get to experiencing (?)

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello, long time no see. :slight_smile:

I have some questions on “get to” + verb. Please look at the below passage:

Cozy is a resort complex just 10 kilometers from Camp David. Less exclusive than its more famous neighbor, it is still about as close as most people will ever get to experiencing Camp David itself. There is even a Camp David Museum.

  1. Is “get to experience” possible here?
  2. If so, does “get to experience” have the same meaning of “get to experiencing”?
  3. If “get to experiencing” is right here, what’s the meaning of it?

Thank you in advance,
sweetpumpkin

2

“Get to experience” would not work.

“Get to experiencing” is not a real unit here in the way you think.

How close can I get to the stage?
This TV special is as close as I will get to seeing Madonna.

This is an everyday use of the verb “get.”

There is a “get to” unit, however, and it’s informal.

Get to feeling better.

It means “to start.”

3

Mordant has explained it well.

I would add that the “thing” we are getting close to is a noun.

Ex: How close can you get to the stage?
How close did you get to the finish?

We are approaching something, or getting close to it. This thing is a noun. This is why we used the gerund form of “experience”, because it acts like a noun.

4

Can you pls give more examples and explanation on the above

5

Dave_B,

Although ‘get to experience’ would not be correct in the original sentence here, it is because the tense doesn’t match. ‘Get to experience’ is an accepted form in some contexts. If we change the sentence slightly, then ‘get to experience’ would work and the gerund form wouldn’t:
“You will never get to experience Camp David first hand, but this resort complex will give you an idea of what it is like.”

6

Can you explain more on gerund.

What do you meant by " We are approaching something, or getting close to it. This thing is a noun. This is why we used the gerund form of “experience”, because it acts like a noun."

7

Beesnees,

You are absolutely correct, yet the usage of “get” is different.

In your example, “get” means “able to”, which is different than my example, which means approach or be near.

As for those that asked about what I meant by gerund:

A gerund is a the ING form of the verb
Ex: swimming, laughing, dancing, etc.

This form of the verb is used when you are talking about an action as a thing or a noun.
Look at this example:

I like soccer.
(Here soccer is a noun and the object of the sentence.

I like swimming.
Here the verb swim acts like a noun, so it needs to be a gerund or ING form.