We were raised to never admit to needing help. 是什麼意思

"We were raised to never admit to needing help".

Is this sentence the same as;
"We were raised to never admit to need help."
and "We were raised to never admit that we needed help."?

I wonder why you can use a verbal noun instead of infinitive?

Thank you.

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KatePW

2016年5月22日

最佳解答

英語 (英國)
泰語

The "to" in this sentence is a preposition. The verb "to admit" takes gerunds (I think that is the same as what you call a verbal noun) not verbs.
As for your two sentences, the first one is incorrect, the second is fine, with pretty much the same meaning but a minor difference in tense.
There is a lot more detailed explanation here about the grammar in here if you'd like to read more: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-remember-the-rul...

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KatePW

2016年5月22日

英語 (英國)
泰語

The "to" in this sentence is a preposition. The verb "to admit" takes gerunds (I think that is the same as what you call a verbal noun) not verbs.
As for your two sentences, the first one is incorrect, the second is fine, with pretty much the same meaning but a minor difference in tense.
There is a lot more detailed explanation here about the grammar in here if you'd like to read more: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-remember-the-rul...

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Akan

2016年5月22日

日語

@KatePW Oh, I've totally misunderstood that. Thank you so much.
It seems impossible for me to memorize those verbs that take gerunds.

By the way, if I haven't answered your question enough, please let me know. I have been a bit busy recently, and didn't ask you that. Sorry.