Download Verbs - Gerund or Infinitive

Verbs - Gerund or Infinitive
 Gerunds
and infinitives are forms of verbs
that act like nouns. They can follow
adjectives and other verbs. Gerunds can
also follow prepositions.
 A gerund (often known as an -ing word) is
a noun formed from a verb by adding -ing.
Not all words formed with -ing are gerunds.
 An infinitive is to + the verb.
 When a verb follows a verb it either takes
the gerund or infinitive form.
 Some
verbs can take either the gerund or
the infinitive with no loss of meaning.
 For example:
 With the verb start - "It started to rain." or "It
started raining."
 Both sentences have the same meaning.
Sometimes the use of the gerund or infinitive
changes the meaning of the sentence.
 For example:
 With the verb remember - "I remembered to do
my homework". or "I remembered doing my
homework."
 In the first sentence (I remembered to do my
homework), the person speaking remembered
they had some homework first and then carried
out the action and did it. In the second sentence
(I remembered doing my homework.), the
person speaking carried out the action (their
homework) first and then remembered doing it.

 Other
verbs only take one or the other,
unfortunately there is no rule as to which
form the verb takes. The same is true when
the verb follows an adjective.
 The best way to learn their correct use is
with practice - these lists may help:-
Verbs that are normally followed
by the gerund form:acknowledge | admit | adore | anticipate |
appreciate | avoid | celebrate | confess |
contemplate
 delay | deny | describe | detest | discuss | dislike |
dread | endure | enjoy
 fancy | finish | imagine | involve | keep | justify |
mention | mind | miss | omit | postpone | practise
 quit | recall | recommend | regret | report | resent |
resume | risk | suggest | tolerate | understand

For example
I
adore reading your books.
 They anticipated winning the election.
 I detest going to discos.
 We postponed making any decision in the
meeting.
 I quit smoking.
 Do you recall seeing someone like that?
Verbs which are normally followed
by the infinitive form
afford | agree | appear | arrange | ask | attempt |
care | choose | claim | come | consent
 dare | decide | demand | deserve | determine |
elect | endeavour | expect | fail | get | guarentee
 hate | help | hesitate | hope | hurry | incline | intend
| learn | long | manage | mean | need
 offer | plan | prepare | pretend | promise | refuse |
resolve | say | seem | tend | threaten | want | wish

For example
I
can't afford to go to the pub.
 He agreed to practise more.
 You should learn to express yourself.
 They managed to fix the problem.
Verbs which can be followed by
the gerund or infinitive form
Some verbs can be followed by the gerund or
infinitive With no change in meaning
 begin | continue | hate | like | love | neglect | prefer
| start | try
 For example: He began to learn English when he was eight.
 He began learning English when he was eight.
 I hate to leave.
 I hate leaving.

With a change in meaning
 forget
| remember | stop
 For example: I forgot to feed the cat. (The cat is hungry he has not been fed)
 I forgot feeding the cat. (The cat is ok - I fed
him and then forgot about it)
Note - We often use the gerund
when we speak about things in
general, and the infinitive for
particular situations.
It is often difficult to know when to use a gerund
and when to use an infinitive. These guidelines
may help you:
 Gerunds are often used when actions are real,
concrete or completed::
 I stopped smoking.
(The smoking was real and happened until I
stopped.)
 Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal,
abstract, or future::
 I stopped to smoke.
(I was doing something else, and I stopped; the
smoking had not happened yet.)
