Download Gerunds and Infinitives

I CAN identify a gerund and understand when to
use one.
I CAN identify an infinitive and understand when
to use one.
I CAN identify participles and understand when
to use one.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1.a
Explain the function of verbals (gerunds,
participles, infinitives) in general and their
function in particular sentences.
Overview








•
•
•
What is a gerund?
When to use a gerund?
What is an infinitive?
When do you use an infinitive?
What is a participle?
When do you use a participle?
There are three types of verbals in English grammar:
participles (also known as -ing forms and -en forms)
gerunds (also known as -ing forms)
infinitives (ex. to go)
Examples

 Sailing around the world is an adventure.
 I can’t afford to go on vacation this year.
 Sailing = gerund
 to go = infinitive
What is a Gerund?

 The gerund is a verb to which ‘-ing’ is added
 It looks like a continuous tense, but it is used
differently
 Example: Eating in class is not allowed. (gerund)
 It is a gerund because it is the subject of the sentence
 Versus: He was eating in class. (past continuous verb
tense)
When to Use a Gerund?

 The gerund as a ‘verbal noun’ – a noun that looks
like a verb
 Example: Smoking in public areas should be banned.
 Example: He quit smoking cigars when he was 25.
When to Use a Gerund?

 After certain verbs: (these are the most common
ones)








To admit, to practice
To avoid, to quit
To consider, to remember
To deny, to stop
To enjoy, to understand
To finish, to waste
To involve, to keep
To mean
When to Use a Gerund?

 After prepositions:
 Example: Besides swimming, we didn’t do much.
 Example: I’m thinking of quitting my job.
 Example: He looked at her without saying a word.
What is a Participle?

 A participle is a verb form that can be used as an
adjective to modify nouns and pronouns. The
following sentence contains both a present and a
past participle:
 The children, crying and exhausted, were guided out of
the collapsed house.
 Crying is a present participle, formed by adding -ing
to the present form of the verb (cry). Exhausted is a
past participle, formed by adding -ed to the present
form of the verb (exhaust). Both participles modify
the subject, children.
What is a Participle?

 All present participles end in -ing.
 The past participles of all regular verbs end in -ed.
 Irregular verbs, however, have various past
participle endings—for instance, thrown, ridden,
built, and gone.
 A participial phrase is made up of a participle and its
modifiers. A participle may be followed by an object,
an adverb, a prepositional phrase, an adverb clause,
or any combination of these.
Participle Examples

 For example, in the following sentence the participial
phrase consists of a present participle (holding), an
object (the torch), and an adverb (steadily):
 Holding the torch steadily, Jenny approached the
monster.
 In the next sentence, the participial phrase consists of
a present participle (making), an object (a great ring),
and a prepositional phrase (of white light):
 Jenny waved the torch over her head, making a great
ring of white light.
What is an Infinitive?

 To sneeze, to smash, to cry, to shriek, to jump, to dunk, to
read, to eat, to slurp—all of these are infinitives.
 An infinitive will almost always begin with to followed
by the simple form of the verb, like this:
 The verb itself preceded by ‘to’ = infinitive (To + Verb =
Infinitive)
 Important Note: Because an infinitive is not a verb, you
cannot add s, es, ed, or ing to the end. Ever!
 Infinitives can also be the verb itself
 Examples:
 To be honest, I love learning English.
 I would rather help my mother.
 Go and check if I left the oven on.
When to Use a ‘to
Infinitive’?

 After certain verbs we use the ‘to infinitive’ (most
common ones, not all):








To appear, to manage
To arrange, to offer
To bother, to plan
To choose, to refuse
To decide, to seem
To fail, to tend
To hope, to volunteer
To learn, to wish
When to Use a ‘to
Infinitive’?

 After adjectives:
 Example: It was difficult to see through the fog.
 Example: She is happy to help us.
 Example: It is easy to bake a cake.
How the Infinitive
Functions?

 Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these
examples:
To sleep is the only thing Eli wants after his double shift waiting tables at the
neighborhood café.
 To sleep functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence.
No matter how fascinating the biology dissection is, Emanuel turns his head
and refuses to look.
 To look functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb
refuses.
Wherever Melissa goes, she always brings a book to read in case conversation
lags or she has a long wait.
 To read functions as an adjective because it modifies book.
Richard braved the icy rain to throw the smelly squid eyeball stew into the
apartment dumpster.
 To throw functions as an adverb because it explains why Richard braved
the inclement weather.
When Infinitives Are
Not ‘To + Verb’

 An infinitive will lose its to when it follows certain verbs. These verbs are feel,
hear, help, let, make, see, and watch.
 The pattern looks like this: Special Verb + Direct Object + Infinitive - to
Here are some examples:
 As soon as Theodore felt the rain splatter on his hot, dusty skin, he knew that
he had a good excuse to return the lawn mower to the garage.
 Felt = special verb; rain = direct object; splatter = infinitive minus the to.
 When Danny heard the alarm clock buzz, he slapped the snooze button and
burrowed under the covers for ten more minutes of sleep.
 Heard = special verb; alarm clock = direct object; buzz = infinitive minus the to.
 Although Dr. Ribley spent an extra class period helping us understand
logarithms, we still bombed the test.
 Helping = special verb; us = direct object; understand = infinitive minus the to.
 Because Freddie had never touched a snake, I removed the cover of the cage
and let him pet Squeeze, my seven-foot python.
 Let = special verb; him = direct object; pet = infinitive minus the to.
More Examples…

 Since Jose had destroyed Sylvia's spotless kitchen while baking
chocolate-broccoli muffins, she made him take her out for an
expensive dinner.
 Made = special verb; him = direct object; take = infinitive minus the
to.
 I said a prayer when I saw my friends mount the Kumba, a
frightening roller coaster that twists and rolls like a giant sea
serpent.
 Saw = special verb; my friends = direct object; mount = infinitive
minus the to.
 Hoping to lose her fear of flying, Rachel went to the airport to
watch passenger planes take off and land, but even this exercise
did not convince her that jets were safe.
 Watch = special verb; passenger planes = direct object; take, land =
infinitives minus the to.
When to Use an
Infinitive?

 After modals (type of verb) we use the infinitive:









Can
Could
Will
Would
Shall
May
Might
Must
Should
Gerund or Infinitive?

 Gerund is used for things that have already
happened
 Example: He began playing baseball last year.
 Infinitive is used for things that can (could) still
happen
 Example: It is still possible to win.
Gerund or Infinitive?

 Many verbs can be preceded by both the gerund and
the infinitive:







To allow, to begin
To continue, to forget
To hate/love, to intend
To like, to mean
To need, to prefer
To remember, to start/stop
To try/to want
Gerund and Infinitive
Practice

 You will complete a packet that allows you to
practice with gerunds and infinitives
 The packet will be due next week
 Today we will practice identifying gerunds and
infinitives
Exercise: Identifying
Verbals
 decide if the word or
 For each of the following sentences,
phrase in italics is a participle, a gerund, or an infinitive.
1. The children's singing and laughing woke me up.
2. Jenny likes to dance in the rain.
3. There are many ways of breaking a heart.
4. A broken heart will mend over time.
5. "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in
another city." (George Burns)
6. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.
7. "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to
achieve it through not dying." (Woody Allen)
8. "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to
achieve it through not dying." (Woody Allen)
9. "It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail." (Gore Vidal)
10.Succeeding is not enough. Others must fail.
Answers

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
gerunds
infinitive
gerund
(past) participle
(present) participles
gerund
infinitives
gerund
infinitive
gerund