Transcript Grammar 3 -Gerunds and infinitives- I CO-2011.

Gerunds and
infinitives
Grammar III
I CO – 2011
by
Carlos Roberto Mora
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-
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.
• afford / agree
• learn / need
• ask / decide
•
•
•
•
•
promise / refuse
expect / fail
tell / want
hope / wish
want / decide
- to -
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Gerund is formed by adding “ing”
to the base form of a verb
• swim  swimming
• eat
 eating
• run
 running
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)
After adjectives + preposition
accustomed to
fond of
successful in
tired of
capable of
afraid of
good at
interested in
• She is accustomed to training for many hours.
• He is good at running the 200 meters race.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
admit
avoid
delay
deny
enjoy
finish
keep
mind
- ing -
Admit
• My brother admitted breaking the vase.
Avoid
• I avoid walking on busy streets.
Delay
• The school delayed opening this
morning.
Finish
• I finish doing my homework.
Keep
• After 4 hours, he keeps standing there.
Mind
• Would you mind lending your pen to me.
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.
After verbs…
admit
keep
advise
appreciate
understand
can’t help
try
keep
mind
suggest
finish
enjoy
dislike
avoid
forgive
• John has finished repairing his bicycle.
• They enjoy walking in the evening.
• Mary dislikes swimming in winter.
I enjoy to swim.
right
I
enjoy swimming.
Which is correct ?
right
I want to study .
I want studying.
Which is correct ?
I finish to eat .
right
I finish eating.
Which is correct ?
right
I need to study .
I need studying.
Which is correct ?
right
I hope to study .
I hope studying.
Which is correct ?
I stopped to smoke.
right
I stopped smoking.
Which is correct ?
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.)
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.)
Summary table for
(to) infinitive and gerund
To infinitive
1. Use as subject
Eg: To smoke is bad for you.
Gerund (-ing forms)
1. Use as subject
(more common)
Eg: Smoking is bad for you.
2. To say why we do things 2. After prepositions
(purpose)
Eg: I got up early to catch
the 7am train.
3. After some verbs
(expect,
afford, want, need, prepare, refuse, choose,
fail, learn, promise, hesitate...etc)
Eg: I expect to pass the
(on, in,
before, for, without, after…etc.)
Eg: You can’t live without
eating.
Eg: Thank you for listening.
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.
Summary table for
(to) infinitive and gerund
To infinitive
4. After some adjectives and
nouns: Adj = easy, happy, glad, nice,
Gerund (ing forms)
4.
After phrasal verbs:
excited, ready, difficult, dangerous ...etc;
Noun = work, money to spend,
something to drink, different ways to
protect her.…etc)
Eg: I am not good at dancing.
Eg: I am not interested in singing.
Eg: She is ready to leave. (adj) Eg: John will give up smoking.
Eg: I am glad to see you. (adj)
Eg: I’ve got work to do.
(n)
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.
Summary table for
(to) infinitive and gerund
To infinitive
Gerund (ing forms)
6. Used in general sense (Eg:
love, like, hate, prefer..etc)
Eg: I like swimming.
6. Used in particular situations
Eg: I don’t like swimming on cold
days.
* Some words can use both toinfinitive and gerund with the
same meaning. (Eg: love, like, begin,
start, intend, continue..etc)
* Some words can use both toinfinitive and gerund with different
meaning. (Eg: remember, try..etc)
7. No + gerund
Eg: No money, no talking.
8. Stop + gerund.
Eg: Stop talking, stop writing,
stop walking…etc.