Gerund and Infinitive.

What is gerund?
Gerund is word that is formed with verb “-ing” but act as noun. Gerund can used as a subject, the complement,
or the object of a sentence. Hence, it can be place anywhere in the sentence.

Example:
cycling I love cycling around the park.
cooking Cooking is my mother’s favourite thing to
do.
dancing Melanie has decided that dancing was not
her cup of tea.

Parts of gerunds.
1. Gerunds as subjects.
 Owning a car costs a lot.
(Gerund) (Art) (n) (Verb phrase)
 Writing a novel takes a lot of time
(Gerund) (Art) (n) (Verb phrase)
 Gardening is my favourite hobby.
(Gerund) (Verb phrase)

2. Verb followed by the gerund.

Verb Example
advice The doctor advised him giving up smoking.
allow The teacher allows eating in the classroom.
permit The law permits parking in the certain area.
love Hani loves listening to jazz music.
prefer Ann prefers jogging rather than swimming.

3. Verbs followed by an object +a gerund.

Verb Example Meaning
see I see the man running away. The action mentioned is in progress.
watch They watch the birds flying out. The action mentioned is in progress.
notice I notice him walking into the house. The action mentioned is in progress.

feel Hani feels the insect crawling inside her shirt. The action mentioned is in progress.
listen I listen to the children returning from school. The action mentioned is in progress.
4. Positive and Negative Gerunds.

As for the negative gerund, add “not” before the gerund.

Gerund
Negative I prefer not eating an ice-cream.
Negative I hate not being able to read without
glasses/
Negative I am good at not hitting the ball when I am
playing tennis.
Positive I like eating an ice-cream.
Positive I prefer driving in the morning.
Positive I am good at painting murals on the wall.

What is infinitive?
It is used to explain why the action is done. “to” has the same meaning as “in order to”.

An action + to + infinitive verb

Example:
1. The lady refused to visit her son in the prison.
2. He tried to run in the marathon.
3. When I have enough money, I plan to visit the Europe.

Parts of the infinitive

1. It as a subject + infinitive
Subject Verb+Noun Infinitive
It costs a lot to own a car.
It is expensive to buy a house these
days.
It seem easy to study for my final
exams.
 2. Verbs followed by the infinitive.

 Verb + Infinitive

Verb
agree I agree to follow him.
decide Hasif has decided to further his studies.
wait I have waited three hours to phone you.
learn My teacher has learned to accept the facts that her students are naughty.

3. Verbs followed by an object + an infinitive

Verb
assist The trainer assist him to win the trophies.
challenge Draco challenged Harry to fight in a midnight duel.
convinced Her argument convinced me to change my mind.
entitle His license entitles him to drive a lorry.

4. Positive and Negative Infinitive.

In order to make the infinitive negative, the word “not” is added before the infinitive.

An action + not + to + infinitive verb

Negative I agree not to join the book club.

Negative I decide not to further my studies in the university.
Negative I prefer not to mingle with my new friends.
Positive I agree to join the book club.
Positive I decide to further my studies in the Engineering school.
Positive I prefer to mingle with my old friends.