English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I've learned from the educational broadcast that 'to verb' and '~ing' are exactly the same and that the expressions used only differ according to people's tastes. But another says that '~ing' has a sense of progress and is different from 'to verb'. I'm confused about who's right.
What's the difference between the two below?
Do they have the same meaning?
- Hamburgers, steaks and hotdogs are staple foods to cook on a grill.
- Hamburgers, steaks and hotdogs are staple foods cooking on a grill.
If they are to cook on a grill, the sentence is saying that these foods are intended (or at least suitable) to be grilled. They are prepared for consumption by being heated on a hot grill.
If they are cooking on a grill, they are already on the grill in the process of being heated.
The meaning depends on the context as well as the construction of the sentence. While there is no difference in meaning between saying:
I'm going to swim
and
I'm going swimming
As in your example, there is a difference between:
That's an excellent yacht to sail on the lake
and
That's an excellent yacht sailing on the lake
