Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
Would like/love+gerund
English answer:
with the gerund, like/love means enjoy rather than wish
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2015-07-23 04:54:35 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Jul 20, 2015 02:16
8 yrs ago
7 viewers *
English term
Would like/love+gerund
English
Other
Linguistics
English grammar
As far as I know, you cannot use a gerund after would like/love but I found some phrases in a grammar book and I'm not sure if it's actually possible to use gerunds in these cases:
I'd love being a flight attendant.
He wouldn't like being a fashion designer.
Could someone help me understand?
I'd love being a flight attendant.
He wouldn't like being a fashion designer.
Could someone help me understand?
Change log
Jul 20, 2015 03:26: Charles Davis changed "Language pair" from "English to Spanish" to "English"
Responses
+7
1 hr
Selected
with the gerund, like/love means enjoy rather than wish
My first reaction to "I'd love being a flight attendant" was that it sounds wrong, but on reflection I don't think it's impossible in principle, although that particular example does sound a bit awkward. The other example you give, "He wouldn't like being a fashion designer", could be said, I think.
The point is that with the gerund the meaning of like/love is different. If you say "He'd love to be a flight attendant", it means that he very much wants to be a flight attendant. But if you say "He'd love being a flight attendant", it means that if he were a flight attendant he would enjoy it: being a flight attendant is something he would love, if it were the case. He may not realise this; he may not want to be a flight attendant, but in the speaker's opinion, if he were a flight attendant, he would love it.
Similarly, "He wouldn't like being a fashion designer" means that if he were a fashion designer he wouldn't enjoy it. It may well be that he wants to be a fashion designer, it may be his greatest ambition, but the speaker thinks that he wouldn't like it, in the sense that he wouldn't enjoy it.
So it's possible, in principle, to say: "He'd love to be a fashion designer, but he wouldn't like being a fashion designer."
I must emphasise, however, that some constructions of this kind could sound forced and artificial. Each case would have to be judged on its merits.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-07-20 03:26:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I'm sorry, I see you've posted this as an English-Spanish translation question, but I think this is clearly an English-English monolingual question. You can't explain the difference between "like being" and "like to be" by Spanish translation. So I'm going to change the language pair.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-07-20 03:39:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
In Spanish (using the example of fashion designer, modisto):
He'd love to be a fashion designer
Le encantaría ser modisto
He'd love being a fashion designer
Si fuera modista, le encantaría
Disfrutaría mucho siendo modista
The point is that with the gerund the meaning of like/love is different. If you say "He'd love to be a flight attendant", it means that he very much wants to be a flight attendant. But if you say "He'd love being a flight attendant", it means that if he were a flight attendant he would enjoy it: being a flight attendant is something he would love, if it were the case. He may not realise this; he may not want to be a flight attendant, but in the speaker's opinion, if he were a flight attendant, he would love it.
Similarly, "He wouldn't like being a fashion designer" means that if he were a fashion designer he wouldn't enjoy it. It may well be that he wants to be a fashion designer, it may be his greatest ambition, but the speaker thinks that he wouldn't like it, in the sense that he wouldn't enjoy it.
So it's possible, in principle, to say: "He'd love to be a fashion designer, but he wouldn't like being a fashion designer."
I must emphasise, however, that some constructions of this kind could sound forced and artificial. Each case would have to be judged on its merits.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-07-20 03:26:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I'm sorry, I see you've posted this as an English-Spanish translation question, but I think this is clearly an English-English monolingual question. You can't explain the difference between "like being" and "like to be" by Spanish translation. So I'm going to change the language pair.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-07-20 03:39:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
In Spanish (using the example of fashion designer, modisto):
He'd love to be a fashion designer
Le encantaría ser modisto
He'd love being a fashion designer
Si fuera modista, le encantaría
Disfrutaría mucho siendo modista
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
David Hollywood
: good explanation and I agree but we need the difference in Spanish for the asker
5 mins
|
|
Thanks, David :) The asker asks us (in English) to help him/her understand, and I take that to mean an explanation (in English), but I'll add translation equivalents.
|
|
| agree |
Sheri P
11 mins
|
|
Thanks, Sheri :)
|
|
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: good explanation!// thanks Charles, I'm in Menorca. Hope ur having a good summer too!
4 hrs
|
|
Thanks very much, Carol! I hope you're having a good summer :)
|
|
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: I agree that the example with "I'd love being" looks rather clumsy in English but agree with your explanation
5 hrs
|
|
Many thanks :)
|
|
| agree |
Arabic & More
8 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Amel :)
|
|
| agree |
JohnMcDove
: Uff, descuida, que no hay atraco. El que sabe, sabe, y el que no... pa cabo... ;-))
13 hrs
|
|
Muchas gracias, John ;-) Perdona el atraco que he llevado a cabo con esta pregunta.
|
|
| agree |
Polangmar
16 days
|
|
Thanks, Polangmar :)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I totally got it! Thank you very much for your help. "
+1
56 mins
[me] gustaría/encantaría + infinitivo
Bienvenido.
I'd love being a flight attendant.
He wouldn't like being a fashion designer.
Me encantaría ser auxiliar de vuelo (sobrecargo)
A él no le gustaría ser diseñador de moda.
El gerundio se tiende a evitar en la mayoría de los casos en español, siendo reemplazado por un infinitivo, o en muchos casos se nominaliza y se convierte en un nombre...
Learning English = El aprendizaje del inglés.
Sin ir más lejos.
¿Te aclara esto algo?
I'd love being a flight attendant.
He wouldn't like being a fashion designer.
Me encantaría ser auxiliar de vuelo (sobrecargo)
A él no le gustaría ser diseñador de moda.
El gerundio se tiende a evitar en la mayoría de los casos en español, siendo reemplazado por un infinitivo, o en muchos casos se nominaliza y se convierte en un nombre...
Learning English = El aprendizaje del inglés.
Sin ir más lejos.
¿Te aclara esto algo?
1 hr
Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón
Mexico
Mexico
Specializes in field
Mexico
Confianza, certeza, creatividad.
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Mexican)
Works in: English to Spanish, Italian to Spanish, French to Spanish, and 6 more.
would like/love+infinitive
In the case "would like/love+gerund" the gerund becomes a noun, it means the name of the action rather than the action itself. Acting of or as if. . . Another way to say it is the way John says in Spanish: I would like/love to be a flight attendant/a fashion designer. It is very common in English to switch infinitives into gerunds and viceversa.
+1
2 hrs
Teresa Reinhardt
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
United States
Known for top notch work, on time
Native in: German (Variant: Germany) 
, English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English, English to German, English, and 1 more.
different aspect
The focus of your sentence is different; like + inf. is a factual/neutral statement.
Like + gerund is used when you are focusing more on the experience.
I'd like to be a policeman.
(I am not a policeman, but the idea is appealing)
I'd like being a policeman is slightly ungrammatical.
But we would say: I like being a policeman.
(I am a policeman, and I like my occupation.
"I like to be a policeman" would be considered slightly ungrammatical.
It really depends on context & situation and what you want to express.
Try this, too:
http://www.engvid.com/gerund-or-infinitive/iceman"
Like + gerund is used when you are focusing more on the experience.
I'd like to be a policeman.
(I am not a policeman, but the idea is appealing)
I'd like being a policeman is slightly ungrammatical.
But we would say: I like being a policeman.
(I am a policeman, and I like my occupation.
"I like to be a policeman" would be considered slightly ungrammatical.
It really depends on context & situation and what you want to express.
Try this, too:
http://www.engvid.com/gerund-or-infinitive/iceman"
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: Good explanation.
10 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Tina (25 yrs. of teaching EN….)
|
Discussion
Mike: "Flight attendants like you only work two days a week and get paid to travel the world, stay in 5-star hotels and drink good whisky."
John: "If only that were true, I'd love being a flight attendant, but as it isn't I'm looking for a new job."
I would say:
I'd love to be...
He wouldn't like to be...
But it seems not to be an easy matter. Once upon a time there were strict grammar rules. Now there are forum discussions.Take your pic
1-http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/id-love-being-able-to...
2-https://www.google.com.br/search?q=Would like/love +gerund&i...