Lola can't stand [b]to work[/b] in an office.
I know that there is no significant difference in meaning between them, however, as regards the structure, having observed (OR observing --> I am not sure
which is correct) many an English grammar book (which deals with both American and British English), I have arrived at a conclusion that the expression can’t stand is followed by the gerund mainly in BrE, while by both the gerund and the to-infinitive in AmE.
Since I began to conduct a little research into ‘Gerund and Infinitive’, I have been learning this issue thoroughly and I’m still doing research. I once came across the list (presented by Alan on the previous topic) on the Net and was sure then that it was written by an American author …
My observation (through many grammar books and Net pages) is as follows:
So many American linguistics say that the verb can’t stand is followed by either a gerund or an infinitive.
Mainly British grammarians say that it is usually followed by a gerund.
So, the either grammatical structure is in practice in the USA, while the gerund requirement of the pattern “can’t stand + doing/to do” takes precedence mainly in the UK.
Whether it is in BrE or in AmE, I’m of the strong view that the gerund alone is possible as it is ‘in an office’. (Mostly, gerundial constructions do relate to general reference as I have often emphasised in the past. Please examine or give a serious thought to it)
Personally, as a BrE speaker, I would not dream of saying “Can’t stand to work in an office.”
However, moving on to Anglophile’s point, I really can’t imagine what it has to do with the fact that this particular sentence ends with ‘in an office’.
I would not say
I can’t stand to work outdoors.
It would always be
I can’t stand working outdoors.
Even when you say ‘I can’t stand working outdoors’, I take it as ‘I can’t stand working anywhere other than indoors’, which is general in nature. Now, to clarify my point of ‘in an office’, I would ask you to compare it with ‘in the/that/this office’, which will be specific in nature. However, I find that we are talking of the same concept, but from different angles/perspectives of our own, which we are unable to drive home.
I can’t stand working in that office - that is the only option I would take,
Similarly:
I can’t stand working with people/him/her/animals/children.
I can’t stand working late.
I can’t stand working alongside her/him/loud people.
This would bear out Foreigner’s point regarding the gerund form, though not the infinitive, BUT it has nothing to do with the specifics of the object of the sentence.
Above all, thank you and Beeesneees for your thoughtful ideas.
Yes, you have told about it many times: Gerunds relate to general referance and infinitives relate to a particular/specific one. It’s generally true. However, the distinction between the two does not always lie in that and the difference is not always clear-cut. Consequently, It can sometimes be difficult to decide which one to use. Furthemore, there are lots of exceptions to almost each rule in English grammar.
Recently I asked a query named “interested”:
When I asked the following: (thread #11)
Anglophile, and which would you choose (or are both possible) in this sentence below:
I’m interested to work/in working in Switzerland. Do you know anybody who could help me?
Is the case general or specific in your opinion?
Your reply was as follows: (thread #14)
I would say it is general (a country), as you haven’t mentioned a place like Bern, Basel, Zurich, Geneva etc.
(Now, suppose you have three countries, say Switzerland, Singapore and India, to choose from, then you might be able to say ‘I’m interested to work in Switzerland’. Of course, I’m not very sure of it. So we may wait for other comments)
In this case the general rule was not applied/approved of/acquitted (I don't know which one is proper): We are all received the following answer from our common friend (native speaker):
[b]The infinitive structure does not also work in this case after all[/b] (the words are mine, but the core of the sentence is hers) :-)
Thanks.
I'm missing one person who has a very good command of English (:-
He used to make a significant contribution to this Forum, especially answering loads of questions of learners.
Does anybody know where Dozy is?
I once came across the list (presented by Alan on the previous topic) on the Net and was sure then that it was written by an American author …