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Yunus Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

began with to or not?

She began writing when she was very young and I had walked a lot and my legs began to hurt.

First, the writer used to began + verb + ing and then he used to began + to + verb

what is the difference between those sentences?
  

Top answer

" is less so. I have 2 remarks, though - but a native may come and correct me - 1. I would use "started" in your first example, because (to me, again) "begin + -ing" sounds more like the beginning of a real/an actual activity (writing a letter, for instance) 2.

— Pieanne

  • " is less so.
  • I have 2 remarks, though - but a native may come and correct me - 1.
  • I would use "started" in your first example, because (to me, again) "begin + -ing" sounds more like the beginning of a real/an actual activity (writing a letter, for instance) 2.
  • You can't say "to began" ("began" is the past simple form), it's "to begin".
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9 Answers
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I can't give you the answer, Yunus, but I feel that "to begin + -ing" is more active, whereas "to begin + to + inf." is less so.

I have 2 remarks, though - but a native may come and correct me -

1. I would use "started" in your first example, because (to me, again) "begin + -ing" sounds more like the beginning of a real/an actual activity (writing a letter, for instance)
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Hi pieanne,

i didn't write to + began. i saw those sentence book of Barbara Vine which is called The House of Stairs. They are written another sentence that " I began going to see her in those summer holidays after my parents told me of my inheritance. I want to ask when will we use began to or began + ing. if you can help me i wi
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yunus,

Generally speaking, you can use the "-ing" form instead of the "to - " form when you refer to a habit.
The "-ing" form suggests the paraphrase "the habit of - ing", thus:

"She began (the habit of) writing when she was very young."

You would not say: "My legs began the habit of hurting after I had walked a lot", so here you say, "My legs began to
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thanks jim, i understand your correction to me. as you say we use -ing for our habit and we use to + verb for not habit. for instance, i am a football player and i can say: i began playing football when i was thirteen. another one, i say, i began to discuss when i saw her mistake. did i understand true?
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I believe you have understood the main point very well. Emotion: smile
Your examples are good. They illustrate perfectly the principle I
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YunusFirst, the writer used to began + verb + ing and then he used to began + to + verb

Sorry, Yunus, but the post was misleading!
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yes pieanne i agree with you, you're right. i hadn't written obviosly there. but jim helped me.
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CalifJimyunus,
Generally speaking, you can use the "-ing" form instead of the "to - " form when you refer to a habit.
The "-ing" form suggests the paraphrase "the habit of - ing", thus:
"She began (the habit of) writing when she was very young."
You would not say: "My legs began the habit of hurting after I had walked a lot", so here you say, "My legs be
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MikaelI've seen a lot of verbs that can take both the "ing" form and the "to -" form.
Can I generalize this rule and say that a verb takes the "ing" when it's a habit
No. You can't generalize. The most important part of that post is this: There is no strict rule about this.
MikaelDid I get the point?
Yes.
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