Verb as subject

Question

Hello,I'm having trouble deciding which of the following forms is correct:a) Finding a new job in this economy is going to be difficult.b) To find a new job in this economy is going to be difficult.c) Find a new job in this economy is going to be difficult.And conversely,d) It's going to be difficult finding a new job in this economy.e) It's going to be difficult to find a new job in this economy.I've always thought that a) and e) were the only correct versions, but I've recently stumbled upon a paragraph on "introductory it" in my book that has the following examples:f) To drive without a license is illigal --&gt; It is illegal to drive without a license.g) It is useless asking Sue to help.Sentence f) seems to validate b), while g) seems to validate d).I'm confused. Could you please help me?Thank youH.

RandomGuy · Accepted Answer

All except C are correct.

CalifJim · Answer

I'm having trouble deciding which of the following forms is correct:

a) Finding a new job in this economy is going to be difficult. Best choice.
b) To find a new job in this economy is going to be difficult. Less idiomatic than the previous choice, but OK.
c) Find a new job in this economy is going to be difficult. Not correct.

And conversely,

d) It's going to be difficult finding a new job in this economy. Good.
e) It's going to be difficult to find a new job in this economy. Equally good.

I've always thought that a) and e) were the only correct versions, but I've recently stumbled upon a paragraph on "introductory it" in my book that has the following examples:

f) To drive without a license is illigal --> It is illegal to drive without a license.
Correct. Also, Driving without a license is illegal.
g) It is useless asking Sue to help.
Correct. Also, It is useless to ask Sue to help.
___________________________

Though there are exceptions, and some cases where only one form is correct, the more idiomatic practice is to use the -ing form before the verb and the to form after the verb when there is a choice.

CJ

Henry74 · Answer

CalifJimthe more idiomatic practice is to use the -ing form before the verb and the to form after the verb when there is a choice

That is what I have encountered most; to a point where I'm having trouble accepting g). I guess it's just because it's completely new to me.
Is there a difference in meaning between these two?

g1) It's useless asking Sue to help.
g2) It's useless to ask Sue to help.

Maybe one similar to the difference between see someone do and see someone doing?

Regarding a) and b), I initially thought I could equate those to a sentence like

h) Swimming is good for your health.

where a to-infinitive is not possible.
Then it occurred to me that "swimming" is probably thought of as a noun in h), while the noun in a) would be "a finding".
Is the fact that "finding" is a present participle in a) what allows you to also have the option of a to-infinitive?

Thank you
H.

CalifJim · Answer

That is what I have encountered most; to a point where I'm having trouble accepting g). I guess it's just because it's totally new to me.
Is there a difference in meaning between these two? No, but I find the first one just a slight bit more casual. Given two sentences like this, where both are just fine, the one with the infinitive usually sounds very slightly more formal. The difference can be infinitesimal, so don't get yourself tied in knots trying to decide which to use!

g1) It's useless asking Sue to help.
g2) It's useless to ask Sue to help.

Maybe one similar to the difference between see some do and see someone doing? Yes, that is also a factor worth considering, but again, these are tiny differences between g1 and g2. The difference in formality, already only slight, is enough to mask any difference due to the continuous/non-continuous contrast.

________________

a) Finding a new job in this economy is going to be difficult.
b) To find a new job in this economy is going to be difficult.

Regarding a) and b), I initially thought I could equate those to a sentence like

h) Swimming is good for your health.

where a to-infinitive is not possible. It would be grammatical (barely), but very unidiomatic and awkward.
Then it occurred to me that "swimming" is probably thought of as a noun in h), while the noun in a) would be "a finding".
Is the fact that "finding" is a present participle (Actually, it's a gerund.) in a) what allows you to also have the option of a to-infinitive?
I don't know in any precise way, but it probably has to do with the rest of the sentence.
To find a new job in this economy is good for your health is equally bad. It seems to me that it has to be an activity of some kind (hence, -ing) to be good for your health.

CJ

Henry74 · Answer

I think I need some time to ponder over that, especially the second part of your post, regarding a) and b).
There's still something that I don't understand, but I'm not even sure what it is at the moment.

Thank you for your invaluable help
H.

CalifJim · Answer

Henry74There's still something that I don't understand, but I'm not even sure what it is at the moment.

Join the club! This is not an easy subject for any of us.

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Henry74g2) It's useless to ask Sue to help.

Here is a useful resource on the variety of ways we use infinitives.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/infinitive

"Useless" should be in the list under the topic: "We often use the to-infinitive with these adjectives to give opinions"

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