2

A lot of books say that "arrange" is followed by an infinitive. But can it be followed by a gerund?

Dolly arranges singing at church.

  1. Molly arranged staying at her flat.

  2. Molly arranged staying at her flat for us.

  3. Dolly arranges to sing at church.

  4. Molly arranged to stay at her flat.

  5. Molly arranged to stay at her flat for us.

Which ones are wrong?

1
  • 1
    Please look up the verb arrange and see if it is transitive. If so, it can take a noun gerund as a direct object. In general, we don't do "which is right" questions.
    – Lambie
    Sep 27, 2021 at 17:30

1 Answer 1

3

You may use a gerund after "arrange." That usage is appropriate when the gerund is describing a generic activity.

Dolly arranges the flowers at the church.

Dolly arranges the cooking for the annual church picnic.

The two sentences have a parallel structure.

Mary arranged for us to stay at her mother's vacation home.

Here we are discussing a specific action. In this case, the infinitive is appropriate.

I would not say that any of your six examples necessarily violates English grammar.

Example 1 is grammatical and idiomatic.

The meanings of examples 2 and 5 are unclear. in some contexts, one or the other may be idiomatic, but the contexts may not be the same for both examples.

Example 3 is not natural (at Least not in American English): "for us to stay" is idiomatic. Example 6 is also not natural because of the placement of "for us."

Example 4 would be idiomatic in certain contexts, but it does not mean what example 1 does.

2
  • What's the difference in meaning between 1 and 4?
    – user1425
    Sep 28, 2021 at 5:29
  • 1
    The first states that Dolly normally arranges the activity of singing by the choir. There is no necessity that she be in the choir. The second states that Dolly is preparing to sing herself, perhaps only once or perhaps regularly in the future. Sep 28, 2021 at 13:02

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .