Gerund clauses

Traditional grammars of English acknowledge the existence of two ING forms:

• The gerund, forms that have both nominal and verbal features - I remember
Mary’s performing the concert.
• The participle form which doesn’t have any nominal features, but verbal and
adjective features - God willing, we shall succeed.
Focusing on the gerund clauses, how do we use them? there are some rules that
might help us to know when we have to use them.

1. Gerunds are used commonly as subjects but it is important to know that when a
gerund is used alone as a subject, it is singular and requires a singular verb. When
two or more gerunds create a compound subject and they require a plural verb:
• Smoking is bad for your health.
• Smoking and drinking are bad for your health.

2. Gerunds are always used when following a preposition. We have to remember that a
gerund is a verb form which functions as a noun and English language only accepts
nouns after prepositions:
• I will call you after arriving / my arrival at the office.
• Please, have a drink before leaving / your departure.

3. Gerunds are used as a complement of the “to be” verb, which means, in all progressive
or continuous tenses:
• I was going to the office when I saw a vampire.
• I will be leaving by the time you arrive.

4. The gerund clause contains a tense position, an incomplete action. This is an

important difference with the infinitive because this one is compatible with future tense
or with irreal mood (I remembered him to be bald so I was surprised to see him
wearing long hair) while the gerund shows non-future tense. The gerund refers to real
past events or situations contrasting with the infinitive. Let’s see some examples:
• To Afford - We cannot afford to lose more money.
• To Appear - This result appears to support your theory.
• To Beg - I beg you not to go there.
• To Admit - He admites falsifying the documents.
• To Acknowledge - He acknowledges stealing the wallet.

5. There are some verbs that admit both gerund and infinitive clauses with a major
change in the meaning. Let’s see some examples:
• To remember
• Infinitive - Remember to close the door at the end of the class - Don’t forget to
do something after the class in the future.
• Gerund - I remember closing the door at the end of the class - I remember
that I did close the door at the end of the class in the past.
• To forget
• Infinitive - Don’t forget to pick up my friends at 18:00 - Remember to pick my
friends up at 18:00 in the future.
• Gerund - I will never forget meeting her - I will never forget that I met her in
the past.
• Perception verbs as to see, to hear, to smell…
• Infinitive shows the whole action - I heard you sing that beautiful song - I
heard the whole song, from the beginning to the end.
 • Gerund shows part of the action, an incomplete action - I heard you singing
that beautiful song - I was passing by and I heard part of the song, but not the
whole song.
• To regret
• Infinitive - I regret to inform you… - An unrealised event, I’m about to tell you
something that I haven’t tell yet about something that has happened or will
happen.
• Gerund - I regret being late to the interview - I regret now that I was late to the
interview in the past.
• To hate, to like, to love…
• When using the gerund it expresses a general situation - I love dancing - I
love the dance in general.
• When using the infinitive it expresses a particular time or situation, it gives
more information - I would like to eat something / He likes to leave things to
the last minute.
• To stop
• Infinitive - He stopped to rest for a few minutes - He stopped doing something
in order to do something else
• Gerund - He stopped smoking for health reasons - He gave up on smoking,
he didn’t smoke anymore.
• To need
• Infinitive - They need to win tomorrow - They require to win because it is
essential or very important rather than just desirable.
• Gerund - This shirt needs washing / to be washed - It has a passive
meaning.
• To keep
• Infinitive - She kept hostages to / in order to prevent the police from entering
- In order to.
• Gerund - She keeps going on about the murder - Continue doing or do
repeatedly.
• To start
• When using the infinitive, sometimes shows an action that you haven’t
completed - I started to learn russian (but it was so difficult that I finally quit
the lessons)
• To try
• Infinitive - He tried to regain his breath - To make an attempt or effort to do
something.
• Gerund - There is a terrible traffic jam in the city centre, I’m going to try going
by the ring road - To do something as an experiment to see what will happen.

6. There are some verbs that admit both gerund and infinitive clauses without a major
change in the meaning. The choice will depend on the construction of the sentence
choosing the gerund when speaking in a general way whereas the infinitive will be the
choice when it’s more directed:
• To Advise
• He advised checking the settings.
• He advised me to check the settings.
• To Recommend
• Doctors recommend eating healthier.
• You are strongly recommended to seek professional help.
• To Forbid
• He forbade me to see him again.
• Police forbade keeping living pets inside the school.
• To Require
• They require us to work more.
• They require working more.