Infinitive or -ing?
- 54
- 6
- 2
Today, I will try to write a text in which I will use, on purpose, infinitive and verbs ending with -ing. Why so? Because I have some difficulties to know when use one or the other. Last month, in a short text I had to translate into English, I made a mistake relating to that : I wrote ''he might have delayed to give the alert'' and the corrector said that I should wrote ''giving''. I don't understand why yet! ^^
So here's some sentences :
I don't like skiing, because I am scared to fall.
I do a workout five days per week to lose some weight.
Lang-8 is a website for writing in a second language.
After I will have wrote this text, I will go to eat supper.
Two weeks ago, I have had a parking ticket. I had it for forgetting to put some coins in the parking meter. So, I will have to pay 42 dollars for having forgetten that.
I'm reading an Agatha Christie's novel : The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the French Translation). I have another Hercule Poirot novel in French to read and after, I will only read the next in English. I like reading in English.
I am lacking ideas, so I will end this entry here. Thank you for correcting me again!
So here's some sentences :
I don't like skiing, because I am scared to fall.
I do a workout five days per week to lose some weight.
Lang-8 is a website for writing in a second language.
After I will have wrote this text, I will go to eat supper.
Two weeks ago, I have had a parking ticket. I had it for forgetting to put some coins in the parking meter. So, I will have to pay 42 dollars for having forgetten that.
I'm reading an Agatha Christie's novel : The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the French Translation). I have another Hercule Poirot novel in French to read and after, I will only read the next in English. I like reading in English.
I am lacking ideas, so I will end this entry here. Thank you for correcting me again!
Today, I will try to write a text in which I will use, on purpose, infinitives and verbs ending with -ing.
Because I have some difficulties knowing when to use one or the other.
Last month, in a short text that I had to translate into English, I made a mistake relating to that : I wrote ''he might have delayed to give the alert'' and the corrector said that I should have written ''giving''.
I don't like skiing because I am scared to fall.
After I write this text, I will go to eat supper.
Two weeks ago, I got a parking ticket.
I got it for forgetting to put some coins in the parking meter.
I'm reading an Agatha Christie's novel : The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the French Translation).
That is not a gerund. "I am reading" is the present continuous verb tense.
I have another Hercule Poirot novel in French to read and after that, I will only read the next in English.
"After" is a preposition. A preposition must always have an object.
I am lacking ideas, so I will end this entry here.
"Lacking" is not a gerund. This verb tense is present continuous.
Thank you for correcting my English again!
"Present participles" can be used as:
(1) nouns <-- gerunds
(2) adjectives:
"The running man jumped on the train." <--- adjective
"I saw a man eating food." <--- adjective
.....
(3) "* continuous" verb tenses
The man is running. <--- continuous verb
The man was running. <--- continuous verb
The man had been running. <--- continuous verb
The man will be running. <--- continuous verb
The man would have been running. <--- continuous verb
.....
Deciding when to use infinitives and gerunds is extremely difficult. I do not know any rules... sorry.
Today, I will try to write a text in which I will use, on purpose, infinitives and verbs ending with -ing.
Je n'ai pas un problème avec « will » ici, mais c'est pas vraiment nécessaire.
Last month, in a short text I had to translate into English, I made a mistake related to that : I wrote ''he might have delayed to give the alert'' and the corrector said that I should have written ''giving''.
On peut dire « should write », ou « should have written », mais on ne peut pas utiliser « wrote » dans un temps composé comme ça.
I do a workout five days a week to lose some weight.
Je préfère « a » ici.
After I write / I've written this text, I will go to eat supper.
Le future antérieur n'existe pas en anglais ! :-) On peut choisir l'un ou l'autre ici.
So, I will have to pay 42 dollars for having forgotten that.
C'est « forget forgot forgotten ».
Chez les américains, on a aussi quelques astuces amusantes avec « get got got » et « get got gotten » : http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/gotten.html Mais on peut les ignorer, bien sûr ! Les anglais ne les comprendre pas non plus. :-)
Il n'y a pas de règles très simples, je pense. C'est tout à fait comme français :
Je veux faire…
Je essayer _de_ faire…
Je commencer _à_ faire…
Je dois apprendre les règles par cœur ici, et lire assez pour pouvoir deviner un peu mieux. C'est le même en anglais : mémoriser et lire.
Maybe the next time I will write with a Bescherelle, for seeing what can I do or not.