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INFINITIVE AND GERUND

I. Verbs followed immediately by the infinitive

Verbs Examples
to afford I can't afford to buy it.
to agree They agreed to help us.
to appear Sue appears to be tired.
to arrange I'll arrange to meet you at the airport
to ask He asked to come with us.
to attempt Do not attempt to repair the computer yourself.
to beg He begged to come with us.
to bother He didn’t even bother to ask for permission.
to care I don't care to see that show.
to choose We chose to go by train.
to claim She claims to know a famous movie star.
to consent She finally consented to marry him.
to decide I have decided to leave on Monday.
to demand I demand to know who is responsible.
to deserve She deserves to win the prize.
to endeavour (=to try) I will endeavour to do my best for my country.
to expect I expect to enter graduate school in the fall.
to fail She failed to return the book to the library on time.
to guarantee The bank guaranteed to pay all his debts.
to hesitate Don't hesitate to ask for my help.
to hope Jack hopes to arrive next week.
to intend Most of these students intend to continue their education at university.
to lead to This has led scientists to speculate on the existence of other galaxies.
to learn He learned to play the piano.
to long for I’m longing to see you again.
to manage We managed to get to the airport in time.
to neglect She neglected to mention the name of her previous employer.
to offer They offered to help us.
to omit She omitted to mention that they were staying the night.
to plan I am planning to throw a party when I come back from my holiday.
to prepare We prepared to welcome them.
to pretend He pretends not to understand.
to promise I promise not to be late.
to refuse I refuse to believe his story.
to resolve He resolved not to tell her the truth.
to seem Your cat seems to be friendly.
to struggle He struggled to stay awake.
to swear She swore to tell the truth.
to threaten She threatened to tell my parents about that.
to volunteer He volunteered to help us.
to wait I will wait to hear from you.
to want I want to tell you something. What do you want to do tomorrow?
to wish She wishes to come with us. This course is designed for people wishing to
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update their computer skills.

II. Verbs followed by either gerunds or infinitives without any change in meaning
Verbs Examples
can’t stand Lily can't stand working in an office. She can't stand to hear them arguing.
to bear (can’t bear) I can’t bear having /to have cats in the house.
to begin Have you begun reading / to read the book yet?
to bother He didn’t even bother to let me know he was coming. Why bother asking if
you’re not really interested?
to cease You never cease to amaze me! The company ceased trading in June.
to continue Will you continue attending / to attend these classes?
to encourage Banks actively encourage people to borrow money. / Banks actively encourage
people’s borrowing money.
to endure He can’t endure to be / being defeated.
to intend I intended to pay for all the damage done. We intend looking at the situation
again.
to start It started raining /to rain.

III. Verbs followed by a noun/pronoun + infinitive

Verbs Examples
to advise smb to do smth She advised me to wait until tomorrow.
to allow smb to do smth She allowed me to use her car.
to ask smb to do smth I asked John to help us.
to beg smb to do smth They begged us to come.
to cause smb to do smth Her laziness caused her to fail.
to challenge smb to do smth She challenged me to race her to the corner.
to convince smb to do smth I couldn't convince Ann to accept our help.
to dare smb to do smth He dared me to do better than he had done.
to encourage smb to do smth He encouraged me to try again.
to expect smb to do smth I expect you to be on time.
to forbid smb to do smth I forbid you to call him.
to force smb to do smth They forced him to tell the truth.
to hire smb to do smth She hired a boy to mow the lawn.
to instruct smb to do smth He instructed them to be careful.
to invite smb to do smth Harry invited the Johnsons to come to his party
to order smb to do smth The judge ordered me to pay a fine.
to permit smb to do smth He permitted the children w stay up late.
to persuade smb to do smth I persuaded him to come for a visit.
to remind smb to do smth She reminded me to lock the door.
to require smb to do smth Our teacher requires us to be on time.
to teach smb to do smth My brother taught me to swim.
to tell smb to do smth The doctor told me to take these pills.
to urge smb to do smth I urged her to apply for the job.
to want smb to do smth I want you to be happy.
to warn smb to do smth I warned you not to drive too fast.

IV. Adjectives followed by the infinitive

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Adjectives Examples
to be anxious She was anxious to finish school and get a job.
to be delighted In other circumstances Ronni would have been delighted to chat with them.
to be glad I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better.
to be happy We are happy to announce the engagement of our daughter.
to be pleased I'm pleased to tell you that you've got the job.
to be sad I was very sad to hear that he had died.

V. Set expressions used with the infinitive

Set expressions Examples
let alone + bare inf The baby can't even sit up yet, let alone walk!
can/ can’t / could / What could he do but forgive her? She couldn’t but let him know her
couldn’t but + bare inf telephone number.
to be taken aback I was taken aback to find an elderly woman sitting inside the door of the men's
room.

VI. Verbs commonly used with the gerund

Verbs Examples
to admit Brian admitted taking the money.
to anticipate They anticipate moving to another premises by the end of the year.
to appreciate I don’t appreciate being treated like a second-class citizen.
to avoid They built a wall to avoid soil being washed away.
can’t face I can’t face seeing this awful man again.
can’t help I can’t help thinking he knows more than he told us.
can’t stand Mrs. Perry couldn’t stand being kept waiting.
to consider They are considering buying a new car.
to contemplate I have never contemplated living abroad.
to delay He delayed telling her the news waiting for the right moment.
to deny He denies attempting to rob the bank.
to detest They detest seeing each other.
to dislike I dislike being away from my family.
to dread She dreads her husband finding out.
to enjoy He hardly enjoys dealing with these people.
to envisage I can’t envisage her coping with this job.
to escape He narrowly escaped being killed.
to excuse Excuse my interrupting you.
to fancy Do you fancy going out this evening?
to feel like I don’t feel like going out tonight, let’s stay at home and watch a video.
to forgive Forgive my interrupting but I really don’t agree with you.
to finish I finished typing the report just minutes before it was due.
to imagine I can’t imagine him saying that!
to intend Kristen intends staying in Rome for three days.
to involve The test will involve answering 50 question on the topics learnt.
to justify How can they justify asking to pay such huge taxes?
to keep Keep smiling; you look so nice when you smile.
to mention Did she mention attending classes in Oxford?
to mind Do you mind going there instead of me?
to miss She narrowly missed hitting him.
to postpone It was an unpopular decision to postpone building the new hospital.
to practise Practise pronouncing this word correctly.
to prevent Nothing could prevent his (him) speaking against that plan.
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to propose How do you propose getting home?

to put off Don’t keep putting off going to the doctor!
to recollect I recollect him (his) saying that it was dangerous.
to resent He bitterly resents being treated like a child.
to resist The bank strongly resisted cutting interest rates.
to risk The conspirators knew they risked being arrested.
to spend The company has spent thousands of pounds updating their computer systems.
to suggest I suggest going in my car.
to tolerate She refused to tolerate being called a liar.
to understand I just can’t understand him taking the money.
to quit If only he could quit smoking!

VII. Adjectives always used with the gerund

to be busy James is busy practicing for the school concert.
to be worth It is worth making an appointment with the doctor before you go.

VIII. Verbs with prepositions commonly used with the gerund

Verbs with Examples
Prepositions
to accuse smb of She accused him of lying.
to admit to Brian admitted to taking the money.
to aim at They are aiming at training everyone by the end of the year.
to apologize for Go and apologize for being so rude to your aunt.
to approve of Father doesn’t approve of me leaving school this year.
to believe in I don’t believe in hitting children.
to bother about Don’t bother yourself about making tea.
to burst out Karen burst out laughing.
to care for I don’t care for gardening.
to carry on He carried on peeling the potato.
to come of That comes of eating too much!
to come round to You will eventually come around to thinking about it.
to complain of She complained of being treated in a rude way.
to confess to I must confess to knowing nothing about computers.
to consist of (in) Most of the fieldwork consisted of making tape recordings.
to congratulate smb on You can congratulate yourself on having done an excellent job.
to count on We can’t count on this warm weather lasting long.
to decide against We decided against going to the beach in that weather.
to decide on He eventually decided on telling her.
to despair of They had almost despaired of ever having children.
to disapprove of He strongly disapproved of changing the plans.
to dream about (in In her sleep she dreamt about becoming a famous singer.
one’s sleep)
to dream of (to think) I wouldn’t dream of going there without you.
to end in At first they hated each other, but they ended up getting married.
to forget about If I lose my job, we can forget about buying a new car.
to forgive smb for Forgive me for interrupting, but I really don’t agree with that.
to feel up to After the accident she didn’t feel up to driving.
to get around to I hope to get around to answering your letter next week.
to get down to It’s time I got down to thinking about this essay.
to give up You ought to give up riding at your age.
to go back to She decided to go back to teaching.
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to grumble about Don’t grumble about being treated in that way. You deserved it.
to hesitate about I didn’t hesitate a moment about taking the job.
to insist on They insist on playing their music late at night.
to keep on Keep on walking until you go to the crossroads.
to leave off He left off playing the piano to answer the door.
to mean by What did she mean by leaving so early?
to object to I really object to being charged for parking.
to persist in Why do you persist in blaming yourself for what happened?
to plan on We hadn’t planned on going anywhere this evening.
to prevent from Nothing would prevent him from speaking against injustice.
to put off He keeps putting off going to the dentist.
to reckon on We reckoned on having good weather.
to refrain from He has refrained from criticising the government in public.
to resolve on We had resolved on making an early start.
to return to She looked up briefly and then returned to her sewing.
to result in (from) These policies resulted in many elderly and disabled people suffering
hardship.
to save from They did their best to save her from injuring herself.
to set about We need to set about finding a solution. (=to start)
to stop (smb) from There is nothing to stop you from accepting the offer.
to succeed in He succeeded in getting a place in an art school.
to take to I’ve taken to waking up very early.
to suspect smb/smth of The drug is suspected of causing over 200 deaths.
to talk of Mary is talking of looking for another job.
to thank smb for She said goodbye and thanked us for coming.
to think of (about) I couldn’t think of letting you take the blame.
to threaten with He was threatened with being dismissed.
to warn against The guidebook warns against walking alone in this area at night.
to worry about Don’t worry about getting there late.

IX. Set phrases with prepositions commonly used with the gerund
Set Phrase Example
to look forward to I always look forward to staying with you.
to make a point of She made a point of closing all the windows before leaving the house.
to find excuses for He always finds excuses for forgetting my birthday.
to take pride in He takes pride in riding his horse.
to lose time in Don’t lose time in chatting over the phone.
to have no doubt Researchers have no doubt about smoking being a cause of many lethal
about diseases.
to waste time in He wasted no time in introducing himself.

X. Adjectives followed by a preposition + gerund

Adjective + Preposition Example
+ Gerund
to be absorbed in She seemed totally absorbed in reading.
to be (un) accustomed to She was a person accustomed to having eight hours’ sleep at night.
to be afraid of He was afraid of upsetting his parents.
to be amused at He was amused at seeing how seriously she took the game.
to be angry with smb for I was angry with myself for making such a stupid mistake.
to be annoyed I was annoyed with myself for giving in so easily.
at/with/by/about Gina was annoyed by his jogging, though, that was one comfort.
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to be ashamed for You should be ashamed with yourself for telling such lies.
to be aware of They suddenly became aware of people looking at them.
to be bad at doing smth He is really bad at keeping secrets.
to be (get) bored with The children quickly got bored with staying indoors.
to be bothered with It’s not worth bothering with using an umbrella.
to be (in)capable of He is quite capable of lying to get out of the trouble.
to be careful about (in) You must be careful about handling chemicals.
to be certain of You’ll have to learn soon to make certain of getting there on time.
to be clever at She is clever at getting what she wants.
to be (un) conscious of He became acutely conscious of having failed his parents.
to be content with Not content with stealing my boy-friend, she has turned all my friends
against me.
to be embarrassed at He felt embarrassed at being the centre of attention.
to be excited about The children were excited about opening their presents.
to be far from Computers, far from destroying jobs, can create employment.
to be fond of Telma is fond of telling other people what to do.
to be fortunate in I was fortunate in having a good teacher.
to be frightened of I’m frightened of walking home alone.
to be furious at She was absolutely furious at being deceived.
to be given to He is given to going for long walks.
to be good (better) at Nick has always been good at finding cheap flights.
to be interested in Are you interested in joining our club?
to be irritated at She was irritated at his smiling at her like that.
to be keen on She is not keen on being told what to do.
to be proud of smb for He was proud of himself for not giving up.
to be pleased at He was pleased at seeing her.
to be responsible for He is responsible for informing everyone about the meeting.
to be scared at (of) He is scared of going out alone.
to be serious about He is serious about wanting to sell the house.
to be sick of I’m sick of doing this work.
to be skilled in (at) She is highly skilled at dealing with difficult customers.
to be slow in His poetry was slow in achieving recognition.
to be sorry for He is really sorry for taking the car without asking.
to be successful at (in) I wasn’t very successful at keeping the news secret.
to be sure of England must win this game to be sure of qualifying for the World Cup.
to be surprised at I am surprised at you behaving like that in front of the kids.
to be thankful for I am thankful to you for inviting me.
to be tired of She was tired of hearing about their trip to India.
to be (get) upset at smth The father got upset at receiving the bad news.
to be (un)used to I’m not used to eating so much at lunchtime.
to be worried about He was worried about their not coming on time.
to be wrong in You are wrong in counting on me.
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XI. Gerunds after certain nouns with prepositions

Preposition ‘of’
Noun Example
advantage Can you tell us about the advantages of living in a small town?
art He is a good a therapist trained in the art of healing.
chance Is there any chance of getting tickets for tonight?
habit He has the irritating habit of biting his nails.
idea I like the idea of living on a boat.
impression She gives the impression of being very busy
opportunity At least give him the opportunity of explaining what happened.
pleasure She had the pleasure of seeing him look surprised.
pretext He left the party early on the pretext of having work to do.
satisfaction He had the satisfaction of seeing his book become a best-seller.
way I’m not happy with this way of working.

Preposition ‘at’
Noun Example
amazement The old lady couldn’t hide her amazement at seeing the boy’s delight.
astonishment His astonishment at seeing me alive was genuine.
attempt The couple made several unsuccessful attempts at achieving a compromise.
delight The students’ delight at hearing the announced exam results was overwhelming.
dismay She could not hide her dismay at finding her husband at home.
genius He’s a genius at organizing people.
irritation She couldn’t but show her irritation at learning that the letter had not been sent.
pleasure The mother’s pleasure at finding her children safe and sound was immense.
satisfaction The teacher’s satisfaction at giving his students good marks was clearly seen on his
face.
shyness The girl’s shyness at being introduced to the great scientist amazed everybody
present.
surprise They couldn’t conceal their surprise at seeing us together.

Preposition ‘for’
Noun Example
cause I had no cause for complaining.
excuse His excuse for forgetting her birthday was that he had lost his diary.
genius He had a genius for making people feel at home.
gift He has the gift of making friends easily.
ground What were his grounds for wanting a divorce?
motive There seemed to be no motive for murdering that old man.
opportunity There’ll be plenty of opportunity for relaxing once the work is done.
passion The English have a passion for gardening.
pretext His pretext for being late was lame.
reason I have no particular reason for doubting him.
reputation I’m aware of Mark’s reputation for being late.
talent She showed considerable talent for getting what she wanted.
obsession Rose Bower had an obsession for recording details about all the employees.

Preposition ‘in’
Noun + preposition Example
advantage Is there any advantage in getting there early?
delight He takes great delight in proving others wrong.
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difficulty I had no difficulty (in) making myself understood.

experience He is a doctor with experience in dealing with patients suffering from
stress.
harm There is no harm in window shopping, is there?
hesitation
pleasure She took pleasure in shocking her parents.
point There is no point in waiting for him.
sense There’s no sense in worrying about it now.
skill What made him remarkable as a photographer was his skill in capturing
the moment.

Miscellaneous Prepositions
Noun Example
fantasy about His childhood fantasies about becoming a famous football player came true.
objection to I have no objection to him coming to stay.
obsession with Her obsession with flying frightens her parents.

XII. Gerunds after prepositions

Preposition Example
about How about going for a walk?
after After kissing the child good-bye, the mother went to work.
against Do you have anything against our going to the mountains in July?
before You should check the oil before starting your car.
by We’ll do the job before the deadline by working 16 hours a day.
despite Despite being very young he did the job very well.
for She was punished for staying up late.
in spite of In spite of being very young he did the job very well.
instead of Why are you watching TV instead of doing your homework?
without She used to sit in front of the window for hours without paying attention to
anyone.

XIII. Infinitives and gerunds used with difference in meaning

to stop

gerund infinitive
part of compound verbal aspect predicate; adverbial modifier of purpose shows the purpose
shows that the activity itself stops for stopping the activity for some time
Stuart stopped (doing what?) smoking though it Ben stopped (what for?) to smoke and to have a
wasn’t easy for him. = Стюарт перестал (бросил) short rest. = Бен остановился, чтобы закурить и
курить, хотя это было ему нелегко. / Стюарт немного передохнуть. / Бен зупинився, щоб
перестав (кинув) палити, хоча це було йому закурити й трохи відпочити.
нелегко.
to go on

gerund infinitive
continuation of one and the same activity change of activity
Old Mrs. Todd went on talking about her Sue told me about her relationships with her
health for hours. = Старая миссис Тодд colleagues and went on to talk about her other
продолжала говорить о своем здоровье problems. = Сью рассказала мне про свои
часами. / Стара миссис Тодд продовжувала взаимоотношения с коллегами и перешла к
говорити про своє здоров'я довгий час. рассказу про свои другие проблемы. / Сью
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розповіла мені про свої взаємини з

колегами й перейшла до розповіді про свої
інші проблеми.
to remember, to forget, to regret,

gerund infinitive
about things that were done about intentions
in the past
 I remember playing with  Remember to switch off the light before you
Ted in my childhood. (I did it leave. (Be sure to do it!) = Не забудь
in the past but I remember выключить свет прежде, чем уйдешь. / Не
about it now; I didn’t forget it.) забудь виключити світло перш, ніж
= Я помню, как я играл с підеш.
Тедом в детстве. / Я  I remembered to lock the door but I forgot to
пам'ятаю, як я грав з Тедом у shut the windows. = Я помнил, что нужно запереть дверь, но я
дитинстві. забыл закрыть окна. / Я пам'ятав, що потрібно замкнути двері, але я
 I will never forget забув закрити вікна.
meeting him. = Я никогда не  Sorry, I forgot to buy bread. = Извини, я забыл купить хлеб. /
забуду, как встретил его. / Я Вибач, я забув купити хліб.
ніколи не забуду, як зустрів  I regret to mention this again. (I’m going to do it again.) = Я
його. сожалею, что мне придется упомянуть об этом снова. / Я шкодую,
 Tine regretted marrying що мені доведеться згадати про це знову.
so young. (Tina married young
and she is sorry about it.) =
Тина сожалеет, что вышла
замуж так рано. / Тіна
шкодує, що вийшла заміж
так рано.
 I regret mentioning this
again. (I am not going to do it
again.) = Я сожалею, что
упомянул об этом снова. / Я
шкодую, що згадав про це
знову.

to mean

gerund infinitive
to involve smth to intend to do smth
Being a pilot means travelling a lot. = Быть Barbara means to open her own shop. =
летчиком – означает много путешествовать./ Бути Барбара намеревается открыть свой магазин. /
льотчиком - означає багато подорожувати. Барбара має намір відкрити свій магазин.

to prefer

gerund infinitive
general preference future preference
Stewart prefers spending his holidays at home. This year Stewart prefers to go to the sea.

to like
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gerund infinitive
to enjoy smth – general preference to think that smth is good or right to do
Martha likes swimming. = She enjoys doing it. I like to exercise every day because I know that
it is good for my health.

to hate

gerund infinitive
general
She hates making mistakes. She’s a person who hates to make mistakes.

to try

gerund infinitive
to do smth as an experiment; the action possible - to attempt to do one’s best; the action may not
see if it succeeds be possible - see if you still can do it
 Try exercising, you may lose weight.  David tried to win the race, but failed.
 Try remembering his telephone number. It  Try to remember his telephone number.
would be a good idea! Please, do it; it’s important!

to be sorry

gerund + for infinitive

to apologise for an earlier action to apologise for a present/future action
I am sorry for shouting at you this morning. Sorry to interrupt, but can I ask you a
question?

to be afraid, to dread, to fear

gerund infinitive
apprehension that smth bad may happen = phobia unwillingness to do smth in a certain
situation
 Sue doesn’t want to ride. She is afraid of  He is afraid to take this test in case he
falling. fails.
 Telma won’t go to the cruise. She dreads being  She dreads to think what will happen if her
seasick. husband finds everything out.
 She fears telling the truth about her background.  She feared to tell him the truth.

to afford

gerund infinitive
in general in a particular situation
In fact Isabella could afford buying expensive This month Tim could afford to buy more
things but she didn’t feel like it. books than usual and he was happy about that.

to consider
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gerund infinitive
to think about doing something to express an opinion about something- only
(подумывать о... / подумувати про) in complex object and complex subject
He considers leaving his home town for ever. = Он We consider her to be the best pianist of our
подумывает о том, чтобы уехать из родного time.
города навсегда. / Він подумує про те, щоб The whale is considered to be the largest
виїхати з рідного міста назавжди. mammal in the world.

to need

gerund infinitive
passive meaning active meaning
 Your hair needs cutting. = Тебе надо  You need to let me know by Monday if you
подстричься. / Тобі треба підстригтися. want to take part.
 The windows need washing. = Надо помыть  Did he need to borrow some money from
окна. / Треба помити вікна. the bank?
to advise to allow to recommend

gerund infinitive
in the active voice or not followed by an indirect in the passive voice or followed by an indirect
object object
 The agency advises booking in advance.  The agent advised us to book in advance.
 They don’t allow smoking here.  We were advised to book in advance.
 I really recommend using this book for your  We were not allowed to smoke there.
report.  They don’t allow people to smoke here.
 I really recommend you to use this book.
 I really recommend this book to be used.

to be interested

in + gerund infinitive
 shows that one is interested in the idea of  shows that one is interested by what one
doing something; learns or experiences;
 refers to something that has already  refers to something that will happen
happened or is happening;
 if you are interested in doing or having
something, you want to do it or have it
 The Labour party is now more interested in Shareholders will be interested to hear the details
regulating rather than renationalising industry. – of the new proposal of the Board of Directors. –
Лейбористская партия сейчас больше Акционерам будет интересно услышать детали
заинтересована в регулировании, а не в нового предложения совета директоров. /
деприватизации промышленности. / Акціонерам буде цікаво почути деталі нової
Лейбористська партія зараз більш зацікавлена в пропозиції Ради Директорів.
регулюванні, а не в деприватизації   I thought you would be interested to see some
промисловості of the questions raised by the members of the club
 Anyone who is interested in working with at the annual meeting. – Я думал, вам будет
or supporting the new concert hall should contact интересно посмотреть на вопросы, поднятые
Evvy Edwards. - Все, кого интересует членами клуба на ежегодном собрании. / Я
сотрудничество или спонсорство нового думав, вам буде цікаво подивитися на питання,
концертного зала, должны связаться с Эвви підняті членами клубу на щорічних зборах.
Эдвардсом. / Усі, кого цікавить співробітництво  Our readers may be interested to know what
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або спонсорство нового концертного залу, goes into producing each issue of our magazine. –
повинні зв'язатися з Евви Едвардсом. Нашим читателям, возможно, будет интересно
 We were sure our partners would be узнать, что включает в себя производство
interested in taking advantage of that offer. – Мы каждого номера нашего журнала. / Нашим
были уверены, что наши партнеры будут читачам, можливо, буде цікаво довідатися, що
заинтересованы тем, чтобы воспользоваться містить у собі виробництво кожного номера
преимуществом этого предложения. / Ми були нашого журналу.
впевнені, що наші партнери будуть зацікавлені
тим, щоб скористатися перевагою цієї
пропозиції.

to imagine

gerund infinitive
general use only as part of Complex Object with the verb
‘to be’- rare use
 I imagined her dancing with another boy and got  I had imagined her to be older than that.
very sad.  He had imagined the nuns to be very
 She could imagine dark-robed figures moving particular whom they took into their house as
silently along the stone corridors. pupils.

cannot help
(used to say that it is impossible to avoid or prevent something)

gerund infinitive
cannot help + gerund = object cannot help but + bare infinitive = adverbial
modifier of exception
can’t help but = can’t but
I can’t help thinking he knows more than he has She couldn’t help but wonder what he was
told. = Я не могу не думать, что он знает больше thinking. = Ее не могло не интересовать, что
того, что сказал. / Я не можу не думати, що він он думает. / Її не могло не цікавити, що він
знає більш того, що сказав. думає.
The little girl couldn’t but go to the hateful
house every day though she was scared of the
old lady.