What is the difference between "deny doing something" and "deny having done something"?
The context is as follows:
While being questioned on the court, the man denied [taking/having taken] the old lady's necklace.
Which one is correct, or are both? Is there a difference in meaning?
Best Answer
I'd think both are acceptable, but 'doing something' sounds much more natual to me,
because I don't feel the necessary to use 'having done something' form.
If 'having taken' were required in that sentence to mean the taking occurred in the past,
then other similar verbs like 'remember', 'forget' and the like
would have to need 'having done something' to express 'the doing' happened before.
I remember you saying that Nathan was such a bother.
(I remember that you said Nathan was such a bother.)
Simple use of the gerund form 'saying' is good enough
to understand that 'your saying was in the past.'
So my take is there would be no difference between them,
and I might use 'having taken' for writing in a formal way if I had to use that form.