Apr 9, 2008 12:41
16 yrs ago
English term
question
Non-PRO
English
Other
Other
grammar
Could native speakers tell me the difference they make between "I love swimming" and "I love to swim" ?
Thanks
Thanks
Responses
4 +3 | British/US difference |
Marie-Hélène Hayles
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4 +2 | See comments below |
Tony M
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4 +2 | See answer below |
BrettMN
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Responses
+3
2 mins
Selected
British/US difference
In British English we're more likely to say "I love swimming", wheras Americans would say "I love to swim". The meaning is the same.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
54 mins
English term (edited):
I love swimming / to swim
See comments below
Like Writeaway, I'm far from convinced this is a BE / AE issue.
As a native Brit, 'swimming' sounds most natural to my ears (though does, of course, imply the potential ambiguity also highlighted by W/A)
But 'to swim' (apart from sounding like a too-literal translation from French!) has a very dated ring about it; I suspect this is the sort of language that might have been used 80 years ago — and sometimes, AE retains usages that have gone out of fashion in the UK.
Do note, too, that if the sentence continues, other factors may need to be taken into account, and certain combinations may sound more natural than others. Here are just a few examples:
I love swimming in the sea
I love to swim at dusk, just as the sun is setting.
I love swimming naked
I love to swim as far out to sea as I can
and so on...
As a native Brit, 'swimming' sounds most natural to my ears (though does, of course, imply the potential ambiguity also highlighted by W/A)
But 'to swim' (apart from sounding like a too-literal translation from French!) has a very dated ring about it; I suspect this is the sort of language that might have been used 80 years ago — and sometimes, AE retains usages that have gone out of fashion in the UK.
Do note, too, that if the sentence continues, other factors may need to be taken into account, and certain combinations may sound more natural than others. Here are just a few examples:
I love swimming in the sea
I love to swim at dusk, just as the sun is setting.
I love swimming naked
I love to swim as far out to sea as I can
and so on...
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Marie-Hélène Hayles
: I'd probably use "I love swimming" in all those cases! As for AE, I'm judging by what I see in US novels, where "I love to" seems to be standard: "I love to cook, I love to read..." Whereas I'd only use it for "I love to boogie" - blame T-Rex ;-)
1 hr
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Thanks, M-H! I just wanted to highlight that in certain contexts, 'to swim' doesn't sound out of place even in BE.
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agree |
kmtext
21 hrs
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Thanks, KMT!
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agree |
Phong Le
21 hrs
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Thanks, Phong Le!
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+2
2 hrs
See answer below
It has nothing, or at least very little, to do with a US/UK divide.
"I love swimming" CAN mean "I love to [go] swimming [myself]," but just as often if not more often it means "I love the sport of swimming" or "I love to watch other people swim" or "I love swimming, and I can't wait to watch the swimming competition at the Olympics". You get the idea. Someone with no legs who has never been in a swimming pool can love swimming, because they like to watch others swim.
"I love to swim" means exclusively that the person speaking loves to go swimming themselves. They may or may not like to watch other people swim.
I'm an American. I invite British/Commonwealth readers to see if the above is not accurate for them, too.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2008-04-09 15:20:35 GMT)
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The reason for the above is pretty simple: "swimming" is a noun/gerund. "To swim" is a verb/infinitive. As such, you can like swimming as a concept, but using "to swim" means you like to do the action yourself.
If "I like to swim" really does sound dated to UK ears, well then OK. But the larger concept of parts of speech is the same in both varieties of English.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2008-04-09 17:12:10 GMT)
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Please also reread the question, which was "Could native speakers tell me the difference they make between "I love swimming" and "I love to swim" ?
My point is that there is a linguistic, structural difference between the two that is not related to regional variations (this isn't a "garbage can" vs. "rubbish bin" situation). In truth, I would say "I like to go swimming" rather than "I like to swim" (which does sound a bit stilted to these American ears), but the question wasn't "Which is most common?" or even "Which would you use?" but rather "What is the difference between these two phrases I'm providing?"
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Note added at 9 hrs (2008-04-09 22:18:42 GMT)
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I want to make one revision to my original post. "...but just as often if not more often it means...." should be changed to just "... but it can also mean..."
I don't want to try and weigh the frequency of usage. My only point is that "I love to swim" CAN be used to mean something different from "I love swimming," if the user so intends.
"I love swimming" CAN mean "I love to [go] swimming [myself]," but just as often if not more often it means "I love the sport of swimming" or "I love to watch other people swim" or "I love swimming, and I can't wait to watch the swimming competition at the Olympics". You get the idea. Someone with no legs who has never been in a swimming pool can love swimming, because they like to watch others swim.
"I love to swim" means exclusively that the person speaking loves to go swimming themselves. They may or may not like to watch other people swim.
I'm an American. I invite British/Commonwealth readers to see if the above is not accurate for them, too.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2008-04-09 15:20:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The reason for the above is pretty simple: "swimming" is a noun/gerund. "To swim" is a verb/infinitive. As such, you can like swimming as a concept, but using "to swim" means you like to do the action yourself.
If "I like to swim" really does sound dated to UK ears, well then OK. But the larger concept of parts of speech is the same in both varieties of English.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2008-04-09 17:12:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Please also reread the question, which was "Could native speakers tell me the difference they make between "I love swimming" and "I love to swim" ?
My point is that there is a linguistic, structural difference between the two that is not related to regional variations (this isn't a "garbage can" vs. "rubbish bin" situation). In truth, I would say "I like to go swimming" rather than "I like to swim" (which does sound a bit stilted to these American ears), but the question wasn't "Which is most common?" or even "Which would you use?" but rather "What is the difference between these two phrases I'm providing?"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs (2008-04-09 22:18:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I want to make one revision to my original post. "...but just as often if not more often it means...." should be changed to just "... but it can also mean..."
I don't want to try and weigh the frequency of usage. My only point is that "I love to swim" CAN be used to mean something different from "I love swimming," if the user so intends.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Ken Cox
: a large part of grammar is logic, but usage is not always logical. If UK speakers say that they would never use 'I love to swim', why try to tell them that they're wriong?
17 mins
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I don't know that anyone UK speakers say they "never" use it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/jul/14/beach2?page=2 is one of many examples of it being used in the UK.The crux of the answer is not due to regional English differences is my point.
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agree |
Sinead --
3 hrs
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Thanks, Sinead!
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agree |
V_Nedkov
: I agree w the different meanings
4 days
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Thanks, V_N!
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