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Anonymous Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Stopped to smoke
hey
In my grammar book it says that Stop can be followed by either the infinitive or the continuous form.
So for example: I stopped smoking or I stopped to smoke
This may seem a small niggly problem but surely "to smoke" isn't the infinitive but the preposition "to" for purpose and the bare infinitive. For example you could also say "I stopped for a cigarette" using the "for" preposition for purpose.
What do you think?
Jack Vanstone
English Teacher in Madrid
In my grammar book it says that Stop can be followed by either the infinitive or the continuous form.
So for example: I stopped smoking or I stopped to smoke
This may seem a small niggly problem but surely "to smoke" isn't the infinitive but the preposition "to" for purpose and the bare infinitive. For example you could also say "I stopped for a cigarette" using the "for" preposition for purpose.
What do you think?
Jack Vanstone
English Teacher in Madrid
Top answer
Your grammar book is right. "I stopped smoking" = "I quit smoking" (I don't smoke anymore), or I just ground my cigarette on a special occasion for a particular reason. "I stopped to smoke" = I came to a rest to light a cigarette.
- Your grammar book is right.
- "I stopped smoking" = "I quit smoking" (I don't smoke anymore), or I just ground my cigarette on a special occasion for a particular reason.
- "I stopped to smoke" = I came to a rest to light a cigarette.
- "To" expresses purpose here.
- It's not a preposition.
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2 Answers
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Your grammar book is right.
"I stopped smoking" = "I quit smoking" (I don't smoke anymore), or I just ground my cigarette on a special occasion for a particular reason.
"I stopped to smoke" = I came to a rest to light a cigarette. "To" expresses purpose here. It's not a preposition. The sentence is synomym to "I stopped for a cigarette (to have a cigarette)"
"I stopped smoking" = "I quit smoking" (I don't smoke anymore), or I just ground my cigarette on a special occasion for a particular reason.
"I stopped to smoke" = I came to a rest to light a cigarette. "To" expresses purpose here. It's not a preposition. The sentence is synomym to "I stopped for a cigarette (to have a cigarette)"
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Your explanation makes sense. Yet, if we accept that "to" is a preposition in such cases, we'll have to reorganize our grammar rule about prepositions and gerunds as follows:
The only verb form which can follow a preposition is the gerund ("-ing" form) except when the preposition is "to" and the "to" shows purpose. In this case the verb form is the base form of the v
The only verb form which can follow a preposition is the gerund ("-ing" form) except when the preposition is "to" and the "to" shows purpose. In this case the verb form is the base form of the v
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