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Is the meaning the same or is infinitive preferential for showing habit?

When I pour tea I like to put the milk in first.
When I pour tea I like putting the milk in first.

Revlis Lain
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    For one thing, "I like to put the milk in first" has the first person in reference, the alternative does not. What do you think? – Kris Jun 25 '15 at 06:36
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    I have to admit that I don't understand your 'first person in reference' question. The milk remains an object in both constructions. Are you referring to a metalingual/semantic construction? – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 07:02
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    @RevlisLain The first example has the effect of connecting the subject - 'I'- with the 'put'. In the second that connection is lost and it could be someone else who is doing the 'putting'. In this particular example I definitely prefer the use of the infinitive. – WS2 Jun 25 '15 at 08:06
  • @Revlis Lain in the first example you put milk in and you like it. The second example implies two possibilities: either you or another person can put milk in and you like that putting. –  Jun 25 '15 at 08:50
  • @WS2;@Amande: This has piqued my interest. Are you saying that by using the -ing form in this construction that it can be a misrelated participle? What about, I like to eat breakfast vs. I like eating breakfast. I don't see a possibility to misinterpret the subject in that construction or is your point more of a contextual thing that involves the activity of food preparation. Thanks for the rather interesting discussion. – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 09:04
  • It's not about food preparation but about context as you have already noted. In some instances ambiguity is possible. – Kris Jun 25 '15 at 11:48
  • Prof. Lawler had said "Whether to use an infinitive with to, an infinitive without to, or a gerund in a clause is determined by the predicate (verb, adjective, or noun), or by the construction it's in -- not by whether it follows an adjective. Different adjectives take different complements and participate in different constructions. There is no "easy rule". " http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/132295/adjective-to-infinitive-vs-gerund – Kris Jun 25 '15 at 11:54
  • "... verbs can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive with a change in meaning." http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/gerunds-and-infinitives-verbs-4.html – Kris Jun 25 '15 at 12:24
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    @Revlis Lain Whether or not there is ambiguity depends on context in my opinion. I like eating breakfast does not seem ambiguous as regards the subject. But this example carries a connotation in regard to eating i.e. you like the way you eat rather than the breakfast itself IMHO. In the example with the infinitive, the emphasis is on the breakfast which you like to eat. –  Jun 25 '15 at 13:31
  • @Kris Thanks for the quote, but I think in my discussion with Rogermue down below we've already clarified that this falls into a type of verb construction that doesn't change meanings. However, the point of discussion is that Swan claims that the infinitive in this context does hold the function of conferring a habitual property, whereas, the -ing form denotes enjoyment of the action. My question was in descriptive grammar studies whether that holds true. I'd also like to know if other usage experts have different insights concerning this or if it's generally agreed upon. – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 17:12
  • @Amande I think it is an interesting point. I wanna think about this a little bit. I really appreciate the new way to examine the construction. – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 17:14

3 Answers3

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There really is no difference in these two because this is a casual statement and people don't really think too hard about these types of things when speaking. However, if pressed, I would say that to put focuses more on your habitual order of doing things, while putting focuses more on the pleasure you receive by doing it.

Jim
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  • I feel the same way, but felt confused because Swan's, Practical English Usage, writes that -ing form is for enjoying, whereas the infinitive form is for habit or choice. I wonder if informal AmE has already blended the meanings of the two. Perhaps it's more strict in BrE? – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 06:33
  • @Revlin: I have never heard that 'gerund for enjoyment' rule before. I'm a native BrE speaker. – Jascol Jun 25 '15 at 07:25
  • @Jascol: When usage rules are used in Swan and they don't quite gel with me, I just assume it's a British thing. Now who am I supposed to blame it on? – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 07:44
  • @RevlisLain- What you quote Swan as saying (-ing for enjoyment, infinitive for habit or choice) is, interestingly because I've never read Swan, exactly what I said. So I don't understand how you feel the same, but are confused by Swan's statement- You should feel satisfied, not confused ;-) – Jim Jun 25 '15 at 17:07
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    @Revlis Lain It seems to me that Jim's comments about pleasure and a habitual order are the same as rules from Swan's book as quoted by you. :) So there is no contradiction between Swan's statements and Jim's opinion. –  Jun 25 '15 at 19:03
  • @Amande Yeah, actually I see that as well. I have spent more time with grammar books than people the last few weeks. Apparently I didn't read his answer as carefully as I should have. – Revlis Lain Jun 26 '15 at 01:35
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After a certain number of verbs you can use to-infinitive or gerund with almost the same meaning. Verbs of perference (or non-preference) such as

  • to like, love, prefer, hate

belong to this group. Also

  • to begin, start, continue

and

  • to intend.
rogermue
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  • Are you referencing 299.9-11 from Swan? If you are I'm looking at 299.9: "Like + infinitive is used to talk about choices and habits. Compare: I like climbing/to climb mountains (= I enjoy climbing); When I pour tea I like to put the milk in first. (= I choose to; it's my habit.)" – Revlis Lain Jun 25 '15 at 07:41
  • No. I took it from my old school grammar. I wanted to give a web link, but I found no side which presented only this grammar point. They all tend to treat the whole problem inf/ger and get into a muddle without a reasonable arrangement for quick reference. As a general rule, when you use the gerund you speak more in a general way. – rogermue Jun 25 '15 at 07:50
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In my opinion, gerunds represent habits and things you enjoy regularly. I base this on the "ing" which for English speakers represents action now.

I feel that Infinitives represent potential and possibilities. One place you can find this is in Hamlet's soliloquy. He doesn't say "being or not being," he says "to be or not to be." He also uses the infinitive in 9 other places in that soliloquy. The context helps give the infinitives the meaning. I strongly feel that research into visual imagery created in the brain when hearing sentences would demonstrate this.

As was pointed out in another post, trying to figure out the difference in meaning with isolated sentences like this (or ones which are "locked", meaning it is not really possible to add more to the sentence) is an exercise in futility because there is no context. Putting the sentences into a context or creating a reason for saying them would help differentiate the meaning. "When I pour tea," is not a meaning or a context. When you pour tea at Grandma's once a year? When you pour tea every morning with breakfast? When you pour tea for the Queen if she should visit you?

I also think that speech mirroring affects choice of words. So, if someone asks "What do you like to do?" a speaker will unconsciously mirror and say "I like to..." Same with the gerund.

michael_timofeev
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