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Philippe Keb Blanchard Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Verb "to be" in the past tense -- followed by either a gerund or an infinitive
Hi -
I was wondering if someone could explain the definitive difference in meaning between these:
1a) "All I wanted WAS TO DIVE deeper"
1b) "All that mattered WAS TO PICK UP flowers"
and
2a) "All I wanted WAS DIVING deeper"
2b) "All that mattered WAS PICKING UP flowers"
Both sets sound correct (?) even if the gerund (set no. 2) seems to me to be more "correct."
But then I read somewhere that perhaps (set 1) meant those guys had never before dove deep or picked up flowers (even though they were very much looking forward to it and extremely eager to do it) --- whereas the (2nd set) guys did it often and wanted to do it more and more over and over and over again.
Does that make sense?
I've been trying to figure out if there's a definitive answer on this. I looked at all of those:
- verbs followed by infinitive - http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/verbs-followed-infinitive
- Verbs followed by gerund or infinitive - http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/verbs-followed-%E2%80%98ing%E2%80%99-or-%E2%80%98-infinitive%E2%80%99-1
- Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives (Different Meaning) - http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerund_or_infinitive_different_list.htm
...but I couldn't find a definitive answer for those "different-meaning" sentences specifically when the infinitive or gerund came after WAS or WERE.
Can someone please help? Thanks!
I was wondering if someone could explain the definitive difference in meaning between these:
1a) "All I wanted WAS TO DIVE deeper"
1b) "All that mattered WAS TO PICK UP flowers"
and
2a) "All I wanted WAS DIVING deeper"
2b) "All that mattered WAS PICKING UP flowers"
Both sets sound correct (?) even if the gerund (set no. 2) seems to me to be more "correct."
But then I read somewhere that perhaps (set 1) meant those guys had never before dove deep or picked up flowers (even though they were very much looking forward to it and extremely eager to do it) --- whereas the (2nd set) guys did it often and wanted to do it more and more over and over and over again.
Does that make sense?
I've been trying to figure out if there's a definitive answer on this. I looked at all of those:
- verbs followed by infinitive - http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/verbs-followed-infinitive
- Verbs followed by gerund or infinitive - http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/verbs-followed-%E2%80%98ing%E2%80%99-or-%E2%80%98-infinitive%E2%80%99-1
- Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives (Different Meaning) - http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/gerund_or_infinitive_different_list.htm
...but I couldn't find a definitive answer for those "different-meaning" sentences specifically when the infinitive or gerund came after WAS or WERE.
Can someone please help? Thanks!
Top answer
Due to the ambiguity of the following [All I wanted / All that mattered] was being destroyed. it might be better to stick with the infinitive (if that's what you mean). CJ
- Due to the ambiguity of the following [All I wanted / All that mattered] was being destroyed.
- it might be better to stick with the infinitive (if that's what you mean).
- CJ
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3 Answers
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Due to the ambiguity of the following
[All I wanted / All that mattered] was being destroyed.
it might be better to stick with the infinitive (if that's what you mean).
[All I wanted / All that mattered] was being destroyed.
it might be better to stick with the infinitive (if that's what you mean).
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The distinction seems accurate, though the second set is awkward. Set two seems more about principled behavior related to social expectations, whereas the first one seems to be more personal and specific to the speaker. I don't know the particular grammatical rules for what you describe, but there is something activated about the first set, while the second set indicates a STATE of action.
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Thank you CJ for helping me see what I was missing; It's all based upon a matter of TIME!
Both sets illustrate events that
Both sets illustrate events that
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