Job Discussion Forums

[jpvanderwerf2001]

One of my teachers told me that she read in a Russian/English grammar book (she's Russian) that there's a difference in the "emotionality" of the following structures:

"She likes swimming."
and
"She likes to swim."

She says the second example is emotionally stronger, and the first one is more like "Well, swimming is okay..."

I'd never heard this before and, quite frankly, I just don't feel it. My Swan Bible neither supports nor disputes her claim.

I know: Minutiea

What say you?

[johntpartee]

"Emotionally" indistinguishable to me. Never heard anything like this.

[Sashadroogie]

She's probably just parroting what her Russian teacher told her before. Totally untrue of course, but that won't stop some of them insisting otherwise.

'Must' and 'have to' are also sometimes held up as examples of 'emotionality', where one of the structures is deemed to be stronger, more emotional or more obligatory, than the other. Forget which one they claim is which. Again, total nonsense, but at least they are modals and so do deal with the speaker's attitude. Gerunds and infinitives don't, as far as I know.

I like to swim (when I can) / I like swimming ( regularly or generally) is the only difference I can see in those structures.

[PelemPelem]

Oooh I love these sorts of questions - especially as I'm doing an assignment at the moment which incorporates Discourse Analysis and teaching ESOL. I don't know the answer but I love the question.

The difference in meaning, i.e. between whether a gerund or to-infinitive is used, may lie in the (native) speaker's intentions, which can only be revealed by looking at the previous discourse.

If you can be bothered to read it, the following paper on the web discusses this issue from a DA perspective. I'm not sure of the source but it's very readable.

http://www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/naes2004/download_paper.html?ID=5&type=final

[basiltherat]

.....

[Glenski]

No difference in my mind, whether in subtle discourse meaning or emotion.

What about the verbs that can't be used as infinitive or gerund? Do they simply have a lack or overly strong sense of emotion?

[AGoodStory]

[johnslat]

Dear Glenski,

OK, I'm surely going to feel silly when you answer this, but what verbs "can't be used as infinitive or gerund."

Regards,
John

[killthebuddha]

First thing that comes to mind is a subject vs. "object" (e.g., in the adverbial objective/accusative or the internal accusative) distinction. Here, with the verbal as direct object, consider substitution of "want" for "like," in which case the gerund can't work here (for "swim") without the infinitive anyway. Moreover, with "want" (which is "like-" wise an emotionally strong verb ), some verbs won't take the gerund ("eat," etc.). Also, dictionaries default to the infinitive form for definitions. So, are these two instances of primacy for the infinitive? Maybe. But emotionally speaking?

Maybe, unless the verbal is the subject, in which case the gerund is certainly closer to the agent. No? (Well, unless you're Hamlet thrashing E-Prime.)

[Glenski]

[johnslat]

Dear Glenski,

Ah, so now I can stop going bananas trying to think of a verb that can't be used . . . etc.

Regarding a changed meaning, the example I like to use is this:

He finally stopped smoking cigarettes
He finally stopped to smoke a cigarette.

which, in this case at least, would seem to indicate that the gerund can deliver occasionally deliver a more general meaning than the infinitive.

Regards
John

[smccartney]

After love, like and hate in British we generally use an -ing form, while in American English the infinitive is equally common.

I like dancing. (British + American)
I like to dance. (American)

In British English we can also an infinitive after love, like and hate to refer to actions which happen only occasionally.

Source: Grammar for English Teachers, M Parrott

As for verbs which can't take the -ing form, any state verb, for example love, despite what McDonalds think!

Stephen

[Sashadroogie]

Does it really say that in Parrott? Sort of what I said at the top of the thread, though the Atlantic issues are new to me.

As for the horrid McDonalds slogan, there does seem to some wiggle room with 'loving', in pop music at least:

Led Zepplin - Since I've been loving you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkjv9SscotY

Loverboy - Lovin' Every Minute Of It
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiF8md-w-zw

[johntpartee]

This is starting to look like the "Pet Peeves" thread. I had to double-check when I opened this.

[jpvanderwerf2001]