ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: I am thinking of cutting my hair short. vs. I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

Bizncs — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:17:45 GMT

Thanks, Mister Micawber

Re: I am thinking of cutting my hair short. vs. I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

Bizncs — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:15:56 GMT

Thanks alot. Mr Wordy. You're GREAT!!!

Re: I am thinking of cutting my hair short. vs. I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

Mr Wordy — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:20:30 GMT

What you learned is correct.

However, in everyday conversation or informal chatty writing, people aren't as precise as the grammar books, and it's possible that someone might use the first sentence even if someone else was going to cut their hair. It's the sort of thing that happens.

The converse seems less likely though. I can't really imagine anyone saying "getting my hair cut" if they were planning to cut it themselves.

You asked for comments on your writing:

From what I learned from ["from" is not wrong, but "in" would IMO be better here, if only to avoid repetition of "from"] my English grammar class, the first sentence is not quite right unless you ~~actually cut~~ are actually going to cut your hair by yourself. But I ~~saw~~ have seen in quite a few cases that the first expression - not exactly the same, rather of that sort - ~~are~~ is used ~~meaning the~~ to mean the same as the second ~~sentence~~. Is this something that is ~~grammartically~~ grammatically incorrect but used often, or is it just plain wrong?

Thanks in advance... one more thing... if you found ["found" is not wrong, but "find" seems better to me] any errors in my writing above, please correct me. It would be greatly appreciated.

Re: I am thinking of cutting my hair short. vs. I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

Mister Micawber — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:17:16 GMT

.
I am thinking of cutting my hair short.
I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

Both sentences have the same expected meaning and are common in conversation. It would require further confirmation from the speaker of sentence #1 if s/he were actually going to wield the scissors him/herself.

I am thinking of cutting my hair short. vs. I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

Bizncs — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:37:03 GMT

Hi there,

Please take a look at these two sentences.

I am thinking of cutting my hair short.
I am thinking of getting my hair cut short.

From what I learned from my english grammar class, the first sentence is not quite right unless you actually cut your hair by yourself.
But i saw in quite a few cases the first expression - not exactly the same, rather of that sort - are used meaning the second sentence.
Is this something that is grammartically incorrect but used often, or just plain wrong?

Thanks in advance... one more... if you found any errors in my writing above, please correct me. It would be greatly appreciated.