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INFINITIVES & GERUNDS, by fofuda
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5 exercises/49 sentences Gerunds/Infinitive and Bare infinitive , by Irina
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Gerunds & Infinitives, by Joannaw22
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By Mr. Víctor with No comments

Full explanation: Lesson 3

So when you need to decide which one to use, first check whether the main verb is limited only to gerunds, or only to infinitives.

If the verb is not on any of the lists, you can use the following guidelines:

.    The word "go" + sports or recreational activities usually take a gerund. 
Examples: "Let's go shopping", "They went skiing". 


.    After a preposition you should use a gerund. 
Examples: "I will talk with you before going to lunch" "I am looking forward to working with you". 

 


.    Expressions with the words "have", "spend" and "waste" take a gerund. 
Examples: "She had fun skiing", "He wasted all his time worrying". 


.    In many cases, the infinitive form is used to show the intention or purpose. 
Examples: "We are here to help", "He left to catch the train". 


.    The infinitive form is also used to show the reason. 
Examples: "we were sad to hear about your difficulties", "She was shocked to learn the truth". 


.    If neither of these guidelines apply, simply use the principle in Part I above. 
Does it describe a concrete action? Then use a gerund. 
Does it describe a general or potential action? Then use an infinitive.
Examples: "As a painter, I truly love painting", 
"I love to paint. I wish I would paint more often".

Anyhow, whenever you are in doubt, you can always use a dictionary to help you out! Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary is a really good one to use. It shows you whether the verb requires a gerund, and infinitive, or can take both. Just look at the data bellow the definition.

By Mr. Víctor with No comments

Full explanation: Lesson 2

After the main verb, both gerunds and infinitives can be used.

The main verb in the sentence determines whether you use a gerund or an infinitive.

Some verbs can take both gerunds and infinitives, with only a slight difference in the meaning (as explained in Lesson I above).

A few verbs take both gerunds and infinitives, but with an significant difference in the meaning.

A few verbs take both gerunds and infinitives, but with a significant difference in the meaning:

forget

He forgot opening the window.

(Meaning: He opened the window, but he forgot doing so.)

He forgot to open the window

(Meaning: he was supposed to open the window, but he forgot.)

regret

She regrets quitting her job.

(She quited her job, and now she regrets it.)

She regrets to quit her job.

(She is sorry to quit her job.)

stop

He stopped chatting.

(He was chatting, and then he stopped.)

He stopped to chat.

(He was doing something else, and then he stop in order to chat.)

remember

I remembered locking the storage.

(I had a memory in my mind of locking the storage.)

I remembered to lock the storage.

(I locked the storage as I should have.)

try

They tried moving to Australia.

(They moved to Australia for some time to see if it works out for them.)

They tried to move to Australia.

(They made an attempt to move to Australia, but it wasn't successful. They didn't move to Australia after all.)

By Mr. Víctor with No comments

Full explanation: Lesson 1

The basic difference between gerunds and infinitives is the following:

Using a gerund suggests that you are referring

to real activities or experiences.

Using an infinitive suggests that you are

talking about potential or possible activities or experiences.

So let's say you eat ice cream every day. This is an actual action you are doing. Then you could say: "I like eating ice cream".

On the other hand, if you are on a diet, and you don't usually eat ice cream, then you are talking about a potential action. You could say: "I like to eat ice cream."

When used before the main verb, gerunds tend to sound more like natural English.

For example, the sentence "Playing tennis is a lot of fun" sounds more natural than "To play tennis is a lot of fun". The later sentence sounds more theoretical.

By Mr. Víctor with No comments

Gerunds or Infinitives?

If you want to speak correct and natural English, you should know when to use gerunds, and when to use infinitives.

Click the following link for the list of the verbs followed only by gerunds:

admit

He admitted stealing the ring.

anticipate

We didn't anticipate winning this match.

appreciate

I really appreciate you coming.

avoid

Let's avoid being late.

can't help

I can't help counting those calories.

complete

He completed baking the apple pie.

consider

She never considered moving to England.

delay

We delayed moving to the new house until the spring.

deny

He will deny stealing that car.

despise

She despises asking for favors.

discuss

We discussed buying a bigger apartment.

dislike

She dislikes cooking and baking.

don't mind

I don't mind waiting.

enjoy

She enjoys reading.

forgive

Can you forgive me for not fixing the car?

imagine

Can you imagine living on the moon?

involve

The new project involves writing and rewriting many reports.

keep

She keeps coming late!

mention

I never mentioned meeting him.

mind

Will he mind switching rooms?

miss

I miss chatting with you.

postpone

Let's postpone going out of town.

practice

He practices playing the guitar daily.

recall

Can you recall ordering this product?

recommend

The doctor recommends resting in bed.

report

They reported seeing him leave with a stranger.

resent

He resents doing it all by himself.

resist

I can't resist liking him.

resume

They resumed talking after the teacher left.

risk

Would you risk losing everything?

suggest

I suggest not taking him too seriously.

tolerate

We can't tolerate being screamed at.

understand

He couldn't understand her leaving so suddenly.

Click the following link for the list of the verbs followed only by infinitives:

agree

They agreed to give him a try.

appear

He appeared to know everything.

arrange

I have arranged to meet him on Monday.

ask

She asked to see her doctor.

care

He doesn't care to answer

choose

We chose to ignore it.

claim

He claims to be an expert.

decide

She decided not to go to the party.

demand

I demand to see the person in charge!

deserve

He deserves to win the contest.

expect

He expected to be home sooner.

fail

They failed to follow the instructions.

get

It's not fair that she gets to see him before the others.

happen

I happened to pass by, so we had a chat.

hesitate

Don't hesitate to call.

hope

I hope to see you soon.

intend

She didn't intend to hurt you.

know how

He knows how to to run a business.

learn

He learned to speak Spanish very quickly.

manage

We managed to finish everything on time.

offer

He offered to go for a walk.

plan

You planned to meet us here.

prepare

We were preparing to leave when the phone rang.

pretend

He pretended not to hear a word.

promise

She promised to take us with her next time.

refuse

I refuse to cooperate.

seem

It seems to be broken.

swear

He swore to revenge.

tend

These plants tend to grow slowly.

threaten

He has threatened to hurt us.

undertake

She undertook to design the new collection.

wait

The runners were waiting to start.

want

I want to speak with you in private.

wish

I wish to change my address.

would like

I would like to add something before we continue.

yearn

She yearns to go free.

To make a long story short, you can use the "Gerunds or Infinitives Chart" to help you decide which form to use. Click on the small picture to see the full sized version.

By Mr. Víctor with No comments

What is an Infinitive?

An infinitive is the basic form of the verb + "to".

Examples: to buy, to fish, to run, to watch, to tell, and so forth.

 

Example Sentences:

"I want to swim."

"They asked us to leave."

"To be, or not to be – that is the question."

"The goal is to win."

The word "infinitive" comes form the Latin word infinitus, from in- (not) and finitus (finished, limited).

You could say this actually makes sense: the infinitive describes an action, but unlike a regular verb, it is not limited in any way.

The regular verb is limited to the tense and subject. For example, in the sentence "Diana danced" the action is limited to Diana and to the past.

However, the infinitive is unlimited. In the sentence "To dance is easy", the action is not limited to any subject or to any time.

Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, general, or future.

Examples:

(Note how the main underlined verb relates to unreal, general, or future actions).

.    Kate agreed to come.


.    I hope to see you soon.


.    We plan to finish this shortly.


.    They decided to return home.


.    She promised to stop smoking.


.    We agreed never to talk about it again.


.    He offered to sell the house.


.    I refuse to pay!


.    You seem to be disappointed.


.    She asked him not to leave.


.    I want to drink.


.    They need to get up early.

By Mr. Víctor with No comments