Usage of direct infinitive or bare infinitive

Question

1) She did no more than sleep the whole day.    (Or)
  
  She did no more than sleeping the whole day

2) She did nothing but cry.     (Or)
  
  She did nothing but crying

which of  the sentences are correct in above pairs? What is the difference of meaning in those pairs?

mdewey · Answer

She did no more than sleep the whole day. (Or)
She did no more than sleeping the whole day

Neither of these is quite right although the first might be accepted by some people. It would be better to take the model of your other example.

She did nothing but cry. (Or)
She did nothing but crying

The first one here is correct, the other not. So for the first example

She did nothing but sleep all day

would be much better.

lee · Answer

for the latter:

She did nothing but cry
  she was doing nothing but crying

2 Answers