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H M Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

to ask or for asking

Can you explain why we use #1 instead of #2 or #3?

1. I don't have the courage to ask my boss to lend me his car.

2. I don't have the courage for asking my boss to lend me his car.

3. I don't have the courage asking my boss to lend me his car.

In my sense, I naturally use #1, but I can't explain why the others are not right.

Thank you in advance!
  

Top answer

H M In my sense, I naturally use #1, but I can't explain why the others are not right. #2 and #3 are not correct because they are not #1.

— Canadian45

  • H M In my sense, I naturally use #1, but I can't explain why the others are not right.
  • #2 and #3 are not correct because they are not #1.
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7 Answers
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H MIn my sense, I naturally use #1, but I can't explain why the others are not right.
#2 and #3 are not correct because they are not #1.
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Ha ha, thanks!
But I haven't got it yet...why the others don't sound natural??
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H MCan you explain why we use #1 instead of #2…
It’s just not natural to say have the courage for [-ing form phrase]. However, if someone asked you Why don’t you ask your boss to lend you his car? you could naturally answer I don’t have the courage for that.
H M…or #3?
It’s just not natural.
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Thank you very much for your explanation!
It's really helpful! :-)
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H MBut I haven't got it yet. Why don't the others don't sound natural??
Because we English speakers don't hear people say them. What is natural in any given language is what is normally said. What is unnatural is what people don't say.
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Ok, I got it.
As you say, languages don't just follow their grammars.

And thank you very much for your correction in my English!
I really appreciate that!
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H M languages don't just follow their grammars.
Exactly. Following the grammar is only the first step. After you master the grammar, you need to understand what is idiomatic (natural) and what is not idiomatic. Sometimes there are many grammatical ways of saying the same thing, but not all of them are idiomatic. After you master what is idiomatic, the next
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