The sentence:
Probably, after hearing him speak in English, they allowed him to enter in the pub.
So, can I use speaking in place of speak?
-
1In this instance, the gerund-participle could be substituted for the infinitive.– P. E. Dant Reinstate MonicaJul 15, 2017 at 21:24
-
1@user55697 You should say "enter the pub," NOT "enter IN the pub."– GustavsonJul 15, 2017 at 22:18
-
When gerund participle could be substituted for infinitive @ pe dant– user55697Jul 15, 2017 at 22:40
-
When? In the sentence in your question. Or do I misunderstand?– P. E. Dant Reinstate MonicaJul 16, 2017 at 1:48
-
@user55697 there is no rule; when a gerund may be substituted depends on which verb is being used; when a gerund might be substituted depends on style issues, including the context.– green_ideasJul 16, 2017 at 2:42
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
Yes you can - either of these work:
Probably, after hearing him speak in English, they allowed him to enter the pub.
or
Probably, after hearing him speaking in English, they allowed him to enter the pub.
(Note that in both cases I dropped the "*in" from the final clause, is it is not correct)
-
What's the difference in meaning between the two sentences?– user3395Jul 17, 2017 at 15:39
-
2Good question @userr2684291. The meaning is almost the same. In the first one "they" might have "heard him speak" just once and it could be short. The second one implies that the "speaking" is going on for some time, and perhaps "they" just overheard it.– brendanJul 19, 2017 at 17:45