Gerund vs. noun, style

[spanishlearner]

Which sentence is correct, if any, which is better:

"The consideration of their knowledge of foreign languages makes me think they might have been brought up bilingually."

or

"Considering their knowledge of foreign languages makes me think they might have been brought up bilingually."

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by spanishlearner

Which sentence is correct, if any, which is better:

"The consideration of their knowledge of foreign languages makes me think they might have been brought up bilingually."

or

"Considering their knowledge of foreign languages makes me think they might have been brought up bilingually."

As often in English, I think both may be grammatically correct, but wrong in the sense that nobody would say that. Oddly, if you omit the "The consideration of" and the "Considering", what remains is correct in itself.

Their knowledge of foreign languages makes me think they might have been brought up bilingually.

Their knowledge is what makes you think, so that you are clearly considering that knowledge. Mentioning that consideration is tautology.

[caliber1]

Originally Posted by Perikles

As often in English, I think both may be grammatically correct, but wrong in the sense that nobody would say that. Oddly, if you omit the "The consideration of" and the "Considering", what remains is correct in itself.

Their knowledge of foreign languages makes me think they might have been brought up bilingually.

Their knowledge is what makes you think, so that you are clearly considering that knowledge. Mentioning that consideration is tautology.

Agreed! If you were set on using "considering", you could possibly use, "Considering their knowledge of foreign language, one would think they might have been brought up bilingually."

But I would have written them the way you did.