Infinitive and Gerund

as the subject of a clause:

To know you is to love you. Infinitive as the Subject of a Clause (followed by the verbs below) Example: To follow his advice seemed logical. be seem appear

after certain expressions (without to) Why not go to the cinema? Infinitive after certain Expressions (without 'to') Example: I would rather stay at home. had better would rather would sooner why not why should I/you/ [not]

after the following expressions: had better You had better clean up your room. would rather Susan would rather study for her exam tomorrow. would sooner I would sooner read a book than watch this film. why not Why not ask your neighbour for help? why should we Why should we go by car? why should we not Why should we not go by car?

after certain verbs (without to) I can swim. Infinitive after certain Verbs (without to) Example: We must stay at home. can dare (also with to) do help (also with to) let may must need (also with to) shall should will

The Infinitive without to after auxiliaries/modals can He can run very fast. could As a boy he could run very fast. may I may fly to Africa this summer. might I might fly to Africa this summer. must I must go now. mustn't You mustn't smoke here. needn't You needn't go. shall We shall sing a song. should We should sing a song. will She will cook a meal for his birthday. would She would cook a meal for his birthday.

after certain verbs (with to) He wants to swim. afford agree aim appear arrange attempt be determined beg care choose claim condescend consent

dare (also without to) decide demand deserve determine endeavour expect fail guarantee happen have help (also without to) hesitate hope

learn long manage mean need (also without to) neglect offer ought plan prepare pretend proceed promise refuse resolve

seem stop swear tend threaten trouble undertake used volunteer vow want wish would hate would like would love would prefer

after certain verbs with interrogatives (infinitive constructions) They dont know how to swim. Infinitive after certain Verbs with Interrogative (how, if, what, where, whether) Example: We didn't remember where to meet. ask advise + Object consider decide explain find out forget

know learn remember see show teach tell + object understand wonder

after certain verbs with objects (without to) He made her swim. Infinitive after certain Verbs with an Object (without 'to') Example: We heard him scream. let make

after let + object: Let Sandy let her child go out alone. Mother let her daughter decide on her own. let's Let's go for a walk through the park.

after make + object: Make She made Peggy and Samantha clean the room.

after certain verbs with objects (with to) They wanted him to swim. Infinitive after certain Verbs with an Object (with 'to') Example: She got me to wash the dishes. advise allow ask beg cause enable encourage expect forbid force get help invite mean order

permit persuade recommend remind teach tell want warn would hate would like would love would prefer

after certain adjectives and their comparisons Its easier to swim downstream. Infinitive after certain Adjectives Example: It was impossible to go back. amazed amazing angry astonished astonishing awkward brave careless clever cowardly crazy

delighted difficult disappointed disgusted easy extraordinary funny generous glad happy hard honest horrified impossible

kind nice odd pointless relieved ridiculous rude sad selfish silly sorry strange stupid surprised wicked wise

after nouns deriving from the verbs mentioned above

We made a promise to swim. (derived from the verb to promise) Infinitive after certain Nouns Example: There was no need to get angry. effort agreement aim appearance arrangement attempt choice claim decision determination

expectation failure guarantee hesitation hope longing need neglect offer plan preparation procedure promise

refusal resolution tendency threat trouble try

The Infinitive with to after: the first Gagarin was the first to fly in a spaceship. the last Peter was the last to watch the film. the next He is the next to get his passport. after: adjectives I'm happy to be here. It's better not to smoke. after: certain verbs (agree, choose, forget, hope, learn, promise, regret, want, ) I learn to drive a car.

after: question words I don't know what to say. Can you tell me how to get to the bus stop? after: want/would like I want you to help me. verb + object + to-infinitive I helped my dad to clean the car. NOTE!!! I want to help you. I want you to help me.

after to do do I don't know.

after verbs of perception + object (action has finished): feel She feels the rain fall on her face. hear I heard Peter sing a song. notice Mandy noticed the boy climb the tree. see They saw him climb up the roof. watch He watched the thieves steal a car

Gerund

Use -ing form used as a noun Form infinitive + -ing Examples Going to parties is fun. Gerund is subject I enjoy reading. Gerund is object

as the subject of a clause Cycling is good for your health.

after certain adjectives Hes afraid of going by plane. Adjectives (with Prepositions) followed by the Gerund Example: I am interested in visiting the museum. afraid of angry about / at bad at busy clever at crazy about disappointed about excited about famous for fond of

glad about good at impressed by interested in keen on like near proud of sick of sorry about tired of worried about worth

afraid of They are afraid of losing the match. angry about/at Pat is angry about walking in the rain. bad at good at John is good at working in the garden. clever at He is clever at skateboarding. crazy about The girl is crazy about playing tennis. disappointed about/at He is disappointed about seeing such a bad report. excited about We are excited about making our own film. famous for Sandy is famous for singing songs. fed up with I'm fed up with being treated as a child. fond of Hannah is fond of going to parties.

glad about She is glad about getting married again. happy about/at The children are not happy about seeing a doctor. interested in Are you interested in writing poems? keen on Joe is keen on drawing. proud of She is proud of riding a snowboard. sick of We're sick of sitting around like this. sorry about/for He's sorry for eating in the lesson. tired of I'm tired of waiting for you. used to She is used to smoking. worried about I'm worried about making mistakes.

after certain prepositions Before going to bed he turned off the lights. Prepositions followed by the Gerund Example: Instead of studying for her exams, she went out every night. about (in 'how/what about') after apart from because of before by in in spite of instead of on without

after After having a shower, I waited for Steven. before The tablet must not be taken before getting up in the morning by I manage it by working much longer than 40hour weeks. in spite of In spite of studying a lot he didn't pass the exams. On She insisted on calling her sister. without He told the joke without laughing.

after certain verbs I enjoy cooking. Verbs followed by the Gerund Example: I enjoy enjoy cooking. admit advise allow appreciate avoid can't help can't stand consider delay deny dislike enjoy escape

fancy finish go (in go swimming) imagine involve keep mention mind miss

permit postpone practise reject resist risk stop suggest understand waste time / money

We use the Gerund after the following verbs: Admit He admitted having driven too fast. avoid They avoid going on holiday on Saturdays. carry on If we carry on sleeping so badly, we may need help. consider Ralph is considering buying a new house. delay I delayed telling Max the news. deny She denies reading the book. dislike We dislike reading poems. can't help He couldn't help falling in love with her. enjoy I enjoy playing chess.

Finish They finished working in the garden. give up Susan gives up playing ice-hockey. imagine He imagined driving a new car. include Your responsibility includes taking reservations on the phone. involve The project will involve growing plants. justify I cannot justify paying $100 for this ticket. keep (on) They keep on running.

mention Did Alex ever mention playing baseball? mind I don't mind sleeping on the couch. miss They miss playing with their friends. practise She practised playing hockey. regret Do you regret having mentioned it? risk You risk catching a cold. suggest She suggested flying to Cairo.

after certain verbs with prepositions I am looking forward to seeing you again. Verbs with Prepositions followed by the Gerund Example: I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon. accuse of adjust to agree with apologize for approve of ask about ask for begin by believe in be used to blame for

care for carry on complain about concentrate on congratulate on consist of cope with decide against decide for depend on die of dream about / of

escape from feel like forgive for give up insist on keep on look forward to object to pay for prevent sb. from protect from put off

rely on spend money on spend time on succeed in suspect of take part in talk about / of thank for think of use for warn against worry about

VERBS WITH PREPOSITINS accuse of They were accused of breaking into a shop. agree with I agree with playing darts. apologize for They apologize for being late. believe in She doesn't believe in getting lost in the wood. blame for The reporter is blamed for writing bad stories. complain about She complains about bullying. concentrate on Do you concentrate on reading or writing? congratulate sb. on I wanted to congratulate you on making such a good speech. cope with He is not sure how to cope with getting older.

decide against They decided against stealing the car. depend on Success may depend on becoming more patient. dream about/of Sue dreams of being a pop star. feel like They feel like going to bed. get used to You must get used to working long hours. insist on The girls insisted on going out with Mark. look forward to I'm looking forward to seeing you soon. prevent sb. from sth. How can I prevent Kate from working in this shop? rely on sth. He doesn't rely on winning in the casino.

succeed in How then can I succeed in learning chemistry? specialize in The firm specialized in designing websites. stop sb. from I stopped Andrew from smoking. talk about/of They often talk about travelling to New Zealand. think of Frank thinks of playing chess. warn sb. against We warned them against using this computer. worry about The patient worries about having the check-up.

after certain nouns We had problems finding our way back home. Nouns / Nouns with Prepositions followed by the Gerund Example: There's no point in waiting any longer. advantage of alternative of chance of choice between danger of difficulty in doubt about experience in fun hope of idea of interest in

opportunity of place for pleasure in point in possibility of problem reason for trouble trouble in use way of waste of money waste of time

We use the Gerund after the following nouns: advantage of What is the advantage of farming over hunting? chance of There's a chance of catching a cold these days. choice between There's a choice between flying to London Heathrow or Stansted. danger of Peggy is in danger of making a mistake. difficulty in He has difficulty in sending SMS. doubt about He is in doubt about buying the correct software for his computer system. hope of There's little hope of catching Schumacher's Ferrari. idea of I like the idea of setting up a new email account.

interest in There's no interest in writing letters. method of This is a simple method of finding solutions opportunity of There's some opportunity of bringing her parents together again. possibility of These new wheels offer the possibility of riding tubeless. problem of He has the problem of swimming too slow. reason for There's a real reason for winning the contest. risk of There's a risk of digging too deep. trouble for He was in trouble for stealing. way of This is a new way of building a wall.

Words followed either by Infinitive or Ing-Form

same meaning I started to read. / I started reading Words with the same meaning Example: I started to read. / I started reading. attempt begin bother cannot bear cease continue hate intend love prefer start

NO DIFFERENCE IN MEANING We use the Gerund or the Infinitive after the following verbs: Begin He began talking. He began to talk. continue They continue smoking. They continue to smoke. hate Do you hate working on Saturdays? Do you hate to work on Saturdays? like I like swimming. I like to swim love She loves painting. She loves to paint. prefer Pat prefers walking home. Pat prefers to walk home. start They start singing. They start to sing.

We use the Gerund or the Infinitive after the Following verbs. There are two possible structures after these verbs. Gerund: verb + -ing Infinitive: verb + person + to-infinitive advise They advise walking to town. They advise us to walk to town. allow They do not allow smoking here They do not allow us to smoke here. encourage They encourage doing the test. They encourage us to do the test. Permit They do not permit smoking here. They do not permit us to smoke here.

We use the following structures with the word recommend: recommend They recommend walking to town. They recommend that we walk to town.

same meaning but different use She forbids us to talk. / She forbids talking. Words with the same meaning but different use Word Inf. -with an object Gerund -without an object advise -I advise you to go by bus- I advise going by bus. allow / permit He allowed her to take the car. He allowed taking the car forbid She forbids us to smoke. She forbids smoking.

different meaning He stopped to smoke. / He stopped smoking Word Inf. Meaning Gerund meaning with regard to the fut./ with regard to the past forget Remember to switch off the lights. Remember Do you remember switching off the lights He'll never forget spending so much money on his first computer. Don't forget to spend money on the tickets.

go on start something new Go on to read continue with the same action Go on reading.

regret with regard to the future I regret to say that. with regard to the past I regret saying that.

stop interrupt another action I stopped to smoke. terminate I stopped smoking.

try do something complicated Try to solve this riddle. do it and see what happens Try talking to him.

Mean You have forgotten your homework again. That means phoning your mother.

I meant to phone your mother, but my mobile didn't work.

infinitive or present participle I saw him go up the stairs. / I saw him going up the stairs. Words Feel Hear See

Inf.meaning Emphasises that the action is completed. Example: I saw him go up the stairs. Gerund meaning Action can be completed, but not necessarily Example: I saw him going up the stairs.

Go Come Infinitive meaning expresses a purpose Example: She is coming to show us the pictures. Gerund meaning in connection with activities Example: Lets go shopping / dancing.

Gerund after special phrases to be busy He is busy reading the paper. couldn't help She couldn't help eating another apple. don't mind I don't mind telling them my opinion. feel like We feel like having a cup of tea. how about How about walking home instead of taking the car? it's (no) good It's no good talking to this girl.

it's no use It's no use talking to the headmaster. spend one's time They spend their time reading. there's no There's no cheating anymore. there's no point There's no point in complaining further. what about What about going to the zoo? worth The book is worth reading.