When "Ing" and when "to"?

Question

Here the sentence:

Caribou are wary animals with excellent hearing,  so stalking them over the treeless landscape, getting close enough to kill it  with nothing but a handheld lance, as Dorset people did, required exceptional hunting skill.

I took:
so stalking them over the treeless landscape, getting close enough to kill it

The correct answer is:
so to stalk them over the treeless landscape and get close enough to kill one

I thought if someone is talking about a process, you have to use "ing". Could someone please explain it to me?

lovikansal · Answer

Good question. But if you look closely, there is an error related to SV pair. The incorrect sentence (the one you chose) uses ‘it’. Just remember ‘it’ is used to refer to something singluar not plural (when not used as a placeholder).
Here, the sentence talks about Caribou (plural, confirmed by ‘them’).
The correct sentence uses ‘one’ which is singular, but does not refer to plural: it refers to one caribou.

I hope I am right.

Posted from my mobile device

PyjamaScientist · Answer

Your doubt is warranted. And though  lovikansal  has made the right observation with respect to the S-V ambiguity. It is not the original doubt.
 nygobjxiii  your confusion is between  so to stalk them  and  so stalking them . Which is basically a confusion between  an Infinitive as a Subject  Vs  a Gerund as a Subject . And though we are normally accustomed to seeing Gerunds as Subjects in normal language (Eg,  Eating chocolates   is  my guilty pleasure), it is not the same with the Infinitives.

In your example provided, both  so to stalk  and  so stalking  along with their verb  "required"  are correct. Other definitive errors between them help us differentiate the better choice.

You said, I quote, "if someone is talking about a process, you have to use "ing". This isn't necessarily true. Also, in the original question, there is no "process" being explained. It is just depicting an act, that is, to stalk Caribou.

If the usage of the infinitive as a subject caught you off-guard, then these examples might help:
 To love   is  to live.
 To tell the truth   is   always right.
 To complain    would seem  ungrateful.

Hence, as a parting note:   Infinitives (to+verb) can act as subjects   in some cases and exist with the proper verb to convey the intended meaning.

Yogananda · Answer

Hi nygobjxiii Follow this link to read the explanation given by GMATNinja. It may resolve your query. https://gmatclub.com/forum/caribou-are- ... 68448.html

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

so stalking them over the treeless landscape, getting close enough to kill it

THEM and IT - > Plural and Singular issue pops out.

When "Ing" and when "to"?

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