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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
"it is hard work -ing" : gerunds vs infinitives after nouns
Hi folks,
Consider the following sentences:
a) "It is hard work picking cherries all day."
b) "It is hard work to pick cherries all day."
Are both acceptable to you? We're probably all familiar with the usage of gerunds vs. infinitives after verbs, but I recently had a student ask me when a gerund or an infinitive should be used after a noun. It's not a topic I've had to address in the past, so it set me thinking.
In (a) and (b) above, the verb phrase following the noun "work" provides the content meaning for the filler subject "it." The sentences are equivalent to:
(a1) "Picking cherries all day is hard work."
(b1) "To pick cherries all day is hard work."
When I hear (a) and (b), both seem acceptable to me, although I think I would favor (a) in conversation. (a1) is acceptable; (b1) strikes me as outdated grammar. How do other speakers feel?
But this pattern does not generalize to other constructions. For me, in the above sentences, (a), (b) and (a1) are acceptable. This pattern seems reversed in other situations. Consider these:
(c) "It is my favorite thing picking cherries."
(d) "It is my favorite thing to pick cherries."
(c1) "Picking cherries is my favorite thing."
(d1) "To pick cherries is my favorite thing."
For me, (d) and (c1) are acceptable, while (c) and (d1) are not. (c) is an error and (d1) again seems Elizabethan. The pattern of acceptability has changed, and all I've done is change the noun phrase in the object position (and I have substituted a noune phrase that fits semantically, I haven't thrown in something nonsensical like "my sister's dog").
Does anyone know a general rule for using gerunds or infinitives following nouns? I don't have a reference handy that addresses the topic, and I can't seem to derive a rule. Does it depend on the noun in the object position?
Thanks for any help!
GS
Consider the following sentences:
a) "It is hard work picking cherries all day."
b) "It is hard work to pick cherries all day."
Are both acceptable to you? We're probably all familiar with the usage of gerunds vs. infinitives after verbs, but I recently had a student ask me when a gerund or an infinitive should be used after a noun. It's not a topic I've had to address in the past, so it set me thinking.
In (a) and (b) above, the verb phrase following the noun "work" provides the content meaning for the filler subject "it." The sentences are equivalent to:
(a1) "Picking cherries all day is hard work."
(b1) "To pick cherries all day is hard work."
When I hear (a) and (b), both seem acceptable to me, although I think I would favor (a) in conversation. (a1) is acceptable; (b1) strikes me as outdated grammar. How do other speakers feel?
But this pattern does not generalize to other constructions. For me, in the above sentences, (a), (b) and (a1) are acceptable. This pattern seems reversed in other situations. Consider these:
(c) "It is my favorite thing picking cherries."
(d) "It is my favorite thing to pick cherries."
(c1) "Picking cherries is my favorite thing."
(d1) "To pick cherries is my favorite thing."
For me, (d) and (c1) are acceptable, while (c) and (d1) are not. (c) is an error and (d1) again seems Elizabethan. The pattern of acceptability has changed, and all I've done is change the noun phrase in the object position (and I have substituted a noune phrase that fits semantically, I haven't thrown in something nonsensical like "my sister's dog").
Does anyone know a general rule for using gerunds or infinitives following nouns? I don't have a reference handy that addresses the topic, and I can't seem to derive a rule. Does it depend on the noun in the object position?
Thanks for any help!
GS
Top answer
Your observations seem accurate to me. All of the options you cite are correct and "acceptable," and I agree with your choices in structures where one form is more natural than the other. I don't know of any rules, but I'm sure a diligent search would turn something up.
- Your observations seem accurate to me.
- All of the options you cite are correct and "acceptable," and I agree with your choices in structures where one form is more natural than the other.
- I don't know of any rules, but I'm sure a diligent search would turn something up.
- Anonymous I recently had a student ask me when a gerund or an infinitive should be used after a noun.
- So we can discount the four sentences which begin with the verbals.
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1 Answers
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Your observations seem accurate to me.
All of the options you cite are correct and "acceptable," and I agree with your choices in structures where one form is more natural than the other.
I don't know of any rules, but I'm sure a diligent search would turn something up.
All of the options you cite are correct and "acceptable," and I agree with your choices in structures where one form is more natural than the other.
I don't know of any rules, but I'm sure a diligent search would turn something up.
AnonymousI recently had a student ask me when a gerund or an infinitive should be used
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