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Teo Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

progressive infinitive versus the ordinary infinitive

What's the difference between the following sentences?

1. I am happy to be spending Christmas with you this year.

2. I am happy to spend Christmas with you this year.

3. We ought to be going.

4. We ought to go.

Thank you very much for your reply.
  

Top answer

#s 1 and 3 are more polite because the speaker evidences the personal experiencing of the verb more actively. That's how I see it, anyway.

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9 Answers

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#s 1 and 3 are more polite because the speaker evidences the personal experiencing of the verb more actively. That's how I see it, anyway.
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Why use the progressive in the following sentence?

We may be seeing a coming together of the humanities and the science of human nature.

Is it acceptable to say "We may see a coming together of the humanities and the science of human nature."?

Thanks a lot for your explanation.
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The element of immediacy emerges further here. As is also a reading choice for your previous #1, may be seeing here indicates that the 'coming together' may have already begun; with may see, the speaker is considering future possibility only.
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Businesses have long used religion to attract customers, and Starbucks may be adopting that tactic.

Why use the progressive aspect here?

Thank you very much for your reply.
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The writer indicates that the adoption is now in process.
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1. I am happy to be spending Christmas with you this year.

Here the speaker is/will be spending Christmas with this/those person/s.



2. I am happy to spend Christmas with you this year.


Here the speaker is stating his position. This sentence does not necessarily tell us that the people inv
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The progressive gives a sense of something that is "in process". The first sentence describes what you are actually in the process of doing (i.e. spending Christmas with ...). The second sentence refers to a discrete event (probably in the future) rather than as an event in progress.
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Teo1. I am happy to be spending Christmas with you this year.
You are spending Christmas with them at the time you say this. Or, using the present progressive as a future, you are commenting on your arrangements to spend Christmas with them, in effect saying, I am happy that I will be spending Christmas with you this year.
Teo
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I see a difference between #1 and 2, but very little or no difference between 3 and 4. The use of the progressive in #1 makes it sound like spending Christmas together is a prior plan or already agreed to and, in fact, may already be happening. Use of the basic infinitive in #2, however, sounds like the speaker is agreeing to the plan as he/she speaks.
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