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1) Trish enters the restaurant to find Jack sitting at a table.

2) Trish enters the restaurant and finds Jack sitting at a table.

What is the difference between these?

Should I use "to find" if Trish knew Jack was in the restaurant before she entered it?

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  • There is no difference in this case.
    – Lambie
    Commented Dec 4, 2021 at 18:19

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They are very similar. The use of the verb "find(s)" suggests that Trish is either not sure where Jack is, or not sure what he is doing, until she sees him.

The to-infinitive in (1) emphasizes the aspect of discovery. "And" is more neutral, simply linking to the next event in the sequence.

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1) and 2) mean the same thing. Either can be used whether Trish knew Jack was there or not.
The use of present tense suggests a screenplay or some other kind of narrative.

If Trish was searching for Jack and thought he might be at the restaurant, you might say "Trish went to the restaurant to find Jack." For that use, "sitting at a table" wouldn't be added.

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    "Trish went to a restaurant to find Jack" is different—there the infinitive clause expresses a purpose (reason for going to the restaurant). That is unlikely as an interpretation of "Trish enters the restaurant to find Jack sitting at a table."
    – nschneid
    Commented Dec 4, 2021 at 17:38

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