Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Difference between no use to + verb and no use +-ing
Hello,
I´m just solving one tricky question and probably I´ll need some help.
I would need to know what is the difference between these two expressions:
IT´S NO USE TO + VERB:
It would be no use to lose one´s head.
His mother advised him, however, that it was no use to argue with Selma.
and
IT´S NO USE + -ING: But it´s no use talking back.
... I found only the examples with -ing, which mean the same as "There´s no point in", but the examples with "to" are mystery for me.
Thanks for help!
I´m just solving one tricky question and probably I´ll need some help.
I would need to know what is the difference between these two expressions:
IT´S NO USE TO + VERB:
It would be no use to lose one´s head.
His mother advised him, however, that it was no use to argue with Selma.
and
IT´S NO USE + -ING: But it´s no use talking back.
... I found only the examples with -ing, which mean the same as "There´s no point in", but the examples with "to" are mystery for me.
Thanks for help!
Top answer
Excellent question. Yes, sentences with the infinitive are also acceptable. I found these examples for you from famous grammar books: (1) It is of no use for you to say anything.
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Excellent question. Yes, sentences with the infinitive are also acceptable. I found these examples for you from famous grammar books: (1) It is of no use for you to say anything. (Nowadays, most native speakers drop the "of.") Another book quotes Shelley, a famous English poet: Alas! It is no use to say "I'm poor." (Notice that he did not use "of.")
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