I have a question. Can we use a gerund after ‘would love’?
As in: I would love to play football.
I would love playing football.
I know the first one is correct. I am suspicious about the 2nd one because Grammarly suggested changing it to the first one when I wrote it.
Yes. Both ways of saying this are okay, but the first is a bit more natural.
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There is a subtle difference in meaning. The first example emphasizes that the person would like to start to to play football in the sense of engaging in the activity. For example, I would love to play football later today when it stops raining. Or, I would love to play football (in response to the question, “what do you want to do today?”).
By contrast, I would love playing football focuses on the activity itself – that is, on the act of playing the game – BUT implies that the person does not like or cannot play football unless some condition is met. That is, “I would love playing football” is a hypothetical statement. For example, I would love playing football if I were better at it, or if there was a field nearby, or if my friends played too. That is, the conditions offer an explanation as to why the person doesn’t now love to play football but WOULD play football and enjoy it under some conditions. Thus, the second version is not appropriate unless the follow up explanation regarding under what conditions the person would enjoy the activity are provided.
In short, the first version is more common and does not require any discussion about conditions. The person could add them – I would love to play football if it stopped raining in the afternoon – but it is not necessary. By contrast, the second example is not appropriate unless the explanatory conditions are provided since it is hypothetical.
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