Examples of prepositions frequently followed by the gerund are:
before after without by about at to of
after certain verbs.
I enjoy staying in hotels.
I avoid working at the weekend.
Some of the most common verbs which are followed by the gerund are:
admit avoid deny enjoy finish
as the subject or object of a sentence.
Swimming is my favourite sport.
Smoking is bad for your health.
I find working in the garden very relaxing.
after certain idiomatic expressions.
It's no use talking to him. He doesn't know anything.
This is an excellent book. It's worth buying.
Other idiomatic expressions are:
There's no point in (waiting all day).
It's no good (pretending that you understand).
after certain verbs which are followed by the preposition to.
I'm looking forward to visiting you in July.
The infinitive
The infinitive is used:
after certain verbs.
I can't afford to pay all my bills.
I hope to see you again soon.
Some of the most common verbs that are followed by the infinitive are:
agree appear attempt choose dare decide expect help learn
manage need offer promise refuse seem
You should consult a good dictionary, for example the Oxford Advanced
Learner's Dictionary of Current English, to see which structures are
possible after a particular verb.
after certain verbs followed by an object.
He advised me to listen carefully.
They invited her to have lunch with them.
Some of the most common verbs that are normally used with an object and
an infinitive are:
allow encourage force order persuade remind teach tell
warn
after certain verbs which sometimes take an object and sometimes don’t.
I want to find out the answer, (no object – ‘I find out.’)
I want you to find out the answer, (‘you’ as object – ‘You find out.’)
I'd like to help you.
I'd like you to give her a message.
NEVER I want that you . . .
I'd like that you . . .
Other common verbs are:
ask expect
after certain adjectives.
It's difficult to explain how to get there. It's possible to walk there.
after make and let.
She made me do the exercise again, (active – without ‘to’)
I was made to do the exercise again, (passive – with ‘to’)
He let me borrow the car. (active - without 'to')
I was allowed to borrow the car. (‘Let’, in the sense of ‘allow’, is not
possible in the passive.)
to express purpose.
I came here to team English.
I need more money to buy the things I want.
after certain verbs followed by question words, e.g. what, where, who.
I didn't know what to do.
Can you tell me how to get there?
Show me where to put it.
Do you know where to buy it?
After these verbs and others with similar meanings, it is possible to use
how, what, where, when, whether etc.
ask consider explain wonder find out understand
Forms of the infinitive
The continuous infinitive
The continuous infinitive is formed with to be + present participle.
It expresses activities in progress.
I'd like to be lying in the sun right now.
He seemed to be having financial difficulties.
The perfect infinitive
The perfect infinitive is formed with to have + past participle.
I'd like to have seen his face when you told him.
He seems to have forgotten about the appointment.
The passive infinitive
The passive infinitive is formed with to be + past participle.
I'd like to be promoted to sales manager.
I asked to be informed as soon as there was any news.
Notes
The continuous, perfect, and passive infinitives can also be used with
modal auxiliary verbs, but with these verbs to is omitted.
You should be working, not watching television.
She must have gone home already.
This report must be finished tonight.
The gerund or the infinitive after verbs?
Continue, start, begin
Either the gerund or the infinitive can be used.
It started to snow
snowing.
The infinitive is more common.
1. Love, like, prefer, hate
The meaning changes slightly, depending on whether the gerund or the
infinitive is used.
Followed by the gerund, the statement is general.
I like swimming.
I love going to parties.
I hate driving in the dark.
Followed by the infinitive, the statement is more specific.
I like to read a book before going to sleep at night.
I hate to tell you, but I've lost your coat.
Remember, forget, stop, try
The meaning changes greatly depending on whether the gerund or the
infinitive is used.
I remember being very unhappy as a teenager. (I know that I was very
unhappy as a teenager.)
I'll never forget meeting you. (The day I met you is
very clear in my memory.)
The gerund refers to actions and states in the past, i.e. before the
remembering, forgetting, etc. take place.
Remember to put some petrol in the car! (There isn’t much petrol in the car
and it is important that you buy some.)
Don't forget to post the letter! (The letter is important, so you must
remind yourself to post it.)
The infinitive refers to actions that must still be done, i.e. that happen
after the remembering, forgetting, etc.
I stopped smoking years ago. (previous activity)
I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. (This tells us why I stopped.)
We tried to put out the fire, but it was impossible.
I tried pouring on water, my husband tried covering it with a blanket and
my son tried using the fire extinguisher, but in the end we had to call the
fire brigade.
Try + infinitive is your goal; it is what you want to do.
Try + gerund is the method you use to achieve that goal.
Practice
1. Open the brackets using a gerund.
1. The windows are very dirty; they need (clean).
2. It's very hot, so you don't need (bring) a coat.
3. The house is old, and it badly wants (paint).
4. The famous man didn't need (introduce) himself.
5. The floor is covered with dust; it needs (sweep).
6. The grass in the garden is very dry; it wants (water) badly.
7. The planners didn't realise they would need (build) so many houses.
8. This shirt is quite clean; it doesn't want (wash) yet.
9. Her shoes have a hole in them; they want (mend).
10. The room was in a terrible mess: it needed (tidy up).
11. The baby's crying; I think he needs (feed).
12. I know my hair wants (cut) but I never have time to go to the
hairdresser's.
13. John needed (cheer up) when he heard that he'd failed his exams.
14. You should tidy the garden. - Yes, it needs (tidy). The roses want
(water), the peaches want (pick), the grass wants (cut).
2. Open the brackets using a suitable gerund
1. Alter the accident, the injured man recovered consciousness in hospital.
He remembered (cross) the road, but he didn't remember (knock down).
2. I am still thirsty in spite of (drink) four cups of tea.
3. This carpet always looks dirty, in spite of (sweep) every day.
4. He didn't return the book he had borrowed after (promise) to do so.
5. He got into the house by (climb) through a window, without (see) by
anyone.
6. I think he was foolish to buy a car before (learn) how to drive it.
7. Peter is a much better chess-player than I am, and he was very surprised
when I beat him yesterday for the first time. He isn't used to (beat).
8. He went to bed at 9 p.m. in spite of (sleep) all the afternoon.
9. He complained of (give) a very small room at the back of the hotel.
10. The little girl isn't afraid of dogs in spite of (bite) twice.
11. The little girl didn't go near the dog; she was afraid of (bite).
12. The baby went to sleep a few minutes after (feed).
13. The little girl never gets tired of (ask) her mother questions, but her
mother often gets tired of (ask) so many questions.
14. They lived in a small town for ten years and then moved without (make)
friends with any of their neighbours.
15. The little boy was punished for (tell) a lie by (send) to bed without
his supper.
16. Mary was chosen a year ago to act in the school play. She was very
pleased at (choose).
17. Jack doesn't like boxing. I don't know if he is afraid of (hurt) his
opponent or of (hurt) himself.
18. He was taken to hospital unconscious after the accident. He died in
hospital without (recover) consciousness.
19. I always treat people politely and I insist on (treat) politely.
20. The boy was very hungry at eleven o'clock in spite of (eat) a big
breakfast two hours earlier.
21. She didn't get out of bed until ten o'clock in spite of (wake up) at
seven.
3. Complete the following sentences using a gerund.
Example: I/m good at mending things.
a. I have difficulty in
b. I’m very interested in
c. I’m thinking of
d. He saved up Ј1000 for a holiday by
e. I sometimes worry about not
f. Thank you for
g. I’m looking forward to
h. She left the room without
i. I stayed in bed all day instead of
4. Use your imagination to complete the following sentences.
Example: Working in a coal mine is dangerous, but well-paid.
a. Finding a good job these days
b. Living in a big city
c. Taking regular exercise
d. Travelling by air
e. Being self-employed
f. Learning a foreign language
5. Complete the following sentences using infinitives.
Example: It is easy to find cheap places to eat.
a. How do you do. Pleased to
b. When you’re old, it can be difficult to
c. I was surprised to
d. If you haven’t got much money, it’s impossible to
e. It can be expensive to
f. When you travel abroad, it’s important to
