Transcript Gerunds and Infinitives

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
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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 + 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
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
It 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
infinitives
Afraid, amazed, anxious, ashamed,
careful, delighted, eager, fortunate,
glad, happy, lucky, pleased, ready, sad,
sorry,
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.
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)
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
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
get
She stopped smoking.
She stopped to smoke.
They forgot buying bread.
They forgot to buy bread.
Used to
Be used to
Get used to
Used to + base form
Be used to + gerund
Get used to + gerund
Verbs of perception:
infinitives: from start to finish
Gerunds: 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:
feel
see
hear
smell
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 ongoing
She had hoped to be working
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
A gerund can be used in the
passive form
I dislike being told a lie.
Have
make
let
are 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
convince
persuade
use the 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 + 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 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!