Use of particple and infinitive

Question

I give two examples below1. I don't mind him staying at my home.2. It pains me to see my children not being taught well in school.Now my questions are below:a. Why is 'the participle' used after the pronoun 'him' in the first example, not 'the infinitive'?b. Why is 'the infinitive' used after the pronoun 'me' in the second example, not 'the participle'?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

roky0071
I give two examples below
1. I don't mind him staying at my home.
2. It pains me to see my children not being taught well in school.
Now my questions are below:
a. Why is 'the participle' used after the pronoun 'him' in the first example, not 'the infinitive'?
b. Why is 'the infinitive' used after the pronoun 'me' in the second example, not 'the participle'?

The choice between participle and infinitive is dependent on the expression that comes before it. That expression may be just a verb or a full phrase of some kind. These dependencies are just part of the rules of English. There is no logical reason why a participle is used with some expressions and an infinitive is used with others.

In your examples "I don't mind" and "It pains me" are the governing expressions.

"I don't mind" takes a participle (ing form). It does not take an infinitive. That's just how English works.

I don't mind washing dishes.
I don't mind spending money.
I don't mind the children playing on the lawn.

"It pains me" takes an infinitive (to form).

It pains me to tell you this. / It pains me to admit it.
It pains me to see what is happening.

There are hundreds of expressions in English like this. When they are followed by a verb, you must remember which form of the verb is the correct form. Of course, this is a big headache for students, but I think if you read a lot, you will automatically learn the correct patterns in time.

CJ

Use of particple and infinitive

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