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What's the difference between " want sb to do sth" and " want sb doing sth"? I need to Know the difference between "want sb to do sth" and "want sb doing sth"? e.g I want him to stay in touch with the headquarters. They want the employees staying in touch with the prospective customers.

Answers · 2

1
"want sb to do something" is about the same as "want sb doing something." The -ing form is more informal. It also usually applies to a longer time period. You will also usually hear it in the negative form: "I don't want anybody in the class talking during the test." Also, some purists debate that "to do" is absolutely correct, but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

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