1. Gerunds and infinitives
Grammar III
I CO – 2011 by
Carlos Roberto Mora

2. Infinitive The uninflected form of the verb.
The infinitive form may be used alone or in conjunction with the particle to.
An infinitive is the base form of a verb with
-to-

3. Infinitive (to) + Gerund
The infinitive after a verb often describes a future event.
After: hope, expect, promise, want… the event in the to-infinitive comes after the activity or thought in the main verb:
I hope to see you next week.
Gerund describes an activity.
We enjoyed seeing you last weekend.

4. afford / agree
learn / need
ask / decide
promise / refuse to -
expect / fail
tell / want
hope / wish
want / decide

5. afford / agree
I agree to go to the USA trip this summer.
I can afford to buy this picture.
learn / need
We should learn to do housework.
Humans need to drink water.

6. Hope / wish
I hope to meet Beckham in England.
I wish to fly up high in the sky.
Want / decide
I want to do the homework today.
I decide to buy this book.

7. Expect / fail
We expect to pass the English exam.
We failed to do the homework.
Tell / want
He wanted to tell her about his feelings.

8. Ask / decide
I asked my mum to go shopping with me.
I decided to go hiking this Sunday.
Promise / refuse
I promised my mother to finish my homework this weekend.
I refuse to invite Mary to my party.

9. No major difference in meaning
Some verbs can be followed by either the infinitive or the gerund without any major difference in meaning:
Begin
Continue
Start
Intend
Mother Teresa started to live/living in the slums of Calcutta from 1948.
Though she faced many problems, Mother Teresa continued to work/working for the poor.

10. Gerund (general) to-infinitive (particular situation)
Some verbs are generally followed by the gerund when used in a general sense
The to-infinitive is often used for a particular situation.
I like swimming, but I don’t like to swim on cold days.

11. The Gerund is formed by adding “ing” to the base form of a verb
swim  swimming
eat  eating
run  running

12. The Gerund can be used… As a noun
Running is my favourite sport. (subject)
He tried running faster (object)
She was afraid of losing. (object of preposition)

13. After adjectives + preposition
accustomed to capable of
fond of afraid of
successful in good at
tired of interested in
She is accustomed to training for many hours.
He is good at running the 200 meters race.

14. admit
avoid
delay
deny
enjoy ing -
finish
keep
mind

15. Admit
My brother admitted breaking the vase.
Avoid
I avoid walking on busy streets.
Delay
The school delayed opening this morning.

16. Finish I finish doing my homework. Keep
After 4 hours, he keeps standing there.
Mind
Would you mind lending your pen to me.

17. Deny
I deny doing a wrong thing
I deny being late to school every day.
I deny talking during the lesson.
Enjoy
I enjoy playing computer games.

18. After verbs… admit can’t help finish keep try enjoy
advise keep dislike
appreciate mind avoid
understand suggest forgive
John has finished repairing his bicycle.
They enjoy walking in the evening.
Mary dislikes swimming in winter.

19. I enjoy to swim.
I 　enjoy swimming.
right
Which is correct ?

20. I want to study .
right
　 I want studying.
Which is correct ?

21. I finish to eat .
　 I finish eating.
right
Which is correct ?

22. I need to study .
right
　 I need studying.
Which is correct ?

23. I hope to study .
right
　 I hope studying.
Which is correct ?

24. I stopped to smoke.
right
　 I stopped smoking.
Which is correct ?

25. I like to read / I like reading
Also…
Some verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund, with NO DIFFERENCE IN MEANING
I like to read / I like reading
Some verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund, but THEIR MEANINGS ARE NOT THE SAME
I will remember to call her. (I will be sure to call her in the future.)
I remember calling her. (I have the memory of calling her in the past.)

26. Gerunds are often used when actions are real,
concrete or completed:
I stopped smoking.  (The smoking was real and happened until I stopped.)  
Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, abstract, or future:
I stopped to smoke.  (I was doing something else, and I stopped; the smoking had not happened yet.)

27. Summary table for (to) infinitive and gerund
Gerund (-ing forms)
Use as subject
Eg: To smoke is bad for you.
Use as subject (more common)
Eg: Smoking is bad for you.
To say why we do things
(purpose)
Eg: I got up early to catch the 7am train.
After prepositions (on, in, before, for, without, after…etc.)
Eg: You can’t live without eating.
Eg: Thank you for listening.
3. After some verbs (expect, afford, want, need, prepare, refuse, choose, fail, learn, promise, hesitate...etc)
Eg: I expect to pass the exams.
3. After some verbs (eg: dislike, enjoy, practise, mind, avoid, consider, discuss, finish, keep, miss, suggest, keep, can’t help…etc)
Eg: I’ll finish studying in June.

28. Summary table for (to) infinitive and gerund
Gerund (ing forms)
4. After some adjectives and nouns: Adj = easy, happy, glad, nice, excited, ready, difficult, dangerous ...etc; Noun = work, money to spend, something to drink, different ways to protect her.…etc)
Eg: She is ready to leave. (adj)
Eg: I am glad to see you. (adj)
Eg: I’ve got work to do. (n)
After phrasal verbs:
Eg: I am not good at dancing.
Eg: I am not interested in singing.
Eg: John will give up smoking.
5. Some verbs can be followed by either gerund or (to) infinitive:
Eg: I love going to school/I love to go to school
5. Eg: Begin, continue, hate, love, start…etc.

29. Summary table for (to) infinitive and gerund
Gerund (ing forms)
6. Used in general sense (Eg: love, like, hate, prefer..etc)
Eg: I like swimming.
Used in particular situations
Eg: I don’t like swimming on cold days.
No + gerund
Eg: No money, no talking.
* Some words can use both to-infinitive and gerund with the same meaning. (Eg: love, like, begin, start, intend, continue..etc)
Stop + gerund.
Eg: Stop talking, stop writing, stop walking…etc.
* Some words can use both to-infinitive and gerund with different meaning. (Eg: remember, try..etc)