[Grammar] I had him talk/talking.

[wotcha22]

1. I had him talk.

2. I had him talking.


This is a question related to my last post.

Now I wonder how the underlying meaning differs between two sentences.

Thanks teachers.

 

[emsr2d2]

They are both possible and they mean that you made him talk or you caused him to talk somehow. I find them both a little unnatural as standalone sentences. In BrE, we don't use "to have someone do something" very much - it's used more in AmE, I believe.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

I agree. We'd probably say, 'I got him to talk' or 'I got him talking'.