I've just completed an application to a university. Now I'm writing an e-mail to my friend and was wondering whether finishing with the sentence
And now the waiting begins.
or
And now the wait begins.
is more appropriate with respect to the long time it usually takes for an answer from a university. As I'm not a native speaker I gathered two possible connotations from the ELL questions below.
waiting connotes a duration and something that ends at some point.
wait connotes a point in time and something recurring.
Those are in respect to the verb form, but does this also apply to the noun/gerund? Or is it related to gerund vs infinitive verbs mentioned here ("Verb + to or -ing")?
Personally I would probably choose "the waiting" to emphasize the duration rather than "the wait", which would emphasize the frequency if the above is correct. On the other hand, the second phrase sounds to me more like assuming that everyone knows "the wait" (after submitting something).
Is this correct? Or am I maybe overthinking the issue?
Possibly related:
I wait for Vs I'm waiting for
“while they wait” – why not “while they are waiting”?
Best Answer
These are very similar in meaning, almost identical.
^ The speaker is here saying that an ongoing action of waiting is starting.
^ The speaker is here saying that a single event that occurs over a time interval - the wait - is starting.
In particular, the choice is just slightly connotative, and almost completely stylistic. There is absolutely no difference in time period signaled; you're overthinking the use with the "duration vs. frequency" in your question. The two sentences are very nearly exactly the same. Perhaps the first can focus the listener more on the person or people doing the waiting, while the second is slightly more "passive" or removed from the actors. Perhaps not.