Imagine you enjoy when someone speaks because of some personal habits that they do while speak and you want to mention that you like the way they peak. I was wondering if you could let me know if in the self-made sentence below, the gerund form would work better or the infinitive one:
- I like him .......... like that way.
a) speaking
b) to speak
For me, they both work properly without any significant semantic change.
1: I like him speaking like that
way. (Note: his speaking is also acceptable, but less common)
When he speaks like that (which by implication he doesn't always do), I like it.2: I like him to speak like that.
When he speaks like that (which by implication is under my control), I like it.3: I like the way he speaks.
By implication, he always speaks like that, and it's a way of speaking that I like.
It's important to note that construction #2 usually carries the strong implication that the speaker himself is in control of whether or not the thing that he likes actually happens. It's a standard way of explaining a situation, as in Why is it so hot in here? Because I like my house to be warm in winter.
