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TasmanTiger Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

~ ing ,~ed or to V or all ?

Hello,

I've got a question :

Galileo was one of the first people to apply / applying / applied mathematics to practical problems.

Which is correct ?

Good day !

TasmanTiger
  

Top answer

The ordinals ( first, second, third, ... last ) all take the full infinitive. first and last are the most commonly seen.

— CalifJim

  • The ordinals ( first, second, third, ...
  • last ) all take the full infinitive.
  • first and last are the most commonly seen.
  • the first people to apply ...
  • the last to arrive ...
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4 Answers
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The ordinals (first, second, third, ... last) all take the full infinitive. first and last are the most commonly seen.

... the first people to apply ...

... the last to arrive ...

CJ
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Thank you ,CJ

I got it.

One more question :

If 'applying' is used in this sentence, is it ungrammatical ?

TT
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TasmanTigerIf 'applying' is used in this sentence, is it ungrammatical ?
It's grammatical, but not at all idiomatic. It sounds strange because we almost never use the -ing form in those grammatical patterns.

CJ
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I appreciate it, CJ

I fully understand what you mean.

Good time !

TT
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