Passive vs. Active voice Taller de inglés científico para publicaciones académicas Mexico City, México August-September 2014 GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES Grammar Review for Academic Purposes

Gerunds and Infinitives Gerunds and infinitives look like verbs but they do not act as verbs. They act as nouns. Use gerunds and infinitives when you have two verbs that you want to talk about in a sentence. There are a few patterns for gerunds and infinitives but most is memorization…again! Sorry!

Gerunds A gerund is a verb with an ‘ing’ ending that is used as a noun. Gerunds are used:  As the subject of a sentence.  With a verb: verb + gerund (object of the sentence)  With a preposition: preposition + gerund (a gerund is the only kind of verb that can follow a preposition)  With a possessive: possessive + gerund

Gerund as the subject of the sentence:  Investigating this phenomenon has been the topic of much research.  Can have a negative form (not + gerund):  Not obtaining the results immediately will delay the development of the model. Gerunds are always singular even when they are used as part of a phrase. Use a singular verb with them.  Extrapolating the results of this study is possible given certain limiations.

Gerunds can follow certain verbs (see chart) and they become the object of the verb.  Researchers believe calculating the median values will generate a valid result. Gerunds can follow a preposition and they are the only verb form the can do this.  Yonge (2011) was the first to propose a hypothesis about estimating the elliptical orbit. Gerunds are also used with possessives (informal)  I dislike George’s eating fast food. (In spoken English people usually use nouns or object pronouns instead of the possessive)

Infinitives An infinitive is used after some verbs and is used as a noun. The form is to + verb.  Infinitive + verb (subject)  Verb + infinitive (object)  Verb + object/object pronoun + infinitive  Adjective + infinitive As the subject of a sentence:  To compare the semi-analytic model with our simulations, we used symmetric equations.

As the object of a sentence:  The aim of this work is to use gravity anomalies. After an object:  The study showed the errors to be minimal. After an adjective:  It is important to determine the axis of rotation. When forming the negative, use not + infinitive  The investigators were careful not to extrapolate their findings.

Gerund OR Infinitive Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or infinitive. In most cases there is no difference in meaning.  The mathematical model started working.  The mathematical model started to work. If the main verb is in the progressive form, use an infinitive only.  It is beginning to function.  NOT: It is beginning functioning.

Infinitive or gerund? Some general notes on when to use what…not just in scientific writing….

The verbs “remember” “forget” “regret” “try” and “stop” can be followed by a gerund or infinitives BUT the meaning changes.  I stopped eating pizza because I’m on a diet. (I will not eat pizza anymore)  I stopped to eat pizza because I was hungry. (I stopped doing what I was doing in order to eat pizza.)  She remembered to turn off the light when she left. (she turned off the lights)  She remembered playing with dolls when she was young. (she recalled the memory of playing with dolls)

Remember + gerund: ▫To recall a memory Remember + infinitive: ▫To not forget to do something Stop + gerund: ▫To finish doing something Stop + infinitive: ▫To stop doing something in order to do something else. Forget + gerund: ▫To not remember a memory Forget + infinitive: ▫To not remember to do something

Regret + gerund: ▫To wish that you had not done something Regret + infinitive: ▫To give bad news Try + gerund: ▫To experiment with different approaches or solutions Try + infinitive: ▫To make an effort to so something