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Vsuresh Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

to infinitive or participle

Hi

Please tell me which is correct here.

They have trouble breathing/to breathe in high altitude.

I think breathing sounds better as breathe is not a voluntary action.
  

Top answer

They have trouble breathing at high altitude.

— Ozzourti

  • They have trouble breathing at high altitude.
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17 Answers
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They have trouble breathing at high altitude.
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It must be "breathing". This has nothing to do with voluntary versus involuntary actions though. "have trouble" in this sense is always followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive.
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Thank you,ozzourti.
What do you think of to breathe there?
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vsureshWhat do you think of to breathe there?
I agree with GPY.
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vsureshwhich is correct
The -ing form is the only one that is correct after

have trouble
have difficulty
have problems
spend time
spend [amount of time, e.g. two hours]

(This is not a complete list.)

CJ
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Hi CJ
Please help me with this:

He started hallucinating /to hallucinate after he was administered that drug.
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Both are fine and mean the same in this context.
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'start' takes either form. No matter which you choose, you will be correct.

CJ
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