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In following sentence, I'm not sure if I have to use the -ing form or the infinitive.

I wanted to get rid of X, while at the same time not assuming/ assume that...

The -ing form sounds better, but the infinitive doesn't sound too wrong either. Which one should I prefer?

2 Answers 2

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Personal preference as far as I can tell. I don't like either sentence structure because they're both verbose:

I wanted to get rid of my old car, while at the same time not assuming that my parents would buy me a new one for my birthday.

I wanted to get rid of my old car, while at the same time not assume that my parents would buy me a new one for my birthday.

I'd suggest:

I wanted to get rid of my old car without assuming that my parents would buy me a new one for my birthday.
or
I wanted to get rid of my old car but not assume that my parents would buy me a new one for my birthday.

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The phrase at the same time is functioning as an adverbial, so the clause without it is

while ... assuming that

I would not say while assume that, so I would not say while at the same time assume that.

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