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, use the 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 + gerund Not 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 AppreciateAppreciate AvoidAvoid DelayDelay DenyDeny DiscussDiscuss DislikeDislike EnjoyEnjoy ExcuseExcuse FinishFinish understandunderstand 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 aboutBe excited about, complain about, talk about, think about, worry about Apologize for, blame for, famous forApologize for, blame for, famous for Believe in, interested in, succeed inBelieve in, interested in, succeed in Take care of, instead of, be accused ofTake care of, instead of, be accused of Insist on, count on, concentrate onInsist on, count on, concentrate on Keep from, prevent from, profit fromKeep from, prevent from, profit from In addition to, look forward to, be used toIn addition to, look forward to, be used to

By + gerund You get good grades by studying hard. go + gerund Recreational 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

When a specific performer of the gerund action needs to be indicated, a possessive (kepemilikan) 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)

INFINITIVES

To form infinitives use to + base form of the verb I want to dance To form negative infinitives use Not + infinitive He decided not to go to the party.

Infinitives in the subject position To live in the United States is my dream Subject: to live

Infinitives in the object position Example: I want to dance

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 infinitives Afraid, amazed, anxious, ashamed, careful, delighted, eager, fortunate, glad, happy, lucky, pleased, ready, sad, sorry,

Example: I am happy to hear that I am sorry to hear that You are so lucky to win the lottery I am afraid to talk to you

Infinitive of purpose In order to I 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.

Differentiation between Gerunds and to-infinitive

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 happen not things that have already happened)

Infinitives can occur in the progressive (continuous form) but gerunds cannot. To be doing It is used to indicate an activity in progress or ongoing She had hoped to be working

Verbs of perception: infinitives: from start to finish Gerunds: in progress I heard the children cry. I saw your friends walking in the park.

Verbs that are followed by a noun phrase + infinitive can 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: advise allow encourage permit require urge

Some verbs can be followed by both gerund or infinitive with no change in meaning. Begin, hate, like, start, love, prefer, continue

Example: I like cooking. I like to cook. She started losing weight She started to lose weight.

Some verbs although they can be used after both gerunds and infinitives have a difference in meaning. remember forget regret stop try

Example: Jack remembers buying eggs at the supermarket. = Jack bought the eggs and he remembers that action. Jack remembers to buy eggs at the supermarket. = When Jack goes to the supermarket, he buys eggs if needs.

I forget buying eggs.  A: wow, we have so many eggs  B: Yeah, you bought it yesterday.  A: Really? I forget buying eggs I forget to buy bread. (they forgot to  A: Honey, we don’t have any bread left.  B: Oh my God, I forget to buy bread.

I regret telling you the bad news.I regret telling you the bad news. = I wish I hadn't told you the bad news. I regret to tell you the bad news.I regret to tell you the bad news. = I'm not happy, but I must tell you the bad news.

She stopped smoking. = no longer become a smoker She stopped to smoke. = she was walking and suddenly she stopped and then smoked

I couldn’t sleep, so I tried drinking warm milkI couldn’t sleep, so I tried drinking warm milk = this was one possible way to achieve what I wanted I tried to sleepI tried to sleep = this is what I wanted to achieve but it is difficult

The similarities

Both gerunds and infinitives can occur in the perfect form having done to 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

Bare Infinitive Is also called infinitive without to Base form of verb

The usage of bare infinitive Use after a modal verbUse after a modal verb Use after “had better, would rather, rather than”Use after “had better, would rather, rather than” Use after causative verbsUse after causative verbs Use after sense verbsUse after sense verbs Use after except and butUse after except and but

After modal verbs Modal verbs:Modal verbs: Will, would, may, might, can, could, should, must Example: I will marry you You should run faster I can do this

After had better, would rather, and rather than Example: We had better not be late I had rather have stayed in than gone out. They decided to accept the offer rather than take their case to court

Causative verbs: Have, make, let > They cause someone to do something. > They are always followed by a noun phrase + bare infinitive Example: She made me fall. She lets the students go home early Please let us know She had me prepare breakfast yesterday. After causative verbs

After sense verbs Use bare infinitives after verbs of sense like: Feel, hear, see, smell This form should take an object Example: I see the men leave the building I heard someone knock on the door We felt the ground shake

After except and but Use bare infinitives after the word “except” and “but” Example: In the flat I do everything except cook You have done nothing but grumble all day

but, After causative verbs: get convince persuade use the to-infinitive She got me to work. She convinced me to work.

Sense-perception verbs: hear, listen to feel, smell, see watch, observe, notice are followed by either a noun phrase + bare infinitives or gerunds form with only a slight difference in meaning.

We saw people living in poverty. We saw them perform

Help can take an infinitive or bare infinitive. 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 moved progressive infinitive: to be working perfect progressive infinitive: to have been playing passive: to be seen perfect passive: to have been chosen

Perfect gerund: having moved passive gerund: being done perfect passive gerund: having been selected

The End!