ПОМОГИТЕ С АНГЛИЙСКИМ.

1. Would you mind___the window? *
to close
closing
close

2. I’d like___vanilla ice-cream, please. *
to have
having
have

3. We look forward to ___from you! *
hear
hearing
to hear

4. Let’s go ___ after school. *
to swim
swimming
swim

5. Dad suggested___a pizza for dinner. *
to buy
buying
buy

6. The family decided___steaks at the restaurant. *
ordering
to order
order

7. You’d better ___ olive oil instead of mayonnaise. *
to use
use
using

8. The coffee is too hot for me ___. *
drinking
drink
to drink

9. The girls are afraid of ___ there alone. *
going
to go
go

10. Sam can’t stand ___ peppers. *
to eat
eating
eat

1. Would you mind_closing__the window? *
to close
closing
close

2. I’d like__to have_vanilla ice-cream, please. *
to have
having
have

3. We look forward to _hearing__from you! *
hear
hearing
to hear

4. Let’s go _swim__ after school. *
to swim
swimming
swim

5. Dad suggested__buying_a pizza for dinner. *
to buy
buying
buy

6. The family decided__to order_steaks at the restaurant. *
ordering
to order
order

7. You’d better __use_ olive oil instead of mayonnaise. *
to use
use
using

8. The coffee is too hot for me to drink___. *
drinking
drink
to drink

9. The girls are afraid of _going__ there alone. *
going
to go
go

10. Sam can’t stand _eating__ peppers. *
to eat
eating
eat

Difference between “Do you mind closing the window?” and “Do you mind my closing the window?”?

What is the difference between

Do you mind closing the window?

Do you mind my closing the window?

Does the first sentence mean that the speaker asked the listener to close the window? Does the second sentence mean that the speaker asks whether he/she can close the window? Does the difference lie in that the action, «close the window», is done by different person?

Thank you very much!

2 Answers 2

In OP’s first example there’s an implied your (or you) after mind.

1: “Do you mind [your] closing the window?”
(or)
2: “Do you mind [you] closing the window?”

3: “Do you mind my closing the window?”
4: “Do you mind me closing the window?”

Note that 4 has becoming increasingly common over recent decades, particularly in BrE. Syntactically, everything after the word mind is a noun phrase. As a general principle, using the possessive form (my, your, his) in such contexts is «dated», but it survives more in «Do you mind [NP]» because it’s a relatively formal construction anyway (and people tend to stick to older forms in formal contexts).

Also note that we tend not to use mind in this sense unless it’s part of a question («Does your husband mind our/us meeting like this?») or a negation («I don’t mind your/you phoning so late at night»). That’s to say although «I mind your/you smoking while I’m eating» is grammatically «valid», most native speakers simply wouldn’t say it.

Let’s consider the more general context and introduce another syntactically similar verb.

5: I like ice-cream
6: I like your kissing me
7: I like you kissing me
8: I don’t mind your kissing me
9: I don’t mind you kissing me
10: He doesn’t mind our meeting like this
11: He doesn’t mind us meeting like this

I’ve included 5 there as a clearer example of a simple «noun phrase». Although currently most native speakers (particularly, AmE) still use possessive my in OP’s example (because semantically as well as grammatically, it’s a formal usage), they’re much more likely to use the accusative/object forms in 7/9/11 above, rather than 6/8/10.

In light of this ongoing shift away from the possessive in constructions of this general form, I think it’s probably more useful to interpret OP’s first sentence as a «cut-down» version of my example 2, and the second one as a slightly dated version of my example 4. You’ll still encounter the possessive in various contexts, but I don’t think you ever need to produce it yourself.

EDIT: In the interests of «balance», it’s well worth considering StoneyB’s answer to a very closely-related question, where the final «advice to learners» paragraph recommends using the possessive. I’m not going to disagree with that, provided you wish to master «formal» usage, and bearing in mind that it would be slightly «dated, odd» to use the possessive in informal contexts such as example 6 above.

Would you mind opening/not closing the windows?

lotusfan

Senior Member

I did a test the other day, and was truely confused about it.Here it is:

It’s hot in the room, would you mind _______ the windows?
A. not closing B.opening

I would appreciate it if you could help.

Copyright

Senior Member

lotusfan

Senior Member

Bigote Blanco

Senior Member

lotusfan

Senior Member

A. not closing give me an implication that the other person is closing the windows, and «I» am asking him not to.

B. opening suggests that the windows are close, and «I» want to open them

lotusfan

Senior Member

e2efour

Senior Member

lotusfan

Senior Member

A. not closing
give me an implication that the other person is closing the windows, and «I» am asking him not to.

B. opening
suggests that the windows are close, and «I» want to open them

Am I right here?

Bigote Blanco

Senior Member

Copyright

Senior Member

It’s hot in the room, would you mind _______ the windows?
A. not closing B. opening

People who create these tests have a mental picture in mind when they phrase the question. In this case, the person is imagining the windows being either opened or closed. unfortunately, we don’t know which.

Both answers are correct: 1) depending on the windows (see below), 2) if the room is not air-conditioned, and 3) if the intent is to let a breeze in.

A is correct if the windows are open.
B is correct if the windows are closed.

If there is air-conditioning in the room, both answers are wrong because you don’t want the cool air to escape out the window. (I know it says it’s hot in the room, but maybe someone just turned on the air-conditioning and we’re are waiting for it to get up to speed.)

Another problem is that we need a semi-colon or dash in place of the comma in the original sentence, but that’s not part of the test.

Volde

New Member

This is a question about logic.
If it’s hot in a room, that would most likely mean that the windows CAN’T be open, since it wouldn’t be hot then. And even if it was hot in the room with windows open, then it really wouldn’t matter, because closing them won’t change that.

But to be honest, there is not only one right answer to this question. We don’t know anything about the circumstances.. If we were anywhere in a room located in africa for example, then opening the windows would probably make the room even hotter since warm air can get in.. assuming we are in a room located in alaska, then opening the windows would probably make the room colder due to the climate.

//Edit: I thought again. Both answers are right in this case. Though I can’t immagine anybody would say don’t close the windows if it’s hot already, because it’s pretty obvious nobody would close windows in a hot room.

Answer To The Question’would You Mind Opening The Window?’?

when somebody asks, «Would you mind opening the window?»

Do you use «Yes» when you answer as in the next sentence?

«Yes. I’m sorry because I’ve caught a cold.»

To me it sounds awkward.

• 
• anonymous

This is a funny one because no matter whether you start with yes or no, it sounds like you are happy to open the window.

Would you mind opening the window?

No, I’ll do it for you right now.

Yes, I’ll open the window.

To say that you don’t want to open the window it is clearer to avoid either yes or no and just say something along the lines of «I’d rather not as I’ve caught a cold. sorry.» or «Would you mind if I didn’t? I have a cold, you see».

Aren’t we strange!

• 
• nona the brit

Or: «No, not at all!» (for «yes, I’ll open the window»).

Requests that begin «Would you mind. » seem to be almost impossible to refuse, even if you do have a cold.

• 
• MrPedantic

Anonymous when somebody asks, «Would you mind opening the window?»

Do you use «Yes» when you answer as in the next sentence?

«Yes. I’m sorry because I’ve caught a cold.»

To me it sounds awkward.

• 
• milky

Thank you for your answer. Then, if you say, «I’m sorry I can’t.I caught a bad cold.» to the question «Would you mind opening the window?»

• 
• anonymous

It sounds a little odd.

«I can’t», in this context, suggests an inability to open the window, rather than an unwillingness. «I’d rather not» would be more appropriate.

And here you would say «I have a cold» (describing a state), rather than «I caught a cold» (describing an event).

«I’m sorry, I’d rather not, if you don’t mind – I have a bad cold.»

(It’s best to stress the fact that your cold is bad, even if it isn’t.)

• 
• MrPedantic

• 
• Gazapo

is it do you mind TO OPEN .

do you mind opening.

im not a native speaker and this little issue keeps bothering me in every test i’ve taken such as toeic and toefl.

does anyone know which one is correct and what’s the difference?

• 
• anonymous

Anonymous is it do you mind TO OPEN .
or

The first one doesn’t work.

As far as I know (but I’m open to corrections if what I write is not natural ), you need either «Do you mind opening the window» (I’m asking you to open it) or «Do you mind if I open the window?«/»Do you mind my opening the window» (I’m politely asking if you have any objections, but I’ll open it).

PS: Next time please open a new thread instead of posting in a very old one.

Would You Mind To Open The Window?

What should I say when one is asking «Would you mind to open the window» and I wouldn´t like to open it. So should I say «No I wouldn´t» or «Yes I would» to tell to one that I don´t like to do it.

The word «mind» is translated as «uncomfortable», so «Would you mind to open the window» should be same as «Are you uncomfortable if you opened the window».

Thanks for the help.

• 
• wessman

wessman Would you mind to open the window

This is not correct. The question is

Would you mind opening the window?

If you are willing to open the window, say, «Not at all» and open the window.

If you are not willing to open the window, say, «I’d rather not» and be prepared to say why.

wessman The word «mind» is translated as «uncomfortable»

protest). Would you object to opening the window?

• 
• CalifJim

Technically the answer that would indicate you do not want to open the window would be, «Yes, I would mind.» However, there are many who would not like this answer and some who might even consider it rude and get offended. I suggest, instead, answering with something like, «I am sorry, but I would rather not.» This way you are politely turning down their request.

I hope this helps.

• 
• sbolton

What should I say when one is asking «Would you mind to open the window» and I wouldn´t like to open it. So should I say «No I wouldn´t» or «Yes I would» to tell to one that I don´t like to do it.

The word «mind» is translated as «uncomfortable», The idea of ‘would you mind?’ is more like ‘would you object?’

Iso «Would you mind to open the window» should be same as «Are you uncomfortable if you opened the window».

The correct way to ask is Would you mind opening the window, please?

If you don’t want to. then answer Yes., I would. This is short for Yes, I would mind.

I’ll attempt to make it as simple as I can.

Take this dialogue as an example:

Rowan: «Would you take my book to your house?»

Eric: «Yes, I would.»

Why did Eric say «would»? Because Rowan used a verb in his question.

Thus, your question should be: «Is the word ‘mind’ a verb?», and the answer would be: yes, it is.

The same happens with your example:

Shawn: «Would you mind to open the window»?

Rachel: «Yes, I would (in other words, rudely say she wouln’t open it)».

I agree, however, it sounds cynical.

It isn’t pleasant to hear somebody says to you that sentence. You could probably be insulted.

You could say instead: «I can’t open it at the moment» or «Could I open the window later?».

Yet, I think it is correct to say this.

• 
• anonymous

Many thanks to everyone for their replies.

As «Yes, I would» is concidered rude, how about «No, I wouldn´t» if I liked to open the window? This question is just for a technical purpose.

And still about the writing of the «Would you mind to open the window» sentence, is it definitely incorrect and no native English speaker would ever say so? I speak not grammartically correct my own language, instead, I speak it in the way we are used to (sometimes is as the rule says, sometimes it´s not). So how about in this case, really? I little bit doubt that all native English speakers speak English as the rule says 😉 . Don´t take me wrong, I don´t mean to encourage people to speak it incorrectly.

Thanks again for your great help.

• 
• wessman

If you want to open it, then the answer would usually be something like «No, I don’t mind at all.» This would not be considered rude in any way- it would be a common answer to such a question.

As to your other question, the way you had this sentence worded originally is definitely incorrect and no native English speaker that I know of would word it this way. That is not to say that all native speakers necessarily use correct English, but the particular way you had the sentence worded is not a common mistake for a native speaker, though the average native speaker would still be able to tell what you intended to say.

• 
• sbolton

Lesson learned 🙂 and many thanks to everyone who kindly and patiently helped me. BTW, this forum is GREAT with GREAT PEOPLE! Have a wonderful weekend.

• 
• anonymous

wessman And still about the writing of the «Would you mind to open the window» sentence, is it definitely incorrect and no native English speaker would ever say so?

This is such an important point that I want to repeat what sbolton has already said about it. Like the speakers of any language, English speakers don’t always speak exactly as the grammar books advise. Nevertheless, there are very specific areas within the grammar of English where deviations from the standard forms occur for certain populations of native speakers. These problem areas for native speakers show almost no overlap with the problem areas that occur for non-native learners of English.

The grammar of the verb «mind» is not among the places in English where such deviations occur for native speakers. It’s mind + an -ing word for everyone. (mind going, mind taking, mind looking, . ) The confusion of the «to + verb» form with the «verb + ing» form is almost exclusively a non-native problem.