"to verb" vs. "verb-ing" as the subject?

Question

I'm correcting some notebooks, and I can't figure out why I think

'Practising volleyball is hard'

is better than

'To practise volleyball is hard.'

Both seem correct grammatically, but I don't think a native speaker would ever say the latter in normal conversation.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Hi,
I think the choice suitability between the gerund form and infinitive form differs situation by situation. I think the infinitive form is better for this:

To me, to do well in anything takes a lot of practice.

A Cornish Pasty · Answer

AnonymousHi,
I think the choice suitability between the gerund form and infinitive form differs situation by situation. I think the infinitive form is better for this:

To me, to do well in anything takes a lot of practice.

This depends on what your meaning is.

If it is hard for you to do anything without practising a lot, you can say, "For me, doing anything well takes a lot of practice".

If you are just voicing your opinion that doing things well generally needs practice, you can say, "In my opinion, doing anything well takes a lot of practice".

Yoong Liat · Answer

Anonymous'Practising volleyball is hard'

Anonymous · Answer

In english, it sounds funny to start a sentence with "to+verb" because "to" is usually used as a connector so the verb dosent look lost in the sentence, and there's nothing to connect at the beggining.

As a rule (although english always has its exceptions) if you use "ing" whenever it's possible, and only use "to" when really necessary, you will sound more natural. Other than that just use your good taste on what you thinks sounds better because in sentences like the ones above, both have the exact same meaning.

"to verb" vs. "verb-ing" as the subject?

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