Interested

Question

Hi, Is there any difference between these two sentences? I am interested to learn French. I am interesting in learning French. Thanks,

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

I don't find the first one grammatical.

Minhhai2209 · Answer

@Grammar Geek: So we can use "to be interested to" with "see", "hear", "know" but not "learn"? I think "I am interested to learn French" means I find learning French interesting, while "I am interested in learning French" means I want to learn French.

CalifJim · Answer

clee62I am interested to learn French.
I am interesting in learning French.

Neither is grammatical.

I am interested in learning French.

But:

It is interesting to learn French.
___________________

As for your follow-up question, in the English that I speak, the use of be interested to is very restricted, as described below.

1. in the simple past tense with that. These are reactions to news. Substitute found it interesting for was interested, and you have essentially the same meaning.

Jack was interested to hear that Susan (had) won the prize. (Jack found it interesting to hear ...)

I was interested to learn that Fred had written poetry in his teens.
William was interested to discover that you would be presenting the awards.

2. in the simple past tense with an indirect question (who, what, where, when, why, how, whether, if). These show past interest in obtaining the answers to questions. Substitute curious for interested, and you have essentially the same meaning.

I was interested to see what would happen next. (I was curious to see ...)

The boys were interested to find out how the machine worked.
Jack was interested to hear whether Susan (had) won the prize.

3. with would and an indirect question. These show present interest in the answers to questions. Substitute like for be interested, and you have essentially the same meaning.

I would be interested to discover where the treasure is buried. (I would like to discover ...)

We would be interested to know why Susan (had) left the party so abruptly.
I think the committee would be interested to learn who stole the documents.

4. only with verbs that connote the acquisition of information: know, find out, learn, discover, hear, and see (when it means something like 'find out'). The clause that follows these verbs tells us which information we are concerned with.

5. You can substitute some other grammatical structure (usually a noun) for the full clause if the structure itself refers to some kind of information -- a piece of news, an answer to a question.

I would be interested to know the cause. (to know what the cause is/was)
I was interested to hear of his success. (to hear that he is/was successful)
My father would be interested to learn the truth of the matter. (to learn what the truth is/was)
_______________

I am interested to learn French doesn't work because it's in the present tense and "French" is not a piece of information.

_______________

I believe these are the most common patterns. Maybe others can add other patterns that are also in common use.

CJ

BarbaraPA · Answer

Oh dear. I didn't even notice that the second one was "interesting" instead of "interested." I'm sorry I missed that and thereby created a confusing response!

Interested

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions