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Our application prints progress messages. Which verb form passes better for them: gerund or infinitive? Please compare:

$ ./my-documentation-app
Copy documents...Done
Index documentation...Done
Open documentation...Done

vs

$ ./my-documentation-app
Copying documents...Done
Indexing documentation...Done
Opening documentation...Done
Pavel Shishpor
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    If the first part comes up at the start of the routine and Done comes up at the end, you should use the -ing form. If they both appear at the same time, it doesn't matter. – John Lawler Apr 20 '22 at 15:39
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    The second is the more typical way that it's done. Infinitives are usually used when telling the user what to do, gerunds are used when describing what the computer is doing. – Barmar Apr 20 '22 at 22:48

0 Answers0