By Gerunds, Difference between

This is one of those tricky things that native English speakers have difficulty explaining. I found a couple websites explaining the difference between the two, and I've included links to them on my blog here (see the links under "Infinitive"). Hope those help!

Aperisic wrote: Personally, terminology of grammar are just labels. The important thing that counts is the ability to write and express. In order to achieve that you have to start with the precise grammar rules and slowly overcome their stringency, once you clearly understand why the rules...

Cool Breeze wrote:Prefer is one of the verbs whose object can be an infinitive or a gerund I know. What I'm interested in is the subtle difference between the two.I wonder if we can say that there is no difference whatsoever between the two...

Cool Breeze wrote: Taka wrote:(1) I prefer going there alone.(2) I prefer to go there alone.Roughly speaking, they might be the same. But what exactly is the difference between those two?Prefer is one of the verbs whose object can be an infinitive or a gerund and there is no difference in the...

Taka wrote:(1) I prefer going there alone.(2) I prefer to go there alone.Roughly speaking, they might be the same. But what exactly is the difference between those two?Prefer is one of the verbs whose object can be an infinitive or a gerund and there is no difference in the meaning.CheersCB

Well.. as far as the difference between present participle and geruind is concerned, its quite simple. present participles are part adjectives and part verbs while gerunds are part nouns and part varbs. Present Participle Examples: 1. Moses entered the burning bushes. ...

Nomad04 wrote: One more question: Is there any difference between first and second sentences?Which sentence would you prefer to use in real life situation? Situation: A man, soiled with machine oil, is speaking to his neighbor:1) I regret having bought the car.2) I regret that I've bought the...

Goodman, MrP thanks for your help.It's really important for me to know how native speakers perceive my written and spoken English. One more question: Is there any difference between first and second sentences?Which sentence would you prefer to use in real life situation? Situation: A man,...

Hello Daxiaoaixad Daxiaoaixad wrote: Is there exist a slight difference between "continue to do" and "continue doing"? In the sense that "continue to do" indicates that you finished doing something, then continue to do something else. While "continue doing" indicates that you are doing something,...

Thank you all for answers! Paco, I like your rules. I think I can use it to explain two examples of Goodman: ! He likes to swim for 30 minitues after the class. * He likes swimming. In sentence !, swim is an action (V2) after another action "have the class" (V1), so we should...