Gerunds and Infinitive

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

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