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Possible Duplicate:
When should a verb be followed by a gerund instead of an infinitive?

What's the difference between the two:

  • What materials do they prefer working with?
  • What materials do they prefer to work with?
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Liliana Carrizo
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    Very little if any. Did you think there would be? If so, maybe you should explain why. – J.R. Aug 29 '12 at 18:58
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    Related to various degrees: When should a verb be followed by a gerund instead of an infinitive, Why are the gerund and infinitive equally acceptable for some verbs, but not others, “I like to do (be) something” vs “I like doing (being) something”, Catenatives followed by infinitives and gerunds. – RegDwigнt Aug 29 '12 at 19:17
  • Prefer is another mental intention verb, like try, and governs much the same type of complement. – John Lawler Aug 29 '12 at 20:41
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    @RegDwigнt interesting, I chose to bookmark this duplicate question because it alone has the links to all the relevant non-duplicate questions ;-) – semantax Sep 17 '14 at 11:27
  • I don't think that this question should be marked as a duplicate. The linked question does not contain anything close to an answer for OP - only lists of verbs which can be followed by the gerund or infinitive. The linked question is outside the scope of OP's question, and the difference between "prefer to do" and "prefer doing" is a valid question, as there is a tangible difference in meaning. – Lou Feb 01 '19 at 19:51
  • As for the difference, I would suggest that the main difference is in generality: "prefer doing" is to express something you prefer to do in general, compared to something else. If someone suggests you take up running, you could say "I prefer walking." Whereas "prefer to do" is about a specific context. If someone invites you to go out on Saturday, you might say "I prefer to stay at home on weekends." not "I prefer staying at home on weekends." If someone offers you a lift who you think is a bit suspect, you might say "I'd prefer to walk". You wouldn't say "I prefer walking" in this case. – Lou Feb 01 '19 at 19:53
  • Thus as for OP's examples, I would suggest that "What materials do they prefer working with?" means what do they like to use regardless of the situation. "What materials do they prefer to work with?", for me, has a hidden "in this situation" attached. For this particular set-up, given this set of constraints, with this desired output etc. etc., what materials would they deem appropriate for the task? – Lou Feb 01 '19 at 19:58

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There's no difference in meaning. "Prefer to work" sounds very slightly more formal than "Prefer working" and also seems more natural to me, but that's pretty subjective. Either is perfectly valid.

Kelly Tessena Keck
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