Her mistake was insulting him

M

matar0

Senior Member
Salerno
Italian, Italy
Is it possible to use the gerund even with this words(mistake,proud,shame,error,wrong) which usually take the infinitive,
If instead of:
It was her mistake to have insulted him.
We make a sentence like:
Her mistake was to have insulted him.

So, Can we also say:
Her mistake was insulting / having insulted him ?

Thank you very much
 
    • Hello. Another possibility would be: Her mistake was that she insulted him. Actually, I think that this sentence flows a bit better. Hope this helps.
     
    The trick with "Her mistake was insulting him" is that it's ambiguous. It could mean "Her mistake was to insult him" or it could mean "She made a mistake, and he was insulted as a result." "Her mistake was having insulted him" makes it clear that the act of her insulting him was the mistake. I'd vote for the second one of the two.
     
    JamesM said:
    The trick with "Her mistake was insulting him" is that it's ambiguous. It could mean "Her mistake was to insult him" or it could mean "She made a mistake, and he was insulted as a result." "Her mistake was having insulted him" makes it clear that the act of her insulting him was the mistake. I'd vote for the second one of the two.
    Click to expand...

    :thumbsup: Great catch! I missed the ambiguity entirely.
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.
    Back
    Top