Two infinitives

Question

"To quit in the space is the same to quit in the corridor."Could someone kindly correct if it's alright grammatically?Thank in advance.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
To quit in the space is the same to quit in the corridor."
Could someone kindly correct if it's alright grammatically?

"To quit in the space is the same as to quit in the corridor."

However, it sounds more natural to say 'Quitting in the space is the same as quitting in the corridor'.

I have no idea what this sentence means or refers to.

Are the two definite articles required in your context?

Best wishes, Clive

Fandorin · Answer

It's just a piece of talking in one serial. Honestly, I'm freaking out about articles. It's my weak point.

The situation was: Agent Fox told the austronaut Colonel (call him so) he thought the world of him and was excited when Colonel had quitted in the space. The latter said something I had written above. He meant that quitting wasn't a very extraordinary event. Because it was in my language I can't formulate it exactly and I I'm struggling how it was. Could you give me your opinion, maybe in idiomatic way?
Could you advice me something about articles to get improved?

Clive · Answer

Hi,
It's just a piece of talking in one serial. Honestly, I'm freaking out about articles. It's my weak point.

The situation was: Agent Fox told the austronaut Colonel (call him so) he thought the world of him and was excited when Colonel had quitted in the space. The latter said something I had written above. He meant that quitting wasn't a very extraordinary event. Because it was in my language I can't formulate it exactly and I I'm struggling how it was. Could you give me your opinion, maybe in idiomatic way?

Perhaps
Quitting in space is the same as quitting anywhere else.
Quitting in space is the same as quitting on Earth.

Could you advice me something about articles to get improved? Relax, and just read a lot of English.

Clive

Richard_s · Answer

In that case, the quote is probably:
To quit in space is the same as to quit in the corridor.

As Clive points out, you need the as in the sentence (always write the same as)

The infinitives can be used instead of the gerunds to give it more of a sense of 'if you do it', other than that, as Clive says, in ordinary speech we would usually use the gerund (~ing) form.

As for articles, you are right; they are very difficult to learn. The good news is that they are not terribly important for making yourself understood. If you miss a few articles, or put them incorrectly, most native speakers can understand what you mean. On the other hand, if you omit a subject in a clause or omit the verb, or use the wrong form of the verb, it can be really hard for a native speaker to understand.

A lot of students find the following process useful for understanding articles:

1. Identify the noun

2. decide if the noun is countable or non-count.

3.1 If it is countable, decide if it is singular or plural.

3.1.1 If it is singular, you need to decide if it is general or specific

3.1.1.1 If is is general, use a or an

3.1.1.2 if it is specific, use the

3.1.2 If it is plural, you need to decide if it is general or specific

3.1.2.1 If is is general, don't use an article

3.1.2.2 if it is specific, use the

3.2 If it is non-count, decide if it is general or specific

3.2.1 if it is general, don't use an article

3.2.2 if it is specific, use the

If you follow that process, it will make it easier to decide if an article is needed or not; then you only need to worry about exceptions, idioms, and all of the extra tiny rules.

In your case above, space is general and non-count.

Fandorin · Answer

CliveHi,
It's just a piece of talking in one serial. Honestly, I'm freaking out about articles. It's my weak point.
The situation was: Agent Fox told the austronaut Colonel (call him so) he thought the world of him and was excited when Colonel had quitted in the space. The latter said something I had written above. He meant that quitting wasn't a very extraordinary event. Because it was in my language I can't formulate it exactly and I I'm struggling how it was. Could you give me your opinion, maybe in idiomatic way?

Perhaps
Quitting in space is the same as quitting anywhere else.
Quitting in space is the same as quitting on Earth.

Could you advice me something about articles to get improved? Relax, and just read a lot of English.

Clive

I'm trying. Thank you, Clive.

Fandorin · Answer

Thank you so much, Richard_s. [Y]

It really helps me.
Thank you, guys.

CalifJim · Answer

FandorinI'm freaking out about articles.

It's not just you! A lot of learners have trouble with this aspect of English!

Here are a few principles you might keep in mind. (It is not a comprehensive list!)
As a first approximation or default strategy, use the with every concrete noun, because most of the time you know which person(s), which substance(s), which thing(s), or which place(s) you're referring to. Knowing which is what triggers the.
The sugar is on the table. The phone rang. The men poured the cement into the molds. The bus went from the post office to the bank. The boys walked on the sand. The children played on the lawn. The president signed the documents.
____

Don't use any article with unmodified abstract nouns, for example, faith, space, wisdom, happiness (in fact almost all the -ness words), etc. [Note that it makes no sense to say you know which wisdom or which happiness you're talking about, so the is not appropriate.]
Treat others with kindness. Love and hate are powerful emotions. Wisdom comes with time.

____

Don't use any article with proper nouns. John, Mr. Smith, etc. [This one is easy; you probably know it well already.]
____

For a single person or object, use a (or an) if you aren't saying which person or object you're talking about, but are just talking about any one of them, it doesn't matter which one. (You might not be saying which one because you don't know which one or because you don't want to tell which one or because it's not important which one.) Note that a/an can be paraphrased as a certain or any, it doesn't matter which.
I saw a man with a red raincoat today. (I saw a certain man, it doesn't matter which man, with a certain red raincoat, it doesn't matter which raincoat. This suggests that I've never seen this man before, nor this raincoat.)
Compare:
I saw the man with the red raincoat today. (I saw that man whom we already know about with that red raincoat which we already know about. This suggests that on previous occasions I've seen the same man wearing the same raincoat.)
____
For substances (uncountables), use no article at all to indicate it doesn't matter which. (These are singular nouns.)

Add sugar if you like it sweeter. (Not any particular sugar. Just any sugar you can find.)
Peter threw water on the fire. (Not any particular water. Just any water that Peter was able to find.)
Do you like chocolate? (Not this piece of chocolate or that piece of chocalate, but chocolate in general.)
I need money to pay the rent. (Not the money that you have; not the money that George has; not the money that Jane has; but any money at all, it doesn't matter which money it is.)

____
Plurals follow the same general pattern as substances. Don't use an article if you're not saying which persons or things you're talking about. You're talking about "anonymous" things.
We used bricks to make the path. (No indication of which bricks. It doesn't matter which bricks. It's not as if you've identified these bricks as a special group of bricks. They're "anonymous".)

Joseph reads books and magazines in his spare time. (No indication of which books or which magazines. It doesn't matter which. We don't identify these books and magazines as a special group. They're "anonymous".)
I bought tomatoes for the salad. (No indication of which tomatoes. It doesn't matter which. They are "anonymous" tomatoes.)
____
Post your sentences, and we'll take a look at them.
CJ

Two infinitives

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