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In the example below I believe do we need to use "working" in the gerund form?

You will love working here

I thought that verbs following "love" can be either in the gerund form or the infinitive form, but for this example the infinitive form does not sound correct:

You will love to work here

Is there a reason for this or is this second example also correct?

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  • They are both correct. Dec 20, 2022 at 22:45
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    The second sentence isn't natural. It might even be wrong. Can't put my finger on why.
    – gotube
    Dec 21, 2022 at 3:26
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    @gotube - "I would love to work here" is fine, though, isn't it? Perhaps it sounds odd with you will because working refers to the experience rather than the opportunity. Dec 21, 2022 at 13:18
  • @KateBunting Yes, "I would love to work here" is fine. That's a workable theory, but I haven't come up with contrasting example sentences that convince me it's true.
    – gotube
    Dec 21, 2022 at 18:30
  • They are clearly not both correct… 'You will love working…' is correct but 'You will love to work…' is not equivalent. I was about to explain "I would love to work here" when I saw Kate Bunting's and gotube's Posts… Go, Kate! At best, you need 'You might/would love to…' If it helps, the difference is between 'You will…' and 'You would…' and since this is ELU, can you say how you understand the difference there? Jan 24 at 22:32

1 Answer 1

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The sentences:

  • You will enjoy working here
  • You will find it enjoyable to work here.

are both grammatically valid and both are quite natural. Their meanings are very similar.

The "working" form perhaps emphasizes that this is a process that will last for some time a bit more.

By the way, "working": here is not a gerund, it is a present participle. That means it is a verb form here. A gerund is a noun derived from a verb, not a verb form.

A pair of examples:

Swimming is excellent exercise and an interesting sport. [Gerund. "Swimming here is the name of an activity, a noun.]

The man was swimming towards her rapidly. [Participle "swimming" here is an action verb.]

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    How is "working" not a gerund? It's the direct object of "love", no? Does "love" take a present-participle complement of some sort?
    – gotube
    Dec 21, 2022 at 3:28
  • "By the way, "working": here is not a gerund, it is a present participle." One test is to translate into a language in which gerunds and present participles take different forms. Do you think "te encantará trabajando aquí" is the correct Spanish translation? Dec 21, 2022 at 3:50

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