What is the difference between "continue to do" and "continue doing"?
Duy Lam
The Advanced Learner Oxford dictionary showed me two examples about
"continue" word. But I saw nothing different.
==============
Continue: to keep existing or happening without stopping.
* [v to inf] The rain continued to fall all afternoon. *[v -ing] The
rain continued falling all afternoon
==============
And the same for "start" word
===============
Start: to begin doing or using sth
* [v to inf] - It started to rain. - Mistakes were starting to creep in.
* [v -ing] She started laughing.
==============
Can you help me to show that?
--
Thanks,
Duy Lam Phuong
Django Cat
> From: Duy Lam <duylam...@yahoo.ca>
> Subject: What is the difference between "continue to do" and
> "continue doing"? Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 21:34:08 +0700
> Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
>
>
> The Advanced Learner Oxford dictionary showed me two examples about
> "continue" word. But I saw nothing different.
There isn't anything different. They're just giving you two examples
to make the point more strongly.
DC
--
Glenn Knickerbocker
> There isn't anything different.
There must be *some* subtle difference, but I can't quite put my finger
on it. I would rarely say "it continued to rain" without any modifiers,
even though I'd prefer "it continued to rain lightly" to "it continued
raining lightly," and "it started to rain" is perfectly natural.
Confusingly, the difference is reversed between "start" and "continue":
"He started to go to the theater"
could mean that he set out for it once but didn't get there.
"He started going to the theater"
means he began a practice of going there repeatedly.
"He continued to go the theater"
means he kept going there repeatedly. But, in limited contexts:
"He continued going to the theater"
could mean that he completed a single trip after some interruption.
And there's the difference I couldn't quite put my finger on with the
rain: "It continued to rain" means the rain never stopped. If the rain
had been interrupted, afterward it would have "continued raining."
¬R
Duy Lam
With your examples, I can understand the "start" case. But in "continue"
case, it doesnt seem to get it.
- Does the "continue doing" mean "the thing had started in and then it
was stopped for a while. And it went back to the running status at the
time when you spoke"?
- And does the "continue to do" mean "the thing had started in and it
always ran when you spoke"?
--
Thanks,
Duy Lam
Duy Lam
I think the grammar rule always make it different. Maybe it's slightly.
--
Thanks,
Duy Lam
Mike Lyle
> Django Cat wrote:
>> Duy Lam wrote:
>>
>>> From: Duy Lam <duylam...@yahoo.ca>
>>> Subject: What is the difference between "continue to do" and
>>> "continue doing"? Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 21:34:08 +0700
>>> Newsgroups: alt.usage.english
>>>
>>>
>>> The Advanced Learner Oxford dictionary showed me two examples about
>>> "continue" word. But I saw nothing different.
"The Advanced Learner's Dictionary gives two examples of the use of the
word 'continue'. But I see no difference."
>>
>> There isn't anything different. They're just giving you two examples
>> to make the point more strongly.
>>
>> DC
>>
>
> I think the grammar rule always make it different. Maybe it's
> slightly.
No, there really is no difference. You were right the first time.
I'm not quite sure how to rewrite your last sentence, but perhaps you
meant: "I thought a different grammatical structure would always make a
difference to the meaning, even if only a slight one."
--
Mike.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
Duy Lam
> I'm not quite sure how to rewrite your last sentence, but perhaps you
> meant: "I thought a different grammatical structure would always make a
> difference to the meaning, even if only a slight one."
>
Yes, You're right. That was that I meant.
--
Thanks,
Duy Lam
Glenn Knickerbocker
>- Does the "continue doing" mean "the thing had started in and then it
>was stopped for a while. And it went back to the running status at the
>time when you spoke"?
It *can* mean that. It can also mean exactly the same as "continue to
do." Similarly, "started to do" can also mean exactly the same thing as
"started doing." To be safe, you could always choose the more general
expression: "started to do" and "continued doing."
>- And does the "continue to do" mean "the thing had started in and it
>always ran when you spoke"?
Right, it means the action was in progress the whole time.
Note that "when you spoke" isn't correct here. That means the time the
words came out of your mouth, not the time of the action you were
describing. You could say "at the time of which you spoke" in your first
sentence and "during the time of which you spoke" in the second.
ŹR Blather, Rinse, Repeat.
http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/telecom.html