GERUNDS (V+ING)

A gerund (base form + -ing) is a verb used

as a noun. We often use a gerund as the
subject of a sentence.
e.g. Eating too much makes people fat.
e.g. Cooking is my favorite housework.
e.g. Teaching languages is very enjoyable.
e.g. Not exercising leads to health problems.
 GERUNDS (V+ING)
A gerund is often a part of a phrase. When a
gerund phrase is the subject of a sentence,
make sure the following verb is in the third-
person singular.
e.g. Eating too many fries is unhealthy.
NOT Eating too many fries are unhealthy.
e.g. Reading and writing in English are
important skills.
 VERB + GERUND
A gerund often follows certain verbs as the
object of the verb.

admit avoid enjoy keep consider finish complete

understand discuss mind miss deny practice
imagine suggest fancy quit risk delay defend dislike
appreciate recommend propose
e.g. I enjoy listening to classical music.
e.g. She suggested going to the cinema.
e.g. He avoids spending his money on unnecessary
things.
e.g. Would you mind opening the window?
e.g. Have you finished cleaning the window?
 In formal English, you can use a possessive
(Anne’s, the boy’s, my, your, her, his, its, our, their)
before a gerund. In informal English, many people
use nouns and object pronouns instead of
possessives before a gerund.

e.g. I dislike Julio’s eating fast food. (formal)

e.g. I dislike his eating fast food. (formal)
e.g. I dislike Julio eating fast food. (informal)
e.g. I dislike him eating fast food. (informal)
 GO + GERUND

 We often use go + gerund to describe activities such

as shopping, dancing, fishing, skiing and swimming.

go camping go dancing go fishing go hunting

go jogging go swimming go skiing go shopping

e.g. The weather was very nice yesterday, so we went

camping.
e.g. I go jogging every morning.
e.g. People often eat fast food when they go shopping.
e.g. I am always hungry after I go swimming.
 -ING AFTER PREPOSITIONS

by with without before after instead of

about against for from in of on

e.g. Instead of going to the cinema, we watched a DVD

at home.
e.g. You can’t finish your homework without getting help
from your teacher.
e.g. They decided to go out for dinner after finishing their
homework.
e.g. Turn off all the lights before leaving the house.
e.g. I read an article about counting calories.
e.g. People save time by eating fast food.
 PREPOSITION OR PHRASAL VERB + GERUND

 adjective + preposition + gerund

-be interested in -be good/bad at - be afraid of
-be bored with -be tired of -famous for
-be worried about -excited about

e.g. I am afraid of driving a car.

e.g. He is interested in learning Chinese.
e.g. My son is good at swimming, but he is bad at
playing football.
e.g. The children are bored with doing the same
activities all the time.
 PREPOSITION OR PHRASAL VERB + GERUND

 verb + preposition + gerund

-advise against -approve of -worry about
-argue about -believe in -care about -insist on
-complain about -talk about -think about

e.g. She insisted on going to the cinema.

e.g. I don’t approve of eating fast food every day.
e.g. Most of the students complain about doing homework
all the time.
e.g. He always talks about moving to a new city.
 BE CAREFUL!!!!
 Use a gerund, not the base form of the verb, after
expressions with prepositions to (look forward to,
be opposed to, object to)

e.g. We look forward to having dinner with you.

NOT We look forward to have dinner with you.

e.g. I objected to rewriting the article.

 PREPOSITION OR PHRASAL VERB + GERUND

 phrasal verb + gerund

-end up -give up -keep on -put off

e.g. My brother gave up drinking Coke.

e.g. My parents kept on eating fast food.
 INFINITIVES
 An infinitive is to + base form of the verb. We can use an
infinitive after the verb in a clause.

 verbs + infinitive
afford agree appear arrange can’t wait choose
claim continue decide deserve fail hope
learn manage need offer plan prepare promise
refuse seem teach want would like wish

e.g. I can’t afford to buy a house.

e.g. He wants to learn English very well.
e.g. All of the students hope to pass the proficiency exam.
e.g. She has decided to sell her car.
e.g. He promised to come back in two hours.
e.g. She chose not to give up meat.
e.g. They plan not to close the restaurant soon.
VERB + OBJECT (NOUN/PRONOUN) + INFINITIVE

advise allow ask cause challenge convince

encourage force order permit remind
require tell warn

e.g. I asked a friend to lend me some money.

e.g. The teacher told us to be careful.
e.g. The doctor advised him to stop smoking.
e.g. Our teacher doesn't allow us to speak Turkish in
class.
e.g. I warned him to pay more attention.
e.g. She encouraged him to study harder.
e.g. She convinced Max not to order fries.
 BE CAREFUL!!!!
 What is the difference between these two
sentences?
-I want to study for my exam.
-I want my friend to study for the exam.

 verb + infinitive or verb + object + infinitive (ask,

expect, request, want, etc.)
 INFINITIVES AFTER ADJECTIVES OR NOUNS

 You can use an infinitive after certain adjectives

or nouns:
 adjective + infinitive

afraid angry eager curious easy glad

possible difficult embarrassed fun
interesting lucky

e.g. They are eager to try the next taco.

e.g. She was glad to hear about the healthy menu.
 INFINITIVES AFTER ADJECTIVES OR NOUNS

 noun + infinitive
ability chance decision offer price
reason right time way

e.g. She has the right to eat what she wants.

e.g. I don’t have time to take a break.
 INFINITIVES AFTER ADJECTIVES OR NOUNS

 Sometimes for + noun/pronoun goes before the

infinitive.

e.g. It is easy for students to eat fast food.

e.g. It is a high price for them to pay.
 INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE
o You can use an infinitive to explain the purpose of an
action. An infinitive of purpose can explain the purpose
of an action. It often answers the question why?

A: Why does he always order fast food?

B: He always orders fast food to save time.

 We can use ‘in order (not) to’ to explain the

purpose of an action.
e.g. Older people exercise regularly in order to remain
healthy.
 INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE
 In everday conversation and informal writing, we
usually express a negative purpose with because +
a reason or so that + a reason.

e.g. I sleep a lot because I don’t want to get sick.

e.g. I sleep a lot so that I don’t get sick.
 INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE
 These sentences below have the same meaning.

e.g. I go to college because I want to get a good

education.
e.g. I go to college to get a good education.
e.g. I go to college in order to get a good education.
BUT:
e.g. I go to college for a good education.
for + a noun
 VERB + GERUND OR INFINITIVE
 Some verbs are followed by a gerund or an infinitive.
The meaning is the same.

begin continue love like hate

prefer start

e.g. I love cooking with my friends.

e.g. I love to cook with my friends.
 These two sentences are the same.
 BE CAREFUL!!!
 When two or more verbs follow another verb, we
use the same form of the verb.

e.g. I love walking and doing yoga.

NOT I love walking and to do yoga.

e.g. I love to walk and do yoga.

NOT I love to walk and doing yoga.
 GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES FOR
GENERAL STATEMENTS
 To make general statements you can use:
-gerund as subject
-it + infinitive

e.g. Cooking is fun.

e.g. It is fun to cook.
(These two sentences have the same meaning.)

e.g. Riding motorcycles is dangerous.

e.g. It is dangerous to ride motorcycles.
(These two sentences have the same meaning.)