What
are Gerunds?
A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form
that functions as a noun that names an activity rather than a person or thing.
Any action verb can be made into a gerund.
Spelling
Tip
Verbing
(Present Participle)
Add
ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark > barking
For
verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide > sliding, ride
> riding
For
verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die > dying, tie
> tying
For
a verb whose last syllable is written with a
consonant-vowel-consonant and is stressed, double the last letter before adding
ing. Ex: beg > begging, begin > beginning. However: enter > entering(last
syllable is not stressed)
Gerund
Examples
Gerunds
can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject:
-
Jogging is a
hobby of mine.
Gerunds
can act as an object following the verb:
-
Daniel quit smoking a
year ago.
Gerunds
can serve as an object after a preposition:
-
I look forward
to helping you paint the house.
Note:
The same spelling rules that apply to the progressive tenses also apply to
gerunds.
Some
verbs and verb phrases are directly followed a gerund:
-
Paul avoids using chemicals
on the vegetables he grows.
Some
verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change in
meaning:
-
Some people
prefer getting up early in the morning.
-
Some people
prefer to get up early in the morning
Some
verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning:
-
He
remembered sending the fax. (He remembered the act of send the fax)
-
He
remembered to send the fax. (He remembered the fax and sent it.)
What
are Infinitives?
An
infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It
is formed with to + base form of the verb. Ex: to buy, to work.
Infinitive
Examples
Infinitives
can be used as:
an
object following the verb:
-
Jim always
forgets to eat
a
subject at the beginning of a sentence:
-
To travel around
the world requires a lot of time and money.
an
adverb modifying a verb:
-
You
promised to buy me a diamond ring.
an
adjective modifying a noun:
-
Tara has the
ability to succeed.
Some
verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:
-
Do you want to
call your family now?
Some
verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive:
-
I convinced
Catherine to become vegetarian.
-
He advised
me to sell all my shares of stock.
Some
verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without causing a change in
meaning:
-
Will you
continue working after you give birth?
-
Will you
continue to work after you give birth?
Some
verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a change in
meaning:
-
He stopped drinking coffee.
(He never drank coffee again.)
-
He stopped to
drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank some coffee.)
Exercises
– Gerunds and Infinitives
Choose
the correct gerund or infinitive from the parenthesis at the end of the
sentence.
1.
Alan can’t stand
_________ on trains. (riding/ to ride)
2.
Mr. Harris enjoys
_________ people out to dinner. (inviting / to invite)
3.
In the old days,
gentlemen challenged their rivals _______. (fighting / to fight)
4.
As the famous
saying goes, there’s no use ______ over spilt milk. (crying / to cry)
5.
Jim stopped
_________ his shoelace. Wait for him. (tying / to tie)
6.
My wife always
volunteers ___________ cakes PTA meetings. (baking / to bake)
7.
Don’t waste my
time ___________ about your salary. (complaining/ to complain)
8.
Eva is having
trouble _________ on the exam. (concentrating / to concentrate)
9.
Please allow me
____________ your Facebook page. (joining / to join)
10.
You won’t forget
_________milk on your way home, will you? (picking up /to pick up)
Answers:
1.
Riding
2.
Inviting
3.
to fight
4.
crying
5.
to tie
6.
to bake
7.
complaining
8.
concentrating
9.
to join
10.
to pick up
Reference
Lists – Gerunds and Infinitives
Common
verbs and phrases that are followed by a gerund
-
admit
-
advise
-
avoid
-
be used to
-
can’t help
-
can’t stand
-
consider
-
deny
-
discuss
-
dislike
-
end up
-
enjoy
-
feel like
-
finish
-
forget
-
get used to
-
give up
-
go on
-
imagine
-
keep
-
mention
-
mind
-
miss
-
recommend
-
remember
-
quit
-
stop
-
suggest
-
understand
Common
verbs that can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive without causing
a change in meaning :
-
begin
-
continue
-
hate
-
intend
-
like
-
love
-
prefer
-
start
Common
verbs that can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in
meaning:
-
forget
-
remember
-
stop
Common
verbs that are followed by an infinitive
-
afford
-
agree
-
appear
-
arrange
-
ask
-
care
-
decide
-
demand
-
expect
-
fail
-
forget
-
hope
-
learn
-
manage
-
mean
-
offer
-
plan
-
prepare
-
pretend
-
promise
-
refuse
-
remember
-
seem
-
stop
-
want
Source : www.gingersoftware.com
