Transcript GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
VERBS FOLLOWED BY “TO” OR
“-ING”
GERUND (VERB + -ING)
• We use the gerund after prepositions and
phrasal verbs. E.g.: I’m very good at
remembering names. / She’s given up
smoking.
• As the subject of a sentence. E.g.: Eating out is
quite cheap here.
• After some verbs: enjoy, hate, spend, don’t
mind, finish, like love, practice, stop,
suggest,…E.g.: I don’t mind getting up early.
INFINITIVE (+ TO)
• We use infinitive after adjectives. E.g.: My flat is
easy to find.
• To express reason or purpose.E.g.: He’s saving
money to buy a new car.
• After some verbs: (can’t) afford, agree, want,
need, learn, decide, expect, forget, help, hope,
learn, need, offer, plan, pretend, promise, seem,
want, would like,… E.g.: She’s never learnt to
drive. / I hope to see you soon.
INFINITVE (without to)
• Use the infinitive ( without to) after modal
verbs, e.g.: can may, might, must, should,
had better, would rather, and after the
verbs make and let.
• Examples: They made me eat that
horrible food.
Don’t let me go.
WARNINGS
• Gerunds and infinitives form the negative form with NOT.
E.g.: not to be, not being
• In the passive, make is followed by the infinitive with to.
Compare: My boss make us work hard. At school we
were made to wear uniform.
• Some verbs can be followed by the gerund or infinitive
(with to) with no change of meaning. E.g.: begin, start,
continue.
• Like, love, hate and prefer can also be used with either,
but the gerund is more common when you are talking
generally, and the infinitive when you talk about a
specific occasion. Compare: I like skiing (in general) I
like to go skiing in February or March (specific).
VERBS THAT CAN BE
FOLLOWED BY EITHER
GERUND OR INFINITIVE
(WITH TO)
WITH A CHANGE OF MEANING
REMEMBER
• Remember+infinitive = you remember first,
then you do something. Example:
Remember to lock the door when you
go out.
• Remember+gerund = you do something
then you remember it. Example: I
remember going to a rock concert as a
child.
TRY
• Try + infinitive = make an effort to do
something. Example: I tried to listen to
her but I didn’t understand.
• Try + gerund = experiment to see if
something works. Example: Try doing
yoga, this will be good for your back.
FORGET
• Forget+infinitive = you didn’t remember to
do something. Example: Sorry I forgot to
do the homework.
• Forget + gerund = you did something and
you won’t forget it. It is more common in
the negative. Example: I’ve never
forgotten being in the Twin Towers.