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He is happy to read English.
He is happy reading English.
There is no difference between above two sentences. Right?
Which out of below is the correct meaning of above sentences. I am confused. Can you clarify?
He is happy after reading English.
He is happy while reading English.
There is no difference between above two sentences. Right?
There is. It's hard to explain the difference between to X as an infinitive and X-ing as a gerund; many verbs require one or the other.
He is happy to read English.
He hasn't planned to read something / read English, yet.
He is happy reading English.
He has already read, or is currently reading something / reading English.
'Happy' can refer both to a feeling and an act of volition (a choice, a willingness).
He is happy reading English.
means he has the feeling of happiness while (-ing) doing the action of reading. It's equivalent to
He is happy when he is reading.
The other sentence
He is happy to read English.
means the same as
He is willing to read English.
In fact, he may not have the feeling of happiness while reading.
Often, both versions are interchangeable, but there can be a difference in implication...
1: He's happy doing that
strongly implies he's already doing it
...whereas...
2: He's happy to do that
implies he will do it - willingly (he's agreed to do it, but hasn't done so yet).
So given the cited example text, if we assume the reference is to studying English at degree level, the default assumptions would be that He is happy to read English means he's agreeable to applying to go to university to study English, whereas He is happy reading English implies he's already there on the course (and he likes it).
If "reading English" simply means reading English texts for pleasure (novels, poetry, etc.), it's unlikely anyone would use the infinitive form to read, because the construction [be] happy to do [something] is generally restricted to contexts where [something] is a task, rather than a pastime.
