She took an hour getting ready.

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Teo

#487280 Tue, 11 Mar 08 07:27 AM

1. She took an hour getting ready. (quoted from A Dictionary of Answers to Common Questions in English, by Zhao Zhencai, a Chinese professor of English.)

2. She took an hour to get ready.

What's the difference in meaning between the above two sentences?

Teo

Joined on Tue, Sep 28 2004

Taiwan

Contributing Member (1,631)

Thank you very much for your reply.

CalifJim

#487287 Tue, 11 Mar 08 07:45 AM

Teo
What's the difference in meaning between the above two sentences?

None. The reader simply feels more inclined to imagine the details of the process in the first case and only the result in the second case.

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,788)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Teo

#487304 Tue, 11 Mar 08 08:25 AM

1. I took three hours getting home last night.

2. She takes all day getting out of the bathroom.

3. They took two hours unloading the ferry.

Are the above sentences acceptable?

Teo

#550101 Sat, 02 Aug 08 08:31 PM

"She took an hour to get ready". Full Stop. End of Sentence. OK.
and
"She took an hour getting ready, an hour saying her thank-yous and goodbyes, and an hour crying in the limousine about how beautiful the day had been so that she then took ages fixing her streaking mascara and eye-shadow. Poor old groom thought they'd miss the plane and this honeymoon wouldn't get off the ground."

Can we use both the gerund form and the infinitive form?
If so, what's the difference in meaning when I say:
"I took three hours to get home last night."
and
"It took me three hours to get home last night."
and
"I took three hours getting home last night."

Teo

Gerunds

Teo

#551580 Wed, 06 Aug 08 01:10 PM

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Teo