Hi,
The sentence below is from the book I’m studying with:
____________ oil from the north to the south has been recommended as a way of easing the present energy shortage.
(a) To pump
(b) Pumping
The answer is (b). but I cannot understand why (a) cannot be the one. I mean, I think both are right for the blank.
When I was in school, my professor once said to infinitive had a future feature while gerund had a past one as we saw the sentences with ‘regret’. For example,
- I regret having done that. (=I regret that I did that.)
- I regret to have to do that. (= I feel sorry/regret that I will have to do that.)
So I thought, maybe, ‘pumping’ is more right answer for the blank because it(=pumping oil from the north to the south) has been recommended - it means it “was” recommended at a point in the past. That’s why gerund is more proper than to infinitive… this is my conclusion.
What do you think? Maybe I’m making a broad interpretation. Would you tell me why the gerund is proper for the blank?
Thanks,
sweetpumpkin