1. He was excited to watch the game.
2. He was excited watching the game.
(Which one is grammatical? Are both OK? What is the difference between them?)
English - Writeacher, Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at 8:07am
Both are OK, but they have slightly different meanings.
#1 - This implies that he would be watching the game soon (isn't watching it yet) and is really looking forward to it.
#2 - This means that he is excited about the game while he's watching it. Be sure to put a comma after "excited" to set off the participial phrase.
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Thank you for your answer.
3. He was excited while he was watching the game.
(Does #3 mean #2 in meaning? Can he be excited with other factors while whatching the game?)
2-2. He was excited because he was watching the game.
(Can #2 mean #2-2? Because he was watching the game, he was excited.)
For #3 ~
Yes, you can mean he was excited when he learned about his new job ... and he learned about it while he was watching the game.
For #2-2 ~
Yes
Yes, sentence #3 "He was excited while he was watching the game" has a similar meaning to sentence #2 "He was excited watching the game." Both sentences imply that the excitement is happening at the same time as watching the game.
However, it's important to note that sentence #3 allows for the possibility of other factors contributing to his excitement while watching the game. For example, he could be excited because his favorite team was playing, or because it was a highly anticipated match.
On the other hand, sentence #2-2 "He was excited because he was watching the game" has a slightly different meaning. It specifically states that the reason for his excitement is solely because he was watching the game. In this case, there are no other factors mentioned contributing to his excitement.
So while #2 and #2-2 both involve watching the game as a factor in his excitement, #2-2 is more specific, focusing solely on the act of watching the game as the cause of his excitement.
Yes, sentence #3 "He was excited while he was watching the game" has a similar meaning to sentence #2 "He was excited watching the game." Both sentences imply that he was excited at the same time as he was watching the game.
Regarding your second question, sentence #2 "He was excited watching the game" does not necessarily imply that he was excited because he was watching the game. It only states that he was excited while watching the game. However, sentence #2-2 "He was excited because he was watching the game" explicitly states that the reason for his excitement was because he was watching the game.