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Simple question

What's the difference between someone say 

"I started working on something..."

And

"I started to work on something..."
thiagoh
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    Start, like try, is an aspectual verb referring to the circumstances around some action, state, or event. As such, it has its own grammar and usage, like all auxiliaries and near-auxiliaries. In particular, start with an infinitive complement is often subject to a Gricean implicature of non-completion, whereas start with a gerund isn't. I started to open it, but I found it wouldn't budge is OK, but not with I started opening it, which implies that some opening occurred. – John Lawler Jun 01 '18 at 22:19
  • John Lawler's answer clearly distinguishes this particular example from the more general claimed duplicate. Note that OP's 'say' licenses the broadened reply. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 02 '18 at 09:30
  • They have different implications is right. This concerns particularly verbs of starting (beginning) and finishing (stopping). – Lambie Oct 02 '18 at 20:26

2 Answers2

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I would say that the main difference is the structure of the verb. The first sentence utilizes a present participle while the second sentence uses an infinitive. (To+verb=infinitive.)

PS: For those that might argrue that "working" in this context is a gerund, I would suggest to look at 5.113 in the 17th edition of the CMS. There it says as follows: "A particple...can be modified only by an adverb. A gerund...can be modified only by an adjective." You'll see that "working" in this context can only be modified by an adverb. (E.g. I started working [tirelessly, frequently, etc.])

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No difference in meaning period both correct.

Keri
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