Gerund & Infinitive

GERUND & INFINITIVE
GERUND & INFINITIVE
 Gerunds are often used when actions

are real, fixed, or completed.
 "I enjoy cooking.“
 Infinitives are often used when actions

are unreal, abstract, or future.
 "He wants to swim."
GERUND
 A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-

ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading."
You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement,
or the object of a sentence.
Examples:
 Reading helps you learn English.
(subject of sentence)
 Her favorite hobby is reading.
(complement of sentence)
 I enjoy reading.
(object of sentence)
INFINITIVE
 Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The

infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn." You can
also use an infinitive as the subject, the
complement, or the object of a sentence.
Examples:
 To learn is important.
(subject of sentence)
 The most important thing is to learn.
(complement of sentence)
 He wants to learn.
(object of sentence)
GERUND & INFINITIVE
 As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to

choose between a gerund or an infinitive.
 The main verb in the sentence determines
whether you use a gerund or an infinitive.
 He enjoys swimming.
"Enjoy" requires a gerund.
 He wants to swim.
"Want" requires an infinitive.

GERUND & INFINITIVE
Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects.

Examples:
 She suggested going to a movie.
 Mary keeps talking about her problems.
Some verbs are followed by infinitives.

Examples:
 She wants to go to a movie.
 Mary needs to talk about her problems.

GERUNDS
 Gerunds can often be modified with possessive
forms such as his, her, its, your, their, our,
John's, Mary's, the machine's, and so on. This
makes it clearer who or what is performing the
action.
Examples:
 I enjoyed their singing. They were singing.
 She understood his saying no to the offer. He
said no.
 Sam resented Debbie's coming late to the
dinner. Debbie came late to the dinner.
 We discussed the machine's being broken.
The machine is broken.
Gerunds
 There are many "go + gerund" expressions used

for adventure sports and individual recreational
activities.
Examples:
 I go swimming every weekend.
 Would you ever go skydiving?

 Gerunds are used after prepositions. Most
commonly, these are "verb + preposition"
combinations.
Examples:
 They admitted to committing the crime.
 Leslie made up for forgetting my birthday.
 He is thinking about studying abroad.

Remember that there are many "adjective +
preposition" combinations and "noun + preposition"
combinations in English as well. These are also
followed by gerunds.
Examples:
 Sandy is scared off lying. adjective + preposition
 Nick is anxious about taking the examination.

adjective + preposition
 His interest in becoming a professional
snowboarder was well known. noun + preposition
 Thomas' story about seeing a grizzly bear was
really exciting. noun + preposition
Certain expressions are followed by "ING" forms.
Examples:
 He had fun fishing.
 They had difficulty finding a parking place.
 She spent her time practicing the piano.
Verbs which indicate location can often be followed by

"ING" forms. This pattern is VERB OF LOCATION +
LOCATION + VERB+ING.
Examples:
 Sarah stood at the corner waiting for Tom.
 Melissa lay in bed thinking about her future.
 Don clung to the side of the cliff looking down.
INFINITIVE
 There are many "be + adjective" combinations
that are commonly followed by infinitives.
Examples:
 They were anxious to begin.
 She was delighted to receive such good

feedback.
 He is lucky to have such good friends.
INFINITIVE
 There are also many nouns that are commonly
followed by infinitives.
Examples:
 It was a good decision to move to San
Francisco.
 His wish to become an actor was well known.
 Laura's desire to improve impressed me

 Sometimes infinitives are used to express the
idea of "in order to do something."
Examples:
 He bought the English dictionary to look up
difficult words. in order to look up
 Janine sold her car to get the money that she
needed. in order to get
 Juan uses Englishpage.com to learn English. in
order to learn
 too + adjective/adverb + infinitive
Examples:
 The box is too heavy to carry.
 The television is too expensive to buy.
 Fiona ran too slowly to win the race.
 We arrived too late to see the beginning of the

movie.
adjective/adverb + enough + infinitive
Examples:
 She is tall enough to reach the book on the shelf.
 Brian was smart enough to enter college at the age
of 12.
 Linda runs quickly enough to win the race.
enough + noun(s) + infinitive
Examples:
 He has enough money to buy his own car.
 Cheryl owns enough books to start her own library!
 Diane needs enough time to finish writing her
book.
GERUND & INFINITIVE
Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an
infinitive, but with a difference in meaning.
Examples:
 Nancy remembered getting married. Nancy
has a memory of getting married.
 Fred remembered to bring sunblock to the
beach. Fred remembered that he needed to bring
sunblock.
GERUND & INFINITIVE
Examples:
 I’m trying to learn English. (Try + infinitive =
make an effort)
 The room was hot. I tried opening the window,
but that didn’t help. (Try + gerund = experience
with a new or different approach to see if it works)
 I need to clean this class. (active meaning)

 This class needs cleaning. (passive meaning:
This class need to be cleaned)
GERUND & INFINITIVE
Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive with
little difference in meaning.
Examples:
 She likes swimming.
 She likes to swim.
Examples:
 The British reporter likes living in New York. He lives in
New York and he likes what he experiences there.
 The British reporter likes to live in New York whenever he
works in the United States. He likes the option or possibility of
living in New York when he works in the United States.
 I like speaking French because it's such a beautiful
language. I like the experience of speaking French, and the way
it makes me feel when I speak the language.
 I like to speak French when I'm in France. I prefer the option
of speaking French when I am in France.
GERUND & INFINITIVE
 Some verbs are usually followed by a gerund,
BUT they can also be followed by a noun plus
infinitive. Using a noun plus infinitive will
usually change who is performing the action.
Examples:
 I advised taking the train. in general
 I advised him to take the train. He will take

the train.
GERUND & INFINITIVE
 We use the -ing form after stop to indicate that
an action or event is no longer continuing:
It’s stopped raining. Let’s go for a walk. (It
was raining, but not any more.)
 We use the to-infinitive after stop to indicate that
someone stops doing something in order to do
something else:
On the way to Edinburgh, we stopped to
look at an old castle. (We were travelling,
then we stopped our journey in order to look
at the castle.)
We stopped to have something to eat.
 QUIZ
Infinitive with / without to

Choose the correct form (infinitive with or without to)!
1. You must (to meet/meet) him.

2. I want (to tell/tell) you a secret.
3. We should (to help/help) them.
4. They can (to have/have) another biscuit.
5. We will (to wait/wait) for you.
6. He has (to get/get) up early.
7. May I (to watch/watch) the film?
8. They would not (to do/do) this.
9. I would like (to go/go) shopping in the afternoon.
10. She doesn't(to play/play) football.
Choose the correct form (infinitive with or
without to or gerund)
1. We go (swim/to swim/swimming) every week.

2. Let it (be/to be/being) .
3. He dreams of (become/to become/becoming) an
actor.
4. They enjoy (cycle/to cycle/cycling).
5. It is not easy (find/to find/finding) good friends.
6. My friend is afraid of (fly/to fly/flying).
7. Jane is good at (read/to read/reading).
8. He wanted (buy/to buy/buying) a new computer
game.
9. I am crazy about (kiss/to kiss/kissing).
10. You must (come/to come/coming) to my party.
11. I hope (see/to see/seing) you again soon.
12. We enjoy (dance/to dance/dancing).
13. He dreamt about (be/to be/being) an astronaut.
14. I'd love (spend/to spend/spending) another
holiday in Spain.
15. Why not (go/to go/going) to the cinema tonight?
16. His jokes made us (laugh/to laugh/laughing).
17. They practised (play/to play/playing) the guitar.
18. I told him (shut/to shut/shutting) up.
19. She was busy (study/to study/studying) for her
exams.
20. There is no reason for (cry/to cry/crying).
REFERENCES
 Azar, B. S. 2002. Understanding and using

English grammar, 3rd ed. with answer keys.
Person Longman
 https://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/
 Murphy, R. 1989. English grammar in use:

Reference and practice for intermediate students
of English. Cambridge University Press
ASSIGNMENT
 Make sentences using ADeK Minta PermEn
GoRiFiCo (One sentence for each verb) and find out
some other verbs that must be followed by gerund!
 Find out some verbs (at least 5) that must be followed
by infinitive and make a sentence for each verb!
 Make 5 sentences using “possessive+gerund” and its
explanation and 5 sentences using
“preposition+gerund”!
 Make 3 sentences using adj+infinitive, too+adj+inf,
and enough+inf!
 Make sentences using look forward to, confess to,
object to, get/tobe used to, get/to be accustomed to! (2
sentences for each)
 Make sentences using “remember, advise, try, like,
stop” in two versions (+gerund and +infinitive) of each
verb!

Gerund & Infinitive

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Gerund & Infinitive

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Gerund & Infinitive

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is the difference between a gerund and an infinitive?

What is the difference between a gerund and an infinitive?

How can gerunds and infinitives be used in sentences?

How can gerunds and infinitives be used in sentences?

GERUND & INFINITIVE

GERUND & INFINITIVE

 Gerunds are often used when actions

 Infinitives are often used when actions

 A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-

 Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The

 As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to

"Want" requires an infinitive.

Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects.

 Mary keeps talking about her problems.

Some verbs are followed by infinitives.

 Mary needs to talk about her problems.

 There are many "go + gerund" expressions used

 Would you ever go skydiving?

 Leslie made up for forgetting my birthday.

 He is thinking about studying abroad.

 Nick is anxious about taking the examination.

Verbs which indicate location can often be followed by

 She was delighted to receive such good

 Laura's desire to improve impressed me

 The television is too expensive to buy.

 Fiona ran too slowly to win the race.

 We arrived too late to see the beginning of the

enough + noun(s) + infinitive

 I need to clean this class. (active meaning)

 I advised him to take the train. He will take

Infinitive with / without to

1. You must (to meet/meet) him.

1. We go (swim/to swim/swimming) every week.

 Azar, B. S. 2002. Understanding and using

 Murphy, R. 1989. English grammar in use:

You might also like