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Hotmale Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

What she did then was spending/spend ....

Hello,

can you please tell me the difference between these two sentences?

"What she did then was spending the next few years hiding."
"What she did then was spend the next few years hiding."

Is there any difference at all?

Thank you
  

Top answer

" This one is correct. "Spend" is really the infinitive, but the "to" is optional. What she did then was [to] spend the next few years [in] hiding.

— Avangi

  • " This one is correct.
  • "Spend" is really the infinitive, but the "to" is optional.
  • What she did then was [to] spend the next few years [in] hiding.
  • " The gerund doesn't work here.
  • It would have to be, What she was doing then was spending the next few years hiding.
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2 Answers
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Hotmale"What she did then was spend the next few years hiding."
This one is correct. "Spend" is really the infinitive, but the "to" is optional.
What she did then was [to] spend the next few years [in] hiding.
Hotmale"What she did then was spending the next few years hiding."
The gerund doesn't work here.
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I see. Many thanks, Avangi Emotion: smile
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