"way of doing something" vs "way to do something"?

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

Hi,
What’s the difference between “way of doing something” and “way to do something”?
I’m still very confused about when to use “noun + to V” and “noun + of + gerund” :shock:

Please help! (+_+)
Many thanks in advance
Nessie

2

“the way of doing something” lays emphasis on how you perform something. while “the way to do something.” on how you get something or somewhere. i.e.

  1. the way of making glass.
  2. the way to get rich.
3

Sorry but I still don’t get it very well…

4

May I have some more specific explanation, please?

5
  1. way of doing X
  2. way to do X

For me, the difference is one of focus: #1 puts you inside the action, whereas #2 looks at the action from the outside. Thus:

  1. That’s the way to do it ] an action envisaged as a whole
  2. That’s one way of doing it ] an action envisaged in progress

Since the nuance is one of focus, both versions may be available to the speaker in a particular context.

It will very probably be different for other speakers, however.

MrP

6

So let me try giving an example:

1/
A friend asks me how to make boil eggs and I say: “you just have to pour water into a pot, then put the eggs into it and boil them - that’s the way to do it” (action as a whole)

2/
This time a friend asks me the same question and I tell her what to do as I am doing it, and I say: “this is the way of doing it” (action in progress)

So do I understand it correctly?

7

Hi Nessie

I would use ‘way to do’ in both of your sentences.

As MrP said, the use of ‘do’ versus ‘doing’ often amounts to looking at something as one entire act vs an activity. However, your two options do not amount to a simple choice between ‘do’ and ‘doing’ because the word ‘of’ must be followed by ‘doing’ (i.e. the -ing form of the verb).

In your second sentence, the use of the words ‘the way’ sounds odd to me. Any of the following sentences would sound more natural to my ear:

  • “This is one way of doing it.”
  • “This is my way of doing it.”
  • “This is a less complicated way of doing it.”
    .
8

Hi Amy,
If my example doesn’t make sense, could you give me another example of yours?

Many thanks
Nessie

9

Hi Nessie

I’ve made some changes in your original example. As I said, the way you used the word ‘the’ in the context sounded odd to my ear.

1/
A friend asks me how to make boiled eggs and I say:
“You just have to pour water into a pot, then put the eggs into it and boil them - that’s the way to do it.”

2/
This time a friend sees that I am doing something, but she isn’t sure what I’m doing and/or why I’m doing it. (Perhaps she sees me putting a pot full of water and eggs into the oven.) She asks me what I am doing and I say: “This is my way of boiling eggs.”
.

10

Hi Amy, I found these in the BNC;

sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/sa … y+of+doing

11

Hello Nessie,

After reading Yankee’s notes, I notice there’s an inconsistency in my examples. It would have been better to say:

  1. That’s one way to do it ] an action envisaged as a whole
  2. That’s one way of doing it ] an action envisaged in progress

and

  1. That’s the way to do it
  2. ?That’s the way of doing it [“the” is slightly odd]

In some other collocations, “the way of doing” is comfortable, e.g.

  1. I’ve got out of the way of doing X.
  2. He got in the way of a very unpleasant post and never really recovered.

Best wishes,

MrP