Learn English – Difference between “be aimed at” and “be aiming to”

grammar

According to Longman, I think I can use "aimed at ing" and "aiming to v" both.

GRAMMAR: Patterns with aim

• You aim to do something:

I aim to study medicine.

✗Don’t say: I aim at studying medicine.

• An action is aimed at doing something:

Our policies are aimed at encouraging economic growth.

✗Don’t say: Our policies are aimed to encourage economic growth.Longman

Then are these sentences both okay?:

In order to reinforce the sharing of information aimed at strengthening the safety control, we will… (omitted the rest part because of the confidentiality)

vs

In order to reinforce the sharing of information aiming to strengthen the safety control, we will… (omitted the rest part because of the confidentiality)

are there any differences in the 'naturalness' of the sentence?

What is the difference between two of them?

(+) this is a translation from another language, so I cannot write the whole sentence because of the confidentiality.

Best Answer

Yes, you can say both, but neither is very good writing style. The sentences are both horribly wordy, not to mention somewhat redundant. Good English writing style recommends clear and concise sentences, without unnecessary verbiage. In both sentences you could remove "order to", "reinforce", and "aimed at/aiming to" without greatly affecting the underlying meaning:

(This program) shares information on strengthening safety controls.

Consider that "aim to do something" means "attempt to do something", which is a pretty wishy-washy statement. It's usually better to say what something does rather than what it tries to do.

Still, at times it is appropriate to equivocate. If you must use "aim to", then use the verb:

(This program) shares information that aims to strengthen safety controls.

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