Hi all,
I' m just wondering what is the difference in meaning between the following two sentences.
It's not so easy being male vs. It's not so easy to be male
In particular, is the first sentence grammatical? That sentence reminds me of "nice meeting you!".
Is it safe to say that the first sentence has the same grammatical structure as that of "nice meeting you"?
Thank you for your answer in advance!!
scw
I' m just wondering what is the difference in meaning between the following two sentences.
It's not so easy being male vs. It's not so easy to be male
In particular, is the first sentence grammatical? That sentence reminds me of "nice meeting you!".
Is it safe to say that the first sentence has the same grammatical structure as that of "nice meeting you"?
Thank you for your answer in advance!!
scw
"Being male is not
easy," is grammatical in my opinion. It's not missing anything, while "Nice meeting you" lacks a subject and a verb.
Both the versions you quote are often used with the same intention. I think it's just another case of the infinitive and the gerund being interchangeable. The gerund is probably more common, as in the popular song, "It's Not Easy Being Green." To me, it stresses the daily business of "being," more than does the infinitive.

Both the versions you quote are often used with the same intention. I think it's just another case of the infinitive and the gerund being interchangeable. The gerund is probably more common, as in the popular song, "It's Not Easy Being Green." To me, it stresses the daily business of "being," more than does the infinitive.
This is the same old problem: infinitive or gerund?
It's not easy to find a rule of thumb, you just have to follow... your instinct. But I just wrote "It's not easy to find..." and not "It's not easy finding...".
My rule of thumb that is supposed to keep me out of trouble is to use the infinitive, unless it's the subject.
Finding a rule is difficult.
It's difficult to find a rule.
Sometimes I can't make up my mind though, and I guess there's little difference:
The most difficult thing was to answer all the questions in time.
The most difficult thing was answering all the questions in time.
Just my random opinion.
It's not easy to find a rule of thumb, you just have to follow... your instinct. But I just wrote "It's not easy to find..." and not "It's not easy finding...".
My rule of thumb that is supposed to keep me out of trouble is to use the infinitive, unless it's the subject.
Finding a rule is difficult.
It's difficult to find a rule.
Sometimes I can't make up my mind though, and I guess there's little difference:
The most difficult thing was to answer all the questions in time.
The most difficult thing was answering all the questions in time.
Just my random opinion.

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