Grammar

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!