Wednesday, February 6th

A. Gerunds or Infinitives? When to use them 

One of the difficulties of the English language is that some verbs are followed by the gerund  (ex : doing) and others are followed by the infinitive (ex : to do). Other verbs, however, can be followed by both.

 Generally speaking we can use the following rules:

Examples		Rules	Explanations
Verb + gerund	1. I enjoy playing 2. I denied stealing	Often we use the gerund for an action that happens before or at the sametime as the action of the main verb.	1. I enjoy myself at the time of playing. 2. I deny having stolen anything before.
Verb + infinitive	1. I decided to visit my uncle 2. I want to go out	Often we use the infinitive for actions that follow the action of the main verb.	1. Visiting my uncle was an action of my decision. It comes after. 2. What I want (now) is to go out (after/later)

These rules are helpful but DO NOT always explain all uses of gerunds and infinitives.

Verbs that can be followed by a gerund (ex: doing)
 

1- After verbs that express likes/dislikes :

• like
• love
• enjoy
• dislike
• hate
• don't mind
• can't stand
• can't bear

Example:

" I like playing soccer but I hate boxing."

2- After certain other verbs,  such as : 

• admit
• appreciate
• allow
• avoid
• advise
• consider
• deny
• delay
• understand
• finish
• fancy
• go (in go swimming)
• involve
• keep
• mention
• mind
• stop
• waste time/money
• imagine
• involve
• keep (on)
• mention
• miss
• postpone
• permit
• practice
• suggest
• resist
• reject
• risk
• can't help
• can't stand

Example:

" I suggest going to the theater."

3- After prepositions :  

interested in ...   
instead of ...
good at ...
before ...
after ...

Example:

"I am interested in collecting stamps."
"After playing football I drank an orange juice".

4- After certain expressions :

it's no use ...
it's no good ...
there's no point in ...
I can't help...
I don't mind...
I can't stand/bear...

Example:

" It's no use convincing him to revise his lessons. He's so stubborn."

Verbs that can be followed by an infinitive ( ex : to do)

1- After verbs that  refer to a future event:

• want
• hope
• aim
• intend
• arrange
• attempt
• promise
• be determined
• plan
• consent
• decide
• demand
• deserve
• determine
• endeavor
• expect
• offer
• proceed
• promise
• threaten
• swear
• volunteer
• want
• would like
• would hate
• would love

Example:

" I want to finish my work early.

2- After certain other verbs, such as:

• afford
• agree
• help
• choose
• fail
• happen
• refuse
• manage
• need
• seem
• learn
• choose
• pretend

Example:

"She refused to forgive him."

3- After adjectives :  

• glad
• pleased 
• disappointed 

Example:

"I'm glad to know that you passed the exam."
"I'm pleased to meet you."
"I'm disappointed to hear that you flunked maths."

4- After "too" & "enough":

too difficult
easy enough
Example:

"It's too difficult to convince him to be helpful."
" But it's easy enough to fool him to get what you want."

Verbs that can be followed by both an infinitive and a gerund:

Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive. Here are some examples:

• start
• begin
• stop
• remember...

Example:

"I started smoking when I was young."
"I started to smoke when I left the office."

B. Exercises

1. Jackie tends   arrivingto arrive late on Mondays, but our boss doesn't seem to care about that very much.

2. She imagined   lyingto lie on a tropical beach under a palm tree.

3. The winner of the local competition gets   to participateparticipating in a national competition in Washington D.C.

4. We don't anticipate   to havehaving any more technical problems during the concert tour.

5. Debbie failed   noticingto notice her credit card lying on the ground.

6. The politician swore   servingto serve the people honestly and with pride, but the scandal revealed that the promise was little more than a lie.

7. Mr. Shinohara recollected   to workworking with his father on his family's fishing boat when he was a young child.

8. The medical team deserves   receivingto receive the award for their volunteer work in sub-Saharan Africa.

9. I really appreciate   havingto have the opportunity to take part in this project and to work with such an excellent team.

10. She delayed   to submitsubmitting her application until just one week before the deadline.

11. He expects   finishingto finish his studies next summer.

12. National park officials do not permit   enteringto enter the park without an official guide. You can hire one at the park office.

13. He offered   to carrycarrying her books on the way home.

14. The archaeologist reported   to findfinding a large, previously unknown pyramid deep in the jungle.

15. Samantha keeps   forgettingto forget to send us the documents. We need to have them by next week!

16. Felix decided not   acceptingto accept the position in Miami because he wanted to stay in New York.

17.   To exercise and to eatExercising and eating right can help you live a long and healthy life.

18. The refugees risked   beingto be captured as they tried to escape through the mountains.

19. You have to wait forever at the doctor's office. I suggest   to taketaking a good book to help kill time.

20. Mr. Miller asked   beingto be included in the meeting with the new clients.