Infinitives and Gerunds
ESL 251 – Himes
Infinitives, gerunds are part of the compliment system. They are ways of reducing
and combining clauses.
Infinitives
Infinitive verbs are formed by “to” plus the base form of the verb. They are not
controlled by a noun thereby having no time or subject/verb agreement.
Infinitives can appear in many positions in a sentence. Here are a few examples.
Subject
To speak in front of an audience is nervewracking.
Object of a verb
Jason tries to run everyday.
Part of a noun phrase
Parents want their children to do well in
school.
The object of a preposition
In order to go on a plane, one may need to
pass through a full body scan or have a full
body search.
Complimenting an adjective
Gianna would be happy to go dancing every
night.
Complimenting a noun
He has no time to cook dinner between work
and class.
Their ultimate job is to combine clauses. In this example the subjects are the
same, so the second subject can be deleted. The second verb is now separated
from the subject by a conjugated verb, so it is infinitive.
Tina tries to run everyday.
Tina tries X.
X1 = Tina runs everyday.
X2 = runs everyday
Here the subjects are different. The subject of the second clause has change to
the object of the first clause so it has changed from he to him.
Jason’s parents want him to do well in school.
Jason’s parents want X.
X1 = He does well in school.
X2 = him to do well in school
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Certain verbs will often be followed by an infinitive. The best way to learn them is
to memorize them in a short phrase.
hope
want
need
refuse
decide
choose
pretend
fail
Certain nouns may also be followed by an infinitive
time
desire
place
work
job
decision
Gerunds
Gerunds, like infinitives are a result of embedding clauses. Gerunds are verbs
acting like nouns.
Subject
Talking on the phone is not Ana’s favorite
thing to do.
Object
Tony likes walking to school.
Object of a preposition
Phuong is angry about getting a dent in her
car door.
Part of a noun phrase
Mina hates his going out with his buddies
and leaving her at home.
Complimenting an adjective
William would also be happy going dancing
every night.
Again, a gerund’s ultimate job is to combine clauses. In this example the subjects
are the same, so the second subject can be deleted. The second verb is now
separated from the subject by a conjugated verb, so it is infinitive.
Tony likes walking to school.
Tina likes X.
X1 = Tony walks to school.
X2 = walking to school
Here the subjects are different, so the subject of the second clause must be
retained. In formal situations, the subject becomes possessive. In less formal
situations an object may be uses
Mina hates his going out without her.
2
Mina hates X.
X1 = He goes out without her.
X2 = his going out without her (formal)
-or- him going out without her (less formal)
Some verbs are often followed by gerunds.
admit
avoid
delay
dislike
go
help
suggest
tolerate
A few verbs can be followed by infinitives or gerunds. This can change to
meaning dramatically or have little effect on meaning. In general, the gerund form
is more concrete or sure and the infinitive version is more hypothetical.
The meanings change dramatically with the forms
Remember/forget
I remembered to buy milk. (First I remembered the milk. Then I
bought it)
I remembered buying milk. (First I bought the milk. Later I
remembered it.)
Stop
As she was cleaning her room, she stopped to play frequently.
(Her cleaning was interrupted by playing.)
She stopped playing and cleaned her room. (First the playing
stopped, then the cleaning began.)
The meanings change very little and are not significant for either form.
hate
like
love
start
begin
continue
see
hear
feel
Sources
Raimes, Anne. How English Works. Cambridge, 1998.
Master, Peter. Systems of English Grammar. Prentice Hall Regents. 1996.
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