Gerund or Infinitive Explanation

8/9/2019 Gerund or Infinitive Explanation

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Gerund or Infinitive

Some verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund:One of the difficulties of the English language is that some verbs are followed by thegerund (ex : doing) and others are

followed by the infinitive(ex : to do). Other verbs, however, can be followed by both.

Generally speaing we can use the following rules:

Examples Rules Explanations

Verb + gerund 1. I enjoy playing

2. I denied stealing

Often we use the gerund for

an action that

happens beforeor at the

sametime as the action of

the main verb.

1. I enjoy myself at the time

of playing.

2. I deny having stolen

anything before.

Verb +

innitive

1. I decided to visit my uncle

2. I want to go out

Often we use the innitive

for actions thatfollowtheaction of the main verb.

1. Visiting my uncle was an

action of my decision. Itcomes after.

2. What I want now! is to go

out after"later!

!hese rules are helpful but "O #O! always explain all uses of gerunds and infinitives.

Verbs that can be followed by a gerund (ex: doing)

1- After verbs that express likes/dislikes :

lie

love

en$oy

dislie

hate

don%t mind

can%t stand

can%t bear

Example:& ' lie playingsoccer but ' hate boxing.&

2- After certain other verbs, such as :

admit

appreciate

allow

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avoid

advise

consider

deny

delay

understand

finish

fancy

go (ingo swimming)

involve

eep

mention

mind

stop

waste timemoney

imagine

involve

eep (on)

mention

miss

postpone

permit

practice

suggest

resist

re$ect

ris

can%t help

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can%t stand

Example:

& ' suggest going to the theater.&

3- After prepositions :

interested in ...instead of ...

good at ...

before ...

after ...

Example:

&' am interested incollecting stamps.&

&Afterplaying football ' dran an orange $uice&.

4- After certain expressions :it%s no use ...

it%s no good ...

there%s no point in ...

' can%t help...

' don%t mind...

' can%t standbear...

Example: & 't%s no use convincing him to revise his lessons. e%s so stubborn.&

Verbs that can be followed by an infinitive ( ex : to do)

1- After verbs that refer to a future event:

want

hope

aim

intend

arrange

attempt

promise

be determined

plan

consent

decide

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demand

deserve

determine

endeavor

expect

offer

proceed

promise

threaten

swear

volunteer

want

would lie

would hate

would love

Example:

& ' want to finish my wor early.

2- After certain other verbs, such as:

afford

agree

help

choose

fail

happen

refuse

manage

need

seem

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learn

choose

pretend

Example: &*he refused to forgive him.&

3- After adjectives :

glad

pleased

disappointed

Example: &'%m glad to now that you passed the exam.&

&'%m pleased to meet you.&

&'%m disappointed to hear that you fluned maths.&

4- After "too" "enou!h":too difficult

easy enough

Example:

&'t%s too difficult to convince him to be helpful.&

& +ut it%s easy enough to fool him to get what you want.&

Verbs that can be followed by both an infinitive and a gerund:

*ome verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive. ere are some examples:

start

begin

stop

remember...

Example: &' started smoing when ' was young.&

&' started to smoe when ' left the office.&

Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives (Similar Meaning)

can't bear e can't bear being alone! e can't bear to be alone!

can't

stand

"ancy can't stand wor#ing t$e late s$ift! "ancy can't stand to wor# t$e late s$ift!

cease %$e government ceased &roviding free $ealt$ %$e government ceased to &rovide free $ealt$

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care! care!

continue S$e continued tal#ing! S$e continued to tal#!

$ate e $ates cleaning dis$es! e $ates to clean dis$es!

li#e Samant$a li#es reading! Samant$a li#es to read!

love e love scuba diving! e love to scuba dive!

neglect e neglected doing $is daily c$ores! e neglected to do $is daily c$ores!

&refer e &refers eating at M! e &refers to eat at M!

&ro&ose *rew &ro&osed &aying for t$e tri&! *rew &ro&osed to &ay for t$e tri&!

REMEMBER

+lt$oug$ t$e difference in meaning is small wit$ t$ese &articular verbs, and gerunds and infinitives can often be

used interc$angeably, t$ere is still a meaning difference! -sing a gerund suggests t$at you are referring to real

activities or e.&eriences! -sing an infinitive suggests t$at you are tal#ing about &otential or &ossible activities or

e.&eriences! /ecause of t$is small difference in meaning, gerunds and infinitives cannot always be used

interc$angeably, suc$ as in t$e e.am&les below!

0.am&les1

%$e /ritis$ re&orter likeslivingin "ew 2or#! HELIVESINNEWYORKANDHELIKESWHATHEEXPERIENCESTHERE.

%$e /ritis$ re&orter likesto livein "ew 2or# w$enever $e wor#s in t$e -nited States! HELIKESTHEOPTIONORPOSSIBILITYOFLIVINGINNEWYORKWHENHEWORKSINTHEUNITEDSTATES.

I like speakingFrenc$ because it's suc$ a beautiful language! I LIKETHEEXPERIENCEOFSPEAKINGFRENCH,ANDTHEWAYITMAKESMEFEELWHENI SPEAKTHELANGUAGE.

I like to speakFrenc$ w$en I'm in France! I PREFERTHEOPTIONOFSPEAKINGFRENCHWHENIAMINFRANCE.

Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives (Different Meaning)

begin

S$e began singing!S$e began to sing!

WHEN"BEGIN" ISUSEDINNON-CONTINUOUSTENSES, YOUCANEITHERUSEAGERUNDORANINFINITIVE.

S$e is beginning to sing!

WHEN"BEGIN" ISUSEDINCONTINUOUSTENSES,ANINFINITIVEISUSED.

dread

S$e dreaded ta#ing t$e test! e dreaded to t$in# of t$e conse3uences of $is

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USUALLY"DREAD" ISFOLLOWEDBYAGERUND.

actions!

"DREAD" ISSOMETIMESUSEDWITHINFINITIVESSUCHAS"THINK" OR"CONSIDER." INTHESENTENCEABOVE,"DREADEDTOTHINK" MEANS"DIDNOTWANTTOTHINK."

forget

S$e forgot reading t$e boo# w$en s$e wasa #id!

WHEN"FORGET" ISUSEDWITHAGERUND, ITMEANS"TOFORGETTHATYOUHAVEDONESOMETHING."THESENTENCEABOVEMEANSTHATSHEREADTHEBOOKWHENSHEWASAKID, ANDTHATSHEHASFORGOTTENTHATFACT.

S$e forgot to &ay t$e rent t$is mont$!

WHENFORGETISUSEDWITHANINFINITIVE, ITMEANS"TOFORGETTHATYOUNEEDTODOSOMETHING." THESENTENCEABOVEMEANSTHATSHEFORGOTTHATSHENEEDEDTOPAYTHERENT.

#ee&S$e #e&t tal#ing!

"KEEP" ISNORMALLYUSEDWITHAGERUNDTOMEANTHATYOUCONTINUEDOINGANACTION.

%$e attac#ers #e&t $ostages to &revent t$e &olicefrom entering!

"KEEP" CANALSOBEUSEDWITHANOBJECTFOLLOWEDBYANINFINITIVE, BUTTHENTHEINFINITIVETAKESONTHEMEANINGOF"INORDERTO... ." INTHESENTENCEABOVE,THEATTACKERSKEPTHOSTAGESINORDERTOPREVENTTHEPOLICEFROMENTERING.

need

%$e $ouse needs cleaning!

WHEN"NEED" ISUSEDWITHAGERUND, ITTAKESONAPASSIVEMEANING. THESENTENCEABOVEMEANS"THEHOUSENEEDSTOBECLEANED."

e needs to call $is boss!e needs $im to call $is boss!

"NEED" ISUSUALLYUSEDWITHANINFINITIVEORANOBJECT+ANINFINITIVE.

regret

I regretted being late to t$e interview!

"REGRET" ISNORMALLYUSEDWITHAGERUND.

e regret to inform you t$at your &osition at t$ecom&any is being eliminated!

"REGRET" ISSOMETIMESUSEDWITHINFINITIVESSUCHAS"TOINFORM." INTHESENTENCEABOVE, "WEREGRETTOINFORMYOU" MEANS"WEWISHWEDIDNOTHAVETOTELLYOU(BADNEWS."

remember I remember mentioning t$e meeting

yesterday!

WHEN"REMEMBER" ISUSEDWITHAGERUND, ITMEANS"TOREMEMBERTHATYOUHAVEDONESOMETHING." THESENTENCEABOVEMEANSTHATIMENTIONEDTHEMEETING,ANDTHATI REMEMBERTHEFACTTHATI DIDTHAT.

e remembered to turn off t$e lig$ts before $e left!

WHEN"REMEMBER" ISUSEDWITHANINFINITIVE, ITMEANS"TOREMEMBERTHATYOUNEEDTODOSOMETHING." THESENTENCEABOVEMEANSTHATHEREMEMBEREDTHATHENEEDEDTOTURNTHELIGHTSOFF.

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start

Marge started tal#ing really fast!Marge started to tal# really fast!

WHEN"START" ISUSEDINNON-CONTINUOUSTENSES, YOUCANEITHERUSEAGERUNDORANINFINITIVE.

Marge is starting to tal# really fast!

WHEN"START" ISUSEDINCONTINUOUSTENSES,ANINFINITIVEISUSED.

I started to learn Russian, but it was so muc$ wor#

t$at I finally 3uit t$e class!

INOTHERSITUATIONS,ANINFINITIVEMEANSTHATYOUDIDNOTCOMPLETEORCONTINUEANACTION.

sto&

e sto&&ed smo#ing for $ealt$ reasons!

"STOP" ISNORMALLYUSEDWITHAGERUND.

e sto&&ed to rest for a few minutes!

WHEN"STOP" ISUSEDWITHANINFINITIVE, THEINFINITIVETAKESONTHEMEANINGOF"INORDERTO." INTHESENTENCEABOVE, HESTOPPEDINORDERTORESTFORAFEWMINUTES.

try

S$e can't find a 4ob! S$e tried loo#ing in t$e&a&er, but t$ere was not$ing! S$e triedas#ing friends and family, but nobody #newof anyt$ing! S$e also tried going s$o& tos$o&, but nobody was $iring!

"TRY+ GERUND" MEANSTOTRYORTOEXPERIMENTWITHDIFFERENTMETHODSTOSEEIFSOMETHINGWORKS.

S$e tried eating t$e sna#e sou&, but s$edidn't li#e it!

"TRY+ GERUND" ISOFTENUSEDWHENYOUEXPERIMENTWITHSOMETHING, BUTYOUDONOTREALLYLIKEITORWANTTODOITAGAIN.

S$e tried to climb t$e tree, but s$e couldn't evenget off t$e ground!

WHENYOU"TRYTODO" SOMETHING, YOUWANTTODOIT,BUTYOUDONOTSUCCEEDINACTUALLYDOINGIT. INTHESENTENCEABOVE,ANINFINITIVEISUSEDBECAUSESHECANNOTSUCCESSFULLYCLIMBTHETREE.

%ry not to wa#e t$e baby w$en you get u&

tomorrow at 5 +M!

ANINFINITIVEISALSOUSEDIFYOUAREASKINGSOMEONETOTRYSOMETHINGTHEYMAYORMAYNOTBEABLETOACCOMPLISH.

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Gerund or Infinitive Explanation

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