'It is to get students thinking...'

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

Hi,
Please have a look at this:

=> I wonder why it’s not ‘get students think’ but ‘get students thinking’…

Many thanks,
Nessie.

2

Either of these is fine.

get students to think
get students thinking

The latter form gives a feeling of extended action.

3

It’s still not very clear for me, Molly. From what I was taught about request form, we just have two usages for ‘get’:

  • get sb to do sth
  • get sth done by sb

I’ve never heard of ‘get sb doing sth’…
Please be more specific.

Many thanks,
Nessie.

4

It another form. Simply that.

5

Thanks a lot for your help, Molly. But I still can’t understand your point.
Could any body please give me a specific explanation?

Many thanks,
Nessie.

6

Hi,

You might find this interesting:
englishforums.com/English/Ge … n/post.htm

Also, here was discussed a nearly identical question:
english-test.net/forum/ftopi … html#83204

7

Hi Nessie

Basically:

“Get somebody to do something” means “cause/convince somebody to do something”

“Get somebody doing something” means “cause/convince somebody to be doing something” or “cause/convince somebody to start doing something”
.