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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?

Jo R
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  • They are both correct. – Michael Harvey Dec 20 '22 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 '22 at 03:26
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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. – Kate Bunting Dec 21 '22 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 '22 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?

     – Robbie Goodwin Jan 24 '23 at 22:32
  • These verbs avoid, can't help, consider, dislike, feel like, finish, give up, miss, practise and suggest are followed by gerunds. – Lambie Jan 25 '24 at 14:00

1 Answers1

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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.]

gotube
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David Siegel
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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 '22 at 03:28
  • "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? – Acccumulation Dec 21 '22 at 03:50
  • Working here is not enjoyable. How is that not a gerund? enjoy + verb+ing is most definitely a gerund. – Lambie Jan 25 '24 at 13:59