He got injured, in/ by /, / protecting her.

Question

I have learned that by -ing and in-ing are sometimes interchangeable for the same meaning, which is shocking to me and then I was wondering if - ing also can be used interchangeably with by- ing and in-ing?For example,He got injured by trying to protect her.He got injured in trying to protect her.He got injured, trying to protect her.I feel like they all mean the same thing and although they might be used for the same meaning, that does not mean they can be always interchangeable, and we should consider context, right? What do you think?Thank you so much as usual in advance.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hans51I feel like they all mean the same thing and although they might be used for the same meaning, that does not mean they can be always interchangeable,

It is difficult to consider all possibilities, but those 3 have the same meaning. 'By' seems a little awkward, but the other two are fine and common.

Hans51 · Answer

Thank you so much and come to think of it, I already asked this kind of question 2 years ago. Time flies

I am sorry about wasting your time but the answer you gave me was a little bit different, so have you changed your mind or is there a reason this time all of the three mean the same but not at that time?

Mister Micawber:

Omitting 'in' does not destroy the sentence structure, but it does alter the meaning. With 'in', the trying is a direct cause of the endangerment; without 'in', the endangerment is a side effect.

Thank you so much!

Mister Micawber · Answer

Hans51 so have you changed your mind

No, of course not. I simply elaborated more earlier.

Ozzourti · Answer

Hans51He got injured, trying to protect her.

The comma is unnecessary.

Hans51 · Answer

Thank you so much and again I got confused because I feel like there is not much meaning difference between 'had put his own life in danger' and 'got injured', so is there a reason 'by trying to...' was fine earlier and the same as 'in trying to...', but it seems awkward this time?

KJinCali79 · Answer

Hans51He got injured by trying to protect her.He got injured in trying to protect her.He got injured, trying to protect her.

In my opinion, the general meaning is the same, but there is a nuance.

"...by trying..." -- his injury was directly caused by trying to protect her. Example: Perhaps he shielded her from a flying object by blocking it with his arm, and, therefore, injured his arm.
"...in trying..." -- his injury occurred while trying to protect her. Or said another way, in (during) his efforts to protect her an injury occurred. Example: Perhaps he was running to shield her from a flying object, which he blocked with his arm, and while doing so he twisted his ankle.
"...trying..." -- could be either of the above.

All three indicate in general terms that the injury was a result of, or was connected to, his trying to protect her. The difference between "by" and "in" is the direct causation.

He got injured, in/ by /, / protecting her.

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