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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 materials do they prefer to work with?
asked Aug 29, 2012 at 18:40
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3Very little if any. Did you think there would be? If so, maybe you should explain why.– J.R.Commented Aug 29, 2012 at 18:58
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2Related to various degrees: When should a verb be followed by a gerund instead of an infinitive, Why are the gerund and infinitive equally acceptable for some verbs, but not others, “I like to do (be) something” vs “I like doing (being) something”, Catenatives followed by infinitives and gerunds.– RegDwigнtCommented Aug 29, 2012 at 19:17
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Prefer is another mental intention verb, like try, and governs much the same type of complement.– John LawlerCommented Aug 29, 2012 at 20:41
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1@RegDwigнt interesting, I chose to bookmark this duplicate question because it alone has the links to all the relevant non-duplicate questions ;-)– semantaxCommented Sep 17, 2014 at 11:27
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I don't think that this question should be marked as a duplicate. The linked question does not contain anything close to an answer for OP - only lists of verbs which can be followed by the gerund or infinitive. The linked question is outside the scope of OP's question, and the difference between "prefer to do" and "prefer doing" is a valid question, as there is a tangible difference in meaning.– LouCommented Feb 1, 2019 at 19:51
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1 Answer
There's no difference in meaning. "Prefer to work" sounds very slightly more formal than "Prefer working" and also seems more natural to me, but that's pretty subjective. Either is perfectly valid.
answered Aug 29, 2012 at 19:56
