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shifter2009
Joined: 03 Sep 2006
Location: wisconsin
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 Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 5:34 pm Post subject: Grammar question |
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He regrets not being diligent when young.
He regrets not having been diligent when young.
The first one is grammatically incorrect apparently but I haven't been able to figure out why? Could someone clue me in as to the difference between the two. Been stumping me and my co-teachers.
Last edited by shifter2009 on Thu Jun 10, 2010 8:23 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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regret + ...ing form refers to the past with an action verb
e.g. I regret drinking so much last night
with a state verb such as 'to be' it would normally refer to the present
e.g. I regret being so short.
so to emphasise that the state was in the past you can use 'having been'
e.g. I regret having been so stupid.
However if you use a time adverbial such as 'last night' or 'when young' and a state verb, it's obvious that the state was in the past so it is not really necessary to use the 'having been'
Thus you can say 'I regret being so stupid last night' or I regret 'having been so stupid last night' IE both your sentences are ok. Or rather I would say they are both fairly unnatural English as hardly anyone outside Korea would talk about being 'diligent' when young  |
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