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Mikael Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Exercises for doing sth vs exercises to do sth

She showed me some exercises for strengthening my lower back.
She showed me some exercises to strengthen my lower back.

Do both sentences have the same meaning? Are they grammatically correct?
  

Top answer

Your sentences are grammatically correct. They have almost exactly the same meaning. The only difference I can detect is that the second one can be used to mean that it was her purpose to strengthen your back, and that's why she showed you the exercises.

  • Your sentences are grammatically correct.
  • They have almost exactly the same meaning.
  • The only difference I can detect is that the second one can be used to mean that it was her purpose to strengthen your back, and that's why she showed you the exercises.
  • The first sentence cannot be interpreted that way.
  • In the most typical usage, however, you want to say that the exercises have back-strengthening properties, and either sentence can be used to convey that meaning.
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1 Answers
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Your sentences are grammatically correct. They have almost exactly the same meaning.

The only difference I can detect is that the second one can be used to mean that it was her purpose to strengthen your back, and that's why she showed you the exercises. The first sentence cannot be interpreted that way.

In the most typical usage, however, you want to say that the exercises

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