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What is going on here?

It started to rain. It started raining.

Both are OK to my ear when start is in the simple past. But then…

It is starting to rain. (OK) It is starting raining (obviously wrong!)

What is the rule here? Why is the gerund wrong to my ear in the second sentence when the tense is present continuous???

meepyer
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    I don't know that there is a rule or explanation. It is starting raining just isn't idiomatic English. – Kate Bunting Nov 18 '21 at 09:57
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    Does this answer your question? Is it correct to use two present participles sequentially? << CGEL pp 1243-4: The double-ing constraint: Some verbs that license gerund-participial complements cannot themselves occur in the gerund-participle form when they have such a complement. Compare: i a. They started quarreling. - - - b. (*) They are starting quarreling. The succession of gerund-participles in [i.b/ii.b] is excluded by what is known as the 'double-ing constraint'. >> – Edwin Ashworth Nov 18 '21 at 12:55
  • Thank you so much Kate and Edwin. Thanks for the link Edwin! – meepyer Nov 18 '21 at 14:56

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