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Hans51 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

"I do not want you getting hurt / to get..."

I have seen this sentence, "I do not want you getting hurt." and I usually heard and say, "I do not want you to get hurt." like "want someone to V". And then Is there a meaning difference or nuance between

1) "I do not want you getting hurt."
2) "I do not want you to get hurt."

And I think that "to be" is omitted between "you" and "getting" like "I do not want you (to be) getting hurt."

What do you native English speakers think?

And some of my questions already answered have disappeared. Is there a system problem or is something wrong with me?

Thank you so much in advance.
  

Top answer

Arguably the "I don't want you verb-ing" form can have a stronger sense of prohibiting ongoing, regular or repeated activity, but in this particular case the difference in meaning seems vanishingly small. To me, the pattern with the "-ing" form seems a tad more informal. "I do not want you to be getting hurt" feels less usual to me.

— GPY

  • Arguably the "I don't want you verb-ing" form can have a stronger sense of prohibiting ongoing, regular or repeated activity, but in this particular case the difference in meaning seems vanishingly small.
  • To me, the pattern with the "-ing" form seems a tad more informal.
  • "I do not want you to be getting hurt" feels less usual to me.
  • I don't particularly feel that (1) is a shortened form.
  • I understand that there have recently been system problems causing loss of some messages and other issues.
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3 Answers
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Arguably the "I don't want you verb-ing" form can have a stronger sense of prohibiting ongoing, regular or repeated activity, but in this particular case the difference in meaning seems vanishingly small. To me, the pattern with the "-ing" form seems a tad more informal.

"I do not want you to be getting hurt" feels less usual to me. I don't particularly feel that (1) is a shortened
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GPYI don't want you verb-ing
This brings up the question, "Why not 'I don't want your verb-ing'?" given that so many people insist on the possessive before a gerund. The possessive sounds wrong to me, but doesn't it follow the traditional rule more closely? I find it puzzling, anyway.

CJ
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CalifJimThis brings up the question, "Why not 'I don't want your verb-ing'?" given that so many people insist on the possessive before a gerund.
Maybe it has something to do with "your + gerund" being a formal pattern, while "I don't want you verb-ing" feels more informal (though I suppose this begs the question as to why changing to "your" does not merely mak
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