top 6 gerunds and infinitives
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Gerunds
and
Infinitives
Gerunds and infinitives can function as:
NOUNS(subjects, objects, subject
complements) As subjects, they take a
singular verb. Only Gerunds can be object
of the preposition.
To form gerunds, usethe base form + ing
(don’t’ forget the rules for spelling of ing form of verbs)
I enjoy learning English
To form negative gerunds, use
not + gerundNot speaking English well is my biggest problem in
this country.
Gerunds used as subject of the
sentence.
Dancing is fun.
Gerunds used as objects
He enjoys working with children.
Verbs that take only Gerunds
• Appreciate• Avoid• Delay• Deny• Discuss• Dislike• Enjoy• Excuse• Finish• understand
• Keep• Mention• Mind• Miss• Postpone• Quit• Recall• Recommend• Resent• suggest
Gerunds used as object of the preposition
I am thinking about taking the children to Mexico.
Common preposition combinations followed by
gerunds• Be excited about, complain about,
talk about, think about, worry about• Apologize for, blame for, famous for• Believe in, interested in, succeed in• Take care of, instead of, be accused
of• Insist on, count on, concentrate on• Keep from, prevent from, profit from• In addition to, look forward to, be
used to
By + gerundYou get good grades by studying hard.
go + gerundRecreational activities: camping, dancing,sightseeing, swimming, skiing, fishing, jogging,
I will go fishing with you tomorrow.
Some expressions are used with
gerunds
Be busy, can’t help, have fun, it’s no use, it’s not worth
To form infinitives useto + base form of the verb
I want to dance
To form negative infinitives use
Not + infinitiveHe decided not to go to the
party.
Infinitives in the subject positionTo live in the United States is my
dreamIt is my dream to live in the
United States.
Verbs that take infinitives
Verb + infinitives – agree, appear, decide
hope, intend, learn, offer, plan, seem, tend, wait, can afford
Verb + Noun phrase + infinitive – cause, convince, force, invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, trust, warn, advise, encourage
Verbs that come directly after the infinitive or have a noun phrase – ask, beg, choose, expect, need, want, would like, promise
Adjectives followed by infinitivesAfraid, amazed, anxious,
ashamed, careful, delighted, eager, fortunate, glad, happy,
lucky, pleased, ready, sad, sorry,
Infinitive of purpose
In order toI came here in order to learn.
Infinitive with too and enough
too + adjective or adverb + infinitive
She is too young to vote.
Adjective or adverb + enough + infinitive
They are old enough to vote.
Gerunds often follow verbs that indicate that an action
is happening or has happened.
The action expressed by the verb comes at the same time or after the action
expressed by the gerund.
We enjoy going to concerts. (you can only enjoy things you are doing or have done –
not things you haven’t done yet.)
Infinitives often follow verbs that indicate that an
action will or could happen.
The action expressed by the verb comes before the
action expressed by the infinitive.
We hope to go to the concert.
(You can hope for things that could happennot things that have already happened)
Verbs that are followed by a noun phrase + infinitivecan also be followed by a
gerund.The gerund makes it
general and the infinitive make specific the person
indicated.
They allow smoking in this building.
They allowed me to smoke in the house.
These verbs are:
adviseallow
encouragepermitrequire
urge
Some verbs can be followed by both gerund or infinitive with no change in meaning.
Begin, hate, like,start, love, prefer, continue
I like cooking.I like to cook.
She started losing weightShe started to lose weight.
Some verbs although they can be used after both gerunds and infinitives have a difference in
meaning.
rememberforgetregretstoptryget
She stopped smoking.She stopped to smoke.
They forgot buying bread.They forgot to buy bread.
Used toBe used toGet used to
Used to + base formBe used to + gerundGet used to + gerund
Verbs of perception:infinitives: from start to finishGerunds: in progress
I heard the children cry.
I saw your friends walking in the park.
Infinitive forms are not used after the following
verbs of perception:feelsee
hearsmell
When a specific performer of the gerund action needs
to be indicated, a possessive noun or a
possessive determiner is used.
I really appreciate Karen’s/her writing that
letter for me.
Peter’s/his coming late really annoys me.
Your neglecting your teeth will cause an earlier return
to the dentist.
Their denying the allegation was
understandable.
I didn’t like the dog’s barking all night.
I don’t mind his leaving early.
(formal)
I don’t mind him leaving early.
(informal)
When an infinitive functions as a subject or a subject complement, any
stated subject of the infinitive should be preceded by for. If a
pronoun follows for, it must be in object form.
When the subject of a gerund is stated, it takes
the possessive form.
For people to see is a wonderful gift.
Her desire was for them to take a trip around the
world
They hoped for her to be able to attend the concert.
Infinitives can occur in the progressive but gerunds
cannot.To be doing
It is used to indicate an activity in progress or
ongoingShe had hoped to be
working
Both gerunds and infinitives can occur in the
perfect formhaving doneto have done
It is used to indicate that the activity is in the past
We appreciate having heard her sing.
We’re fortunate to have heard her sing
A gerund can be used in the passive form
I dislike being told a lie.
Havemake
letare causative verbs. They
cause someone to do something.
They are always followed by a noun phrase + base form
of verb.Do not use an infinitive
after these verbs.She made me fall.
She made her daughter go to the party.
She let him take the camera.
She had me prepare breakfast yesterday.
After causative verbs:get
convincepersuade
use the infinitive
She got me to work.She convinced me to work.
Sense-perception verbs:hear, listen tofeel, smell, see
watch, observe, notice
are followed by either a noun phrase + base or –ing
form with only a slight difference in meaning.
We saw people living in poverty.
We saw them perform
Help
can take an infinitive or base form.
It can occur with or without a noun phrase.
I helped them carry the boxes.
I helped them to clean up after the party.
perfect infinitive: to have movedprogressive infinitive: to be working
perfect progressive infinitive:to have been playing
passive: to be seenperfect passive: to have been chosen
Perfect gerund: having moved
passive gerund: being done
perfect passive gerund: having been selected
The End!