Question
Updated on
hhoc2000
22 Jan 2021

  • Korean
  • English (US)
Question about English (US)

1. We have to get the media 'to be asking' questions.
2. We have to get the media 'asking' questions.

My questions are..
1. Are #1 and #2 grammatically natural?
2. If so, what's the difference between them?

Answers
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SesameBE
22 Jan 2021

  • English (US)

#1 is not quite natural.
The natural way to say that is: "We have to get the media 'to ask' questions.
#2 sounds natural.
They essentially mean the same thing and actually could be used interchangeably, but the "to ask" option feels like a little like you are planning an event or thinking ahead to what you want to happen next, whereas #2 could feel a little more urgent like you want it to be happening now.

Highly-rated answerer
hhoc2000
22 Jan 2021

  • Korean
thanks
hhoc2000
22 Jan 2021

  • Korean
Umm
Can I ask you one more question?
Why do you feel 'to be asking' is unnatural?? for what factor??
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SesameBE
22 Jan 2021

  • English (US)

I'm not sure I can explain it. It is about "what sounds better," but I think it might be because "the media" is the object of the sentence and the topic of the sentence. So the format should be something like: We have to get the media to _______ (to ask questions, to see the situation more objectively, to discuss what is really important, to do their job better, etc.) The form is "to ____ (to ask, to see, to discuss, to do etc.)
You could say: "We have to get the media to be asking questions at the exact moment that the doors open;" then the emphasis is on "the exact moment" and "to be asking" conveys that is it actively happening.
It is a good question, and I wish I had a better answer for you! You could re-ask it as a fresh question if you wanted.

Highly-rated answerer
hhoc2000
22 Jan 2021

  • Korean
Thank you but It's really difficult..
Could you give me some more detailed explanation??
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SesameBE
22 Jan 2021

  • English (US)

@hhoc2000
I am still not confident that I really know why (other than it "sounds right" or not) but it might have to do with having the 2 infinitives in the same sentence "to get" and "to be" followed by a participle ("asking").
Any sentences I can think of that use a noun and participle in this format of: "We have to get the [noun] to be [participle]" have to do with immediacy or timing.
example: if someone were filming a movie they might say "We have to get the dogs to be eating during this next scene." (it's a matter of timing two things together) or "We have to get the kids to be playing in the background once the cameras start rolling." (This is also about timing two things together). You could use your original sentence for a situation like this too. "In this next scene we have to get the media to be asking questions."
If it is not a matter of precise timing, you can just say "We have to get the dogs to eat," or "We have to get the kids to play," or "We have to get the media to ask questions."

I can understand how these concepts are very confusing. I would encourage you to ask your English teacher or someone else for a more satisfying explanation. Good luck to you!

Highly-rated answerer
hhoc2000
23 Jan 2021

  • Korean
Thank you!, I think I'll have to think about it later again with your explanation.
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1. We have to get the media 'to be asking' questions. 2. We have to get the media 'asking' questions. My questions are.. 1. Are #1 and #2 grammatically natural? 2. If so, what's the difference between them?
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