INFINITIVES AND GERUNDS
THE GERUND
functions


Subject of the sentence :

Seeing is believing

Drinking and driving is really dangerous.
Complement of a preposition :

She came in without greeting anyone.

Check the petrol before travelling.
Complement of a verb.
It often comes after the following:


Admit

Involve

Avoid

Love/hate

Consider

Mean

Deny

Miss

Detest

Postpone

Dislike/like

Practise

enjoy

Recommend

Finish

Risk

Go + leisure activity

suggest

Imagine
 The thief admitted stealing the money.
 Do you go shopping every week?
 A dog can’t avoid barking to strangers, it’s in its nature.
 Being a student involves putting in a lot of time revising lessons.
 I’d never risk cheating in a test for fear of being caught.
 Just imagine travelling all around the world! That would be amazing.
 I’ve never enjoyed reading a book so much. It’s been both
interesting and great fun!
 The waiter suggested ordering lobster. He was right; expensive, but
really delicious!
As complement of some phrases:
Can't help
Feel like
Can't stand
Don't
mind
Spend (time)
mind/would

It's no use

It's worth

Look forward to
Be/get used to

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

I can't help feeling sorry for him.

It’s no use crying over past errors.

I' m not used to driving in Manhattan traffic.

Would you mind opening the window, please?

She spent seven hours making Christmas dinner.

Is the film worth seeing?
THE INFINITIVE
functions
Subject of a sentence:
It is sometimes the subject of a sentence, but then it refers to a single
occasion (not in general):

To marry you is the best thing I've ever done.

To divorce would be stupid.
Complement of a verb.
An infinitive usually comes after the following:

 Agree
 Fail
 plan
 Afford
 Hate
 Pretend
 Appear
 Help
 Promise
 Hesitate
 Refuse
 Hope
 Seem
 Learn
 Used to
 manage
 Want
 Offer
 wish
 Ask
 Beg
 Choose
 Dare
 Decide
 Expect


John always manages to get what he wants.
Sylvia hoped to find a job in advertising, but she refused to work
long hours, so she decided to quit.

Will you agree to leave Madrid and come to live in Toledo?

There appears to be a mistake in these calculations.

She helps to do the laundry and the ironing.

Did you learn to drive in that driving school?

I wish to help you, and I promise to do my best to get on with you.

We used to eat grilled bread with a sprinkle of olive oil for breakfast
for many years.
Verb + object + infinitive
 Advise
 Persuade
 Allow
 Remind
 Ask
 Recommend
 Encourage
 Forbid
 Help
 Invite
 Like
 Request
 Teach
 Tell
 Want
 Warn

I don’t permit my employees to be late.

My sister wanted me to help her with her homework.




If you forbid everybody to smoke in public areas, more people will
stop smoking.
The boss persuaded me to remain in the company.
I recommend everybody to take exercise regularly. It makes you feel
great.
I would like the company to be successful, but the sales keep going
down.

The doctor advised the patient to stay in bed for three days.

If you ask David to lend you money, he’ll probably say no.

Sally reminded Bob to brush his teeth.
Some verbs are followed by gerund/infinitive with no
change of meaning:

She started to make a cake/making a cake for the party.

I prefer to climb/climbing in the mountains after it has snowed.

Why don't you continue to make/making plans after dinner?

Most of my classmates intend to take/taking a scientific degree

As the temperature fell, the baby began to shake/shaking .
Infinitive or gerund with change of meaning.

Regret



I regret upsetting my boyfriend, and I hope he’ll
forgive me soon.
I regret to tell you that you no longer work here, you
are fired.
Try

She tried taking an aspirin, but the pain didn't stop.

Try to concentrate or you will fail the answers.



Forget

I'll never forget seeing George Clooney in Cannes.

Don't forget to bring your passport.
Remember

Please remember to send Mary my regards.

She didn't remember meeting us last summer.
Stop

Why don't we stop to have a coffee?

I'm going to stop smoking one of these days.
Other structures with the infinitive

Following many adjectives (happy, sad, glad, afraid, busy, tired,
easy, nice...)

In the structure adj. + enough + to + infinitive

In the structure too + adj. + to + infinitive

In the phrases would like, would love, would prefer.

The boy was happy to get his ice-cream.

Joanna was too tired to run the marathon.

It's never too late to master a new skill.

The water is not hot enough to boil.

I'd like to eat some plain yoghurt with honey for dessert.

Would you prefer to stay overnight and leave tomorrow?
Verbs followed by infinitive without “to” (base form)


Verbs of perception: see, feel, hear, notice, watch .
These verbs can also go with a gerund to signal that the peception
doesn’t last.

I haven't seen Selena Gomez dance in her latest
videoclip .

We heard Coldplay sing in Madrid.
Compare to


Can't you hear a wolf howling in the distance?
With the verbs let and make.

Dad made us learn five new words every day.

Let me play in the garden, please!
Additional points:
the noun followed by the infinitive:
Some nouns can take infinitive as complement: chance, hope, promise,
wish,intention, refusal, etc. or we can use the infinitive with nouns
when we want to say the purpose or the effect that they will have:

I have no intention to go.

They made a promise to change for the better.

Have you got a key to open this cabinet?

We all need a friend to trust.
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