Stagger to feet
Hello,
I turned around to notice the man stagger to his feet.
I turned around to notice the man staggering to his feet.
Is there a difference between the two?
Top answer
For catenatives that take both the bare infinitive and the -ing form, the difference is usually not a very big one. The bare infinitive suggests the entire action as a unit. The -ing form suggests at least some part of the action while it was in progress.
- For catenatives that take both the bare infinitive and the -ing form, the difference is usually not a very big one.
- The bare infinitive suggests the entire action as a unit.
- The -ing form suggests at least some part of the action while it was in progress.
- In this specific case, stagger means you watched the whole process up to and including the point when the man had got to his feet.
- staggering means you saw him in the act of struggling to get up but you might not have watched him all the way to the point where he was standing up.
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For catenatives that take both the bare infinitive and the -ing form, the difference is usually not a very big one. The bare infinitive suggests the entire action as a unit. The -ing form suggests at least some part of the action while it was in progress.
In this specific case, stagger means you watched the whole process up to and including the point when the man h
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