GERUNDS &

INFINITIVES

By 1Lt Elvir Sarac

January 2012

Why?

In English, verbs can chain together

through a sentence.
The main verb will be conjugated the
same way, but will be followed by a
gerund or infinitive.
In another presentation, we will learn how
these can have objects inserted in the
string (ex: we gave it to be repaired)

Gerunds

A gerund is the ing form of a verb used

as a
noun.

A gerund is used in the some ways as a

noun, i.e., as a subject or as an object.

Look at these examples:

1. Playing tennis is fun.
2. We enjoy playing tennis.
3. He`s excited about playing tennis.

In (1) playing is a gerund. It is used as

the subject of the sentence. Playing
tennis is a gerund phrase.

In (2) playing is a gerund used as the

object of the verb enjoy.

In (3) playing is a gerund used as the

object of the preposition about.

Gerunds as a subject of the

sentence

Any activity that can be expressed with the "ing" form

of a verb can be the subject of a sentence.

All gerunds can be the subject of a sentence.

Breathingis necessary.
Drivinga car requires good vision.
Helpingother people feels good.

Gerunds as the object of the

verb

When it comes to gerunds as the object of

a verb, not all verbs are equal.
That is, some verbs can take a gerund as
their objects, but other verbs cannot.
(Some verbs can take infinitives as their
objects. Some verbs never take an object
at all.)
These differences can only be learned, as
individual vocabulary items.

Verb + Gerund:
Here are someverbsthat are followed
by agerund.(These verbs can be followed
by any gerund. The gerunds used in
these sentences are only examples.)

Iadmitlosingthe combination to the safe.

Iadvisefindinga good lawyer.
I don'tanticipatewaitingvery much longer.
Iappreciatehearinga good joke.
Iavoidflyingas much as I can.
Would youconsidersellingyour share of the
company?
We willdelaysigningan agreement.

Idenysayingthat.
We mustdiscusshiringmore people.
Idislikeeatingalone.
Ienjoytalkingwith new people.
Ifearlosinghis confidence.
When Ifinishtypingthis, I'll help you.
Igave upexplainingmy position to them.
I oftengodancing.
I can'thelpthinkingthat we could have
done better.

Gerunds as a object of a
preposition

Prepositions (for, with, about, &) must be

followed by an object.The object can be
anounor agerund(a verb acting as a noun).
I am tiredofwaking uptoo early.
I look forwardtomeetingyour friend.
I am interestedinlearningbaseball.
She is responsibleforimplementingnew policy.

Infinitives

An infinitive may exist with or without the

word "to".For example, following modal
verbs (can, may, must, ... ).

Infinitives with the word "to" can function

as either the SUBJECT or the OBJECT of a
verb.

Infinitives as the subject of the

sentence
- To reada good book is my favorite form
of relaxation.
- To winmeans everything to him.
- To speaka foreign language well
requires practice.

Infinitives as the object of the

verb

- Most peopleliketo win.

- I don'twantto go.
- We don'tneedto fightlike this.

Gerunds or Infinitives?

Some verbs can be followed byeither a

gerund or an infinitive.

Sometimes, there is no difference in

meaning.
Sometimes there is.

Verb + Infinitive = Verb +

Gerund

These verbs can be followed byeither an

infinitive or a gerund, with NO
DIFFERENCE IN MEANING.

Hebeganto shout. = He began shouting.

Hestartedto shout. = He started shouting.
Hecontinuedto shout. = He continued
shouting.
Iliketo read. = I like reading.
Iloveto read. = I love reading.
Ipreferto read. = I prefer reading.
Ihateto wait. = I hate waiting.
Ican't standto wait. = I can`t stand waiting.
Ican't bearto wait. = I can`t bear waiting.

Verb + infinitive

Someverbscan be followed by either

aninfinitiveor agerund, but THEIR
MEANINGS ARE NOT THE SAME:

I willrememberto callher. (I will be sure to call

her in the future.) Iremembercallingher. (I
have the memory of calling her in the past.)

I will notforgetto meethim. (I will be sure to

meet him in the future.) I will
neverforgetmeetingthem.(I will not lose the
memory of meeting them.)

I willtryto ringthe bell. (I will see if it is possible to

ring the bell.) I willtryringingthe bell.(I will ring
the bell to see if it will help the situation.)

Istoppedto smokeat ten o. clock. (I interrupted an

activity and had a cigarette.) Istoppedsmokinga
year ago.(I ended my cigarette habit.)

Iregretto sayhe is not here. (I am sorry I must tell

you he is not here.)
sorry I said it.)

Iregretsayingit. (I am

Gerunds & Infinitives- Summary

Here is a brief review of the differences

between Gerunds and Infinitives:

Gerunds are formed with ing (listening,

thinking, walking, talking, etc.)

Infinitives are formed with TO ( to listen,

to think, to walk, to talk, etc.)

Gerunds and Infinitives can do several

jobs:
Both, Gerunds and Infinitives can be the
subject of sentence.
- Writing in English is difficult.
- To write in English is difficult.

Both, Gerunds and Infinitives can be the

object of a verb.
- I like writing in English.
- I like to write in English

But:
Only Gerunds can be the object of
preposition:

- We are talking about writing in English.

It is often difficult to know when to use a

Gerund and when to use an Infinitive. These
guidelines may help you:

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.

That is all folks..The End..Thank

you!!!