Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

It had stopped raining.
It had stopped to rain.

Both sentences are possible? If so, is there any difference in meaning?

To be a teacher is difficult.
Being a teacher is difficult.

I'm wondering if there is any subtle difference in meaning between them .

[Daniel Wong]

Hi,there
I'm pretty sure of the usage mentioned in your message.
'Stop to do' means you stop what you were doing just now and start doing another thing right now. 'Stop doing' means you just stop what you are doing in the very moment.
There's only a subtle difference between 'to be a teacher' and 'being a teacher'. I think the latter is better in this sentence. It often refers to something you do frequently or indicates a specific sort of situation in your daily life. The former one usually shows that you have a strong purpose in what you're doing or what you're going to do.
Hope it'll help
Daniel Wong
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Home Is Where The Heart Is

[Teo]

1. To be a teacher is difficult.
2. Being a teacher is difficult.
3. It is difficult to be a teacher.
4. It is difficult being a teacher.
All the above sentences are grammatically sound.
#1 is unidiomatic. #4 is very informal. #3 is probably the most natural.
When we are talking about an activity in general, we often use an -ing structure rather than an infinitive.
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Thank you very much for your reply.