a verb be followed by a gerund instead of an infinitive?
What's the difference between the two:
What materials do they prefer working with?
What ...
1
vote
2answers
446 views
“Ambitious to [infinitive]” vs. “ambitious about [gerund]”
What is the correct preposition to use with ambitious?
I am ambitious to achieve success.
I am ambitious about achieving success.
3
votes
3answers
703 views
Which of these sentences is correctly written?
Someone edited my message on StackOverflow, but it really bugs me out.
I'm not sure what's wrong with it:
As you see, the bigger the circle becomes, the more vertices I need for hiding the straight ...
6
votes
2answers
286 views
“It is fun to write letters” vs. “It is fun writing letters”
Grammatically, "It is fun to write English letters." is correct. But is the following also grammatically correct?
It is fun writing English letters.
0
votes
2answers
96 views
“To know X is all I need” vs. “knowing X is all I need” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does one know when to use a gerund or a infinitive?
Which of the following is the correct form?
To know you're interested in my book is all I need to go on ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
Expect +to VS expect + ing
I know that expect is used this way:
I expect you to do that.
But I have also seen examples like with verb in its "ing" form:
> What to expect working at...
> I will expect you doing ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
“Stop working” vs “stopped to work”
I want to know, is there any difference between "stop + v.(ing)" and "stopped to + v.". These are example sentences.
I stop working for a month vs I stopped to work for a month
I stop watching movies ...
0
votes
2answers
697 views
Grammatical complements for “allow”
Are any of these verb phrases grammatical?
allows the user of modeling and resolving
allows the user to model and resolve
Which version of the following sentence is correct/better?
"In ...
5
votes
1answer
204 views
Why was _to_ verb_+ing_ used in this case? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to use “to + V-ing”?
“To hear” or “to hearing”?
Samson had been a strong man prior to having his hair cut.
From a grammatical point of view, when ...
3
votes
2answers
218 views
“To handle certificates is…” vs. “handling certificates is…”
I have two equivalent sentences, intended for a brochure for a computer program. Which one is better?
To handle certificates manually is time consuming and expensive.
Handling certificates ...
-2
votes
3answers
193 views
“The aims are promoting and protecting” vs. “the aims are to promote and protect”
Which of the following two constructions is correct? and why?
Some of the important aims of the UNO are to promote peace and protect human rights.
Some of the important aims of the UNO are ...
8
votes
2answers
13k views
How to use “to + V-ing”?
I saw some scenarios that used the structure "to + V-ing", such as the following:
Looking forward to hearing.
Disposed to using few words.
I would like to apply what I learned in school to helping ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
“I love to [verb]” vs “I love [gerund]” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
Catenatives followed by infinitives and gerunds
“I like to do (be) something” vs “I like doing (being) something”
What is the difference between "I love to sing" and ...
5
votes
4answers
479 views
Catenatives followed by infinitives and gerunds
I was wondering if anyone could please help me with this.
What is the difference in meaning when the catenative verb “like” is followed by an infinitive, or by a gerund? For example: Do you like ski ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How do I know when a verb should be followed by a gerund or an infinitive?
A few weeks ago I posted a question about the usage of a verbal in a particular sentence. But now, I have another question on the same topic, gerund.
Sometimes I don't know for sure if I need to use ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
Past tense and “rather than”
I found myself with a sentence like this, using "accept" in the infinitive form after "rather than":
They left the club, rather than accept the terms.
But I'm unsure of its grammatical ...
9
votes
3answers
9k views
“I like to do (be) something” vs “I like doing (being) something”
This is what I read in an answer to a previous question:
Verbs Followed by Either Gerund or Infinitive
Sometimes the meaning changes according to the verb used.
<…>
(dis)like
...
1
vote
2answers
458 views
To use “to” or not to? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Gerund or infinitive: When to use which?
You like to read books.
You like reading books.
The second second sentence seems to be better than the first. Why is ...
1
vote
2answers
659 views
Bare infinitive and gerund participle
I saw him kick the stone.
According to my reference book this sentence is grammatically correct even though the verb 'kick' is in present tense while the action has already happened.
If I write ...
3
votes
3answers
641 views
one's way of V-ing / one's way to V / a/the way of V-ing / a/the way to V
There are some options when you use the word way and some verb together:
(1) a. There are some way of writing.
b. There are some way to write.
Is there any ...
13
votes
1answer
2k views
When should a verb be followed by a gerund instead of an infinitive?
Some verbs are followed by ing, e.g. I enjoy swimming. We can't say I enjoy to swim. Likewise, some verbs are followed by to, e.g. I decided to make a plan.
Which particular verbs are followed by ...
