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Gerunds & Infinitives | End your Nightmare !

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gerunds infinitives

A verb is an action word.In English, if a verb starts with the word “to,” it is an infinitive.If a verb ends with “ing,” it is agerund. Verbs can be either gerunds or infinitives, but they can’t be both!

Infinitive : To + Verb

He wants to visit us

Gerund : Verb + ing

I enjoy playing chess

When two verbs are together in a sentence, the first verb agrees with the subject. The second verb can be either a gerund or an infinitive. The first verb determines whether the second verb should be a gerund or an infinitive.

1- What are the verbs followed by Infintives :

Verb

Examles

Agree

I agree to help them.

Ask

He asked to join the club.

Expect

She expects to have a child soon.

Manage

He managed to get his BAC.

Attemp

He attempted to commit a suicide.

Learn

She learned to drive quickly.

Promise

We promised to tell the truth.

Need

They need to get extra help.

Neglect

She neglected to do her homework.

Hope

She hopes to get her BAC.

Intend

They intend to kill him.

Plan

They plan to build the road soon.

Want

He wants to make fun of her.

I cannot afford

She couldn't afford to buy a new car.

Determine

They determine to succeed.

beg

I beg to differ with you sir .

care

Do you care to meet him

Claim

He claims to have the best car

Decide

He decided to come

Demand

I demand to know who is the responsible

Deserve

She deserves to win

Expect

He expected to pass the exam

Fail

Don’t fail to find him

Hesitate

Don’t hesitate to contact me

Learn

I learned to speak English

Offer

They offered to deal with us

Afford

We can'taffordto remainoutside the market.

Appear

Itappearsto bea mistake.

Arrange

I willarrangeto talkwith them as soon as possible.

Refuse

Herefusesto answermy calls.

Swear

Do youswearto keepthis a secret? Mantener

Volunteer

No onevolunteeredto clean up. Nadie se ofreció a limpiar.

Wait

I cannotwaitto seethe expression on his face when he hears the news.

Wish

I wish to visit you tomorrow

seem

Nancy seemed to be disappointed.

   

 

2- What are Verbs followed by gerunds :

 

Admit

I admit making mistakes

advise

I advise taking the train

The verb “ Advise” can be followed by : noun + infinitive. Ex: I advise you to see a doctor .

Allow

The school doesn’tallow using Smart phones.

“Allow” also can be followed by : noun + Infintive .

My father allows me to use computer on Saturday.

appreciate

I appreciate hearing a good joke

Avoid

I avoid going out on sundays

Consider

He is considering buying a new car

Delay

I delayed telling my parent the news

Deny

She denies reading the book

discuss

We must discuss hiring more people

Dislike

We dislike listening to music

enjoy

I enjoy playing chess

Fear

I fear losing his confidence

Finish

I finished typing the project

Can’t help

I can’t help

Give up

I gave up playing computer games

Imagine

I imagined driving a new car

involve

The project involves growing plants

Justify

Can you justify paying 200 euros for this watch .

Keep

He keeps repeating the mistake

mention

You mentioned seeing him yesterday

mind

I don’t mind sleeping on the sofa

Recommend

I recommend having pizza in this restaurant

Miss

They miss playing with their friends

Practice

I practicing playing tennis this month

Regret

We must regret making that mistake

Risk

Don’t risk traveling alone tonight

Suggest

I suggested studying in Spain

can't help

He can't help talking so loudly.

can't see

I can't see paying so much money for a car.

can't stand

He can't stand her smoking in the office.

Cease

The government ceased providing free healthcare.

Complete

He completed renovating the house.

Consider

She considered moving to New York

Continue

He continued talking.

Defend

The lawyer defended her making such statements.

despise

She despises waking up early

Encourage

He encourages eating healthy foods.

“Encourage” also can be followed by : noun + Infintive .

I encourage you to go on.

keep

She kept interrupting me.

mention

He mentioned going to that college.

Miss

She misses living near the beach.

Postpone

He postponed returning to Paris.

practice

She practiced singing the song.

recall

Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

Report

He reported her stealing the money.

resist

He resisted asking for help.

risk

He risked being caught.

suggest

They suggested staying at the hotel

tolerate

I tolerated her talking.

understand

I understand his quitting

     

 

3- Verbs followed by Gerunds and Infinitives, but their meanings are different

 

begin

She began singing.
She began to sing.

When "begin" is used in non-continuous tenses, you can either use a gerund or an infinitive.

She is beginning to sing.

When "begin" is used in continuous tenses, an infinitive is used.

dread

She dreaded taking the test.

Usually "dread" is followed by a gerund.

He dreaded to think of the consequences of his actions.

"Dread" is sometimes used with infinitives such as "think" or "consider." In the sentence above, "dreaded to think" means "did not want to think."

forget

She forgot reading the book when she was a kid.

When "forget" is used with a gerund, it means "to forget that you have done something." The sentence above means that she read the book when she was a kid, and that she has forgotten that fact.

She forgot to pay the rent this month.

When forget is used with an infinitive, it means "to forget that you need to do something." The sentence above means that she forgot that she needed to pay the rent.

keep

She kept talking.

"Keep" is normally used with a gerund to mean that you continue doing an action.

The attackers kept hostages to prevent the police from entering.

"Keep" can also be used with an object followed by an infinitive, but then the infinitive takes on the meaning of "in order to… ." In the sentence above, the attackers kept hostages in order to prevent the police from entering.

need

The house needs cleaning.

When "need" is used with a gerund, it takes on a passive meaning. The sentence above means "the house needs to be cleaned."

He needs to call his boss.
He needs him to call his boss.

"Need" is usually used with an infinitive or an object + an infinitive.

regret

I regretted being late to the interview.

"Regret" is normally used with a gerund.

We regret to inform you that your position at the company is being eliminated.

"Regret" is sometimes used with infinitives such as "to inform." In the sentence above, "We regret to inform you" means "We wish we did not have to tell you (bad news)."

remember

I remember mentioning the meeting yesterday.

When "remember" is used with a gerund, it means "to remember that you have done something." The sentence above means that I mentioned the meeting, and that I remember the fact that I did that.

He remembered to turn off the lights before he left.

When "remember" is used with an infinitive, it means "to remember that you need to do something." The sentence above means that he remembered that he needed to turn the lights off.

start

Marge started talking really fast.
Marge started to talk really fast.

When "start" is used in non-continuous tenses, you can either use a gerund or an infinitive.

Marge is starting to talk really fast.

When "start" is used in continuous tenses, an infinitive is used.

I started to learn Russian, but it was so much work that I finally quit the class.

In other situations, an infinitive means that you did not complete or continue an action.

stop

He stopped smoking for health reasons.

"Stop" is normally used with a gerund.

He stopped to rest for a few minutes.

When "stop" is used with an infinitive, the infinitive takes on the meaning of "in order to." In the sentence above, he stopped in order to rest for a few minutes.

try

She can't find a job. She tried looking in the paper, but there was nothing. She tried asking friends and family, but nobody knew of anything. She also tried going shop to shop, but nobody was hiring.

"Try + gerund" means to try or to experiment with different methods to see if something works.

She tried eating the snake soup, but she didn't like it.

"Try + gerund" is often used when you experiment with something, but you do not really like it or want to do it again.

She tried to climb the tree, but she couldn't even get off the ground.

When you "try to do" something, you want to do it, but you do not succeed in actually doing it. In the sentence above, an infinitive is used because she cannot successfully climb the tree.

Try not to wake the baby when you get up tomorrow at 5 AM.

An infinitive is also used if you are asking someone to try something they may or may not be able to accomplish.

 

4-Verbs followed by Gerunds and Infinitives, but their meanings are the same

can't bear

He can't bear being alone.

He can't bear to be alone.

can't stand

Nancy can't stand working the late shift.

Nancy can't stand to work the late shift.

cease

The government ceased providing free health care.

The government ceased to provide free health care.

continue

She continued talking.

She continued to talk.

hate

He hates cleaning dishes.

He hates to clean dishes.

like

Samantha likes reading.

Samantha likes to read.

love

We love scuba diving.

We love to scuba dive.

neglect

He neglected doing his daily chores.

He neglected to do his daily chores.

prefer

He prefers eating at 7 PM.

He prefers to eat at 7 PM.

propose

Drew proposed paying for the trip.

Drew proposed to pay for the trip.

REMEMBER

Although the difference in meaning is small with these particular verbs, and gerunds and infinitives can often be used interchangeably, there is still a meaning difference. 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. Because of this small difference in meaning, gerunds and infinitives cannot always be used interchangeably, such as in the examples below.

Examples:

  • The British reporter likes living in New York. He lives in New York and he likes what he experiences there.
  • The British reporter likes to live in New York whenever he works in the United States. He likes the option or possibility of living in New York when he works in the United States.
  • I like speaking French because it's such a beautiful language. I like the experience of speaking French, and the way it makes me feel when I speak the language.
  • I like to speak French when I'm in France. I prefer the option of speaking French when I am in France.

Source : EnglishPage.com

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