Start coughing vs. start to cough

0when did your cough (first) start?02br
00how long have you had your cough for?02br
00when did you first start coughing?02br
00Otherwise option 1 0-

1blockquote

01cite10ganesh7712cite12br
11b10H12b10ow long have you had your cough11del10 for12del10?12br
12br
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10No need for the "for."02br
02br
00(Don't forget to start your sentences with capital letters.)0-

0 01blockquote

01cite10Pter12cite10Doctor to patient with flu symptom:12br
101. When did you start coughing?12br
102. When did you start to cough?12br
12br
10Is only option 1 correct?12br
12blockquote

10 I have to say that option 1 is certainly the better of the two. Yet, option 2

0 CalifJim said:02br
00>>1. When did you start coughing?02br
00>The doctor wants to know when that period of coughing started.02br
00Very probably so. This is why I see another alternative, perhaps better: 02br
01i00When did your coughing start? 02i0-

0Naturally, people vary in their interpretations of what a poster is focused on.02br
00I didn't think that he wanted to know, as a matter of style, the best question to ask if he were a doctor asking a patient about a cough. But maybe he did.02br
02br
00I thought he was focused on the difference between the semantic implications of a gerund and an infinitive a

0Thank you very much to all of you. My concerns have been fully addressed indeed. Originally, I was focusing on the semantic difference between that of a gerund and an infinitive after start. However, all the helpful answers I got did enlighten me the variety of ways to express the same idea. Thanks a lot! 0-