[Grammar] My willing vs. my will vs. my willingness

[Curion]

The sentence in question is:

"Please respect my willing/will/willingness to be nice to you."

- Are all three options grammatically correct?
- Does willing work as a gerund/noun here and is it still used?
- Do all three have the same meaning or are there differences?

Thank you for giving your attention to this question of mine.

 

[emsr2d2]

[STRIKE]The sentence in question is:[/STRIKE] Unnecessary

"Please respect my willing/will/willingness to be nice to you."

1. Are all three options grammatically correct?
2. Does "willing" work as a gerund/noun here and is it still used?
3. Do all three have the same meaning or are there differences?

[STRIKE]Thank you for giving your attention to this question of mine.[/STRIKE] Unnecessary.

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

1. No. Only "willingness" works.
2. No.
3. The difference is that only one of them is correct.

 

[5jj]

I can't think of any context in which a native speaker would utter those words.

 

[Curion]

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

1. No. Only "willingness" works.
2. No.
3. The difference is that only one of them is correct.

Thank you for your reply.

So is the potential use of a gerund generally incorrect here? And if, why? Because in my mind the gerund willing from the verb "to will" sounded at least grammatically fine, albeit very odd-sounding.

 

[probus]

Okay, Curion, "Please respect my willing to be nice to you" is grammatical, strictly speaking. It is very unnatural as other teachers have said, but your question itself shows that you already knew that, or at least suspected it. People might have used it long ago, but certainly not within living memory. So don't use it.

 

[5jj]

"Please respect my willing to be nice to you" is grammatical, strictly speaking. .

I don't agree. The modal will has no infinitive and no -ing form.

The verb will (= dispose of in a will) has both forms, but is not appropriate in the original sentence.[FONT=&quot]
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[probus]

How about "I may seem crazy to you, but please accept my seeming to be crazy"?

 

[jutfrank]

I don't agree. The modal will has no infinitive and no -ing form.

The verb will (= dispose of in a will) has both forms, but is not appropriate in the original sentence.

I think this is meant to be will in the sense of want/wish.

 

[5jj]

Even in that sense, "Please respect my willing to be nice to you" seems unacceptable to me.

 

[jutfrank]

I think it's just about okay with willingness.

Are you trying to translate a sentence from German, Curion?

 

[Curion]

This question doesn't originate from a German sentence, no. Although a literal translation would make sense in that language (Bitte respektiere mein Wollen, nett zu dir zu sein).

5jj, are your words based on grammar or semantics? I find it a bit difficult to grasp your reasoning. Do you agree with Emsr2d2's reply that 'my willing' neither is grammatically correct nor works as a gerund? If so, which grammar rule is it instead grounded on? In my head, the gerund willing from to will (to want/wish) would mean the same as saying "Please respect my wanting/wishing to be nice to you".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Even in that sense, "Please respect my willing to be nice to you" seems unacceptable to me.

Absolutely.

This would be grammatical: "Please respect my being willing to be nice to you."

But it still wouldn't make any sense.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . Do you agree with Emsr2d2's reply that 'my willing' neither is grammatically correct nor works as a gerund? . . .

See post 12. I also like Jutfrank's willingness, which makes it a noun, mission accomplished. My suggestion, being willing, keeps the adjective. It's your choice.

In my head, the gerund willing from to will (to want/wish) would mean the same as saying "Please respect my wanting/wishing to be nice to you".

Sorry, but no, not at all. Want and will do not mean the same thing and are not used the same way. Willing is an adjective, not a verb or gerund — at least in your context.

It's an interesting idea, though!

 

[Curion]

It's an interesting idea, though!

How can 'willing' not be a gerund when it exists as a non-modal verb? The Cambridge and Oxford dictionary list 'to will' among other things also as 'to want something', like in "Stay or go, do as you will". If that definition doesn't belong to my "At least in your context", then why does the use of my+gerund grammatically not apply here?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

How can 'willing' not be a gerund when it exists as a non-modal verb? The Cambridge and Oxford dictionary list 'to will' among other things also as 'to want something', like in "Stay or go, do as you will". If that definition doesn't belong to my "At least in your context", then why does the use of my+gerund grammatically not apply here?

Yes, to will is a verb. It's used like cause, as in: It is happening because I am willing it to happen.

But that's not a gerund, and that's not how you're trying to use it. Again:

- If you want a noun, it's willingness.

- If you want a gerund, it's being. If you couple that with the adjective willing, it gives you being willing.

That's the best I can do.

 

[Curion]

Y

- If you want a gerund, it's being. If you couple that with the adjective willing, it gives you being willing.

That's the best I can do.

I understand you so far, I just can't get my head around this sentence grammatically not allowing the use of a gerund. Setting aside the logic, doesn't the sentence structure of "Please respect my + gerund to be nice to you" invite any verb to be potentially used as a gerund here? Like "Please respect my dancing to be nice to you" or "Please respect my thinking to be nice to you".

These sentences don't make any sense semantically, but I thought they'd be at least within the grammatical scope of the English language. If someone knows the exact rules as to why this is not the case here, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think your sentence is ungrammatical. There's nothing to get your head around.