Infinitives and gerunds

PART ONE
EXPLANATION
What are infinitives and gerunds?
INFINITIVES GERUNDS
Infinitives are Gerunds are –ing
verb forms that do forms that are
not indicate time. used as nouns.
They are not Examples:
future, not Swimming is fun.
present, not past. Karen enjoys
Examples: We dancing.
decided to
celebrate the
occasion.
Some verbs attract infinitives. They
are followed by infinitives.

We decided to celebrate the occasion.

David promised to help us clean up after
the party.

DECIDE and PROMISE are verbs that need

an infinitive.
Some verbs attract nouns. They are
followed by nouns or gerunds.
(Gerunds are a type of noun.)

Karen enjoys dancing.

Randy enjoys music.
We stopped working to have some coffee.
We stopped the car to have some coffee.

ENJOY and STOP are verbs that are

followed by nouns and gerunds.
Some verbs that are followed by INFINITIVES:

agree seem refuse

promise tend appear
attempt learn offer
fail dare afford
decide forget pretend
manage plan threaten
hope arrange would like
Some verbs that are followed by GERUNDS:

stop imagine practise put off

finish regret miss carry on
delay admit postpone keep
enjoy deny risk keep on
mind avoid don’t mind suggest
suggest consider can’t stand fancy
give up Involve
recommen
d
PART TWO
EXERCISES
Fill in the blanks with a suitable verb in
the infinitive or gerund:
Janet never pays me back when I lend
her some money. This time I refused
to give
___________ her any money.
studying
Have you ever considered ___________
in a foreign country?

to go out
Would you like ___________ for a pizza
tonight?
Randy suggested going
___________ to the
movies. I think that’s a great idea!

You should just be yourself. Don’t

pretend
to be _________ what you are not.

We have decided notto___________

sign the
contract.
I can’t afford to spend
____________ so much
money on expensive clothes.

making
Could you please stop __________ so
much noise? You are disturbing the
class!

Does your job involve ___________

traveling
all over the country?
 closing
Would you mind ___________ the
window? It’s getting very cold in
here.
to water
We forgot ___________ the plants, and
they dried up and died.

The boat capsized, but the

passengers
to managed
swim ___________ to
shore.
 Jack admitted taking
__________ the car, but
he denieddriving
______________ dangerously.

The main guest had not arrived

yet, so they postponed
serving ___________
dinner.

Tracy is so rude. She pretended to

notsee
___________ me when I passed by her at
the mall.
Can you imaginespending
___________ a week in
a 5-star hotel in the Carribean?

to spend
I agreed _____________ the weekend
with my in-laws.

I regretspending
__________ all my money. Now,
I don’t have any money left.

Children tendto confuse

____________ reality with
fantasy.
 The kidnapper threatenedto____________
kill
the hostages if the family called the
police.
I want to learn how to speak
__________ English.
Why do you keep onfighting
____________ with
your friends? No one will want to be
your friend anymore.
If you cross the street without
looking both ways, you risk
getting
___________ run over by a car.
The guests were very kind. They
offered ____________ the dishes.
to wash

The teacher told Max to turn off his

cell phone, but he carried on
talking
___________.
Why don’t you put offbuying
___________
your new cell phone until you have
more money?
The pilot made an attempt to land
_____________ the plane in an onion
field.
If you want people to understand your
English, you have to practice
speaking
___________ more clearly.

I did everything I could, but the baby

kept on ___________ for more than half
crying
an hour.
to turn in
David failed ____________ his
composition assignment on time, so
the teacher gave him a zero.
 driving
You should avoid _____________ at rush
hour because the traffic can get really
bad. to ___________
play
Tom and I have arranged
tennis tomorrow afternoon. Would you
like __________ with us?
to come

eating out
I enjoy _____________ in restaurants
on weekends.

stealing
The butler admitted _____________
the money in the drawer.
When I was a child, I used to spend
the weekends at my grandmother’s
house. Today, I really miss
going
____________ there.

You should avoidbreathing

___________ air that
is full of smoke. It’s really bad for
your health.
working
I don’t mind ___________ until late,
as long as I get to sleep in the next
morning.
 PART THREE
PREPOSITIONS + GERUND
 A preposition is a word that connects
one part of a sentence to a noun. That
is why gerunds, and not infinitives,
follow prepositions. Complete the
sentences and discuss with a partner:
Are you interested in _____________?
I’m not very good at ______________.
I’m fed up with __________________.
What are the advantages of ________?
I’m looking forward to _______________.
I have never gotten used to ___________.
Do you object to ____________________?
I have succeeded in __________________.
What are you thinking of _____________?

OBS: In infinitives, TO is not a

preposition. It does not connect
anything to a noun. It is simply a verb
particle. But in the above examples,
TO is a real preposition. It connects
part of a sentence to a noun.
 PART FOUR
TRY, STOP, FORGET, REMEMBER, LIKE
Examine the situations.
Figure out the difference
between the meanings with
infinitives and with gerunds.
TRY
A: I am trying to lose weight.
B: Really? Try exercising more.
A: I don’t like to exercise.
B: Why don’t you try cutting down on sugar
A: OK, I’ll try that.
Answer:
Try + infinitives: what you aim to achieve.
Try + gerund: how you aim to achieve it.
 STOP
A: I’ve been working for 5 hours
now.
B: Why don’t you stop to have some
coffee?
A: I don’t want to stop working
now because I have to finish this
today. ANSWER:
B: You
Stop + gerund: The verbstop
really should working
with the a
–ing is the
little that
action bit just to get something to
is interrupted.
drink
Stop and relax.
+ infinitive: The verb in the infinitive is
the purpose. It explains WHY the action was
interrupted.
 FORGET
A: I’ll never forget flying for the first
time. It was amazing.
B: Did you enjoy it?
A: Yes, but I forgot to bring my
passport and I had to go back to get
it! ANSWER:
Forget + gerund: mental picture or
image. Usually used with ‘will never.’
Forget + infinitive: the opposite of
remember.
 REMEMBER
A: Oh! I think I forgot to lock the door.
B: Don’t worry. I remembered to
lock it.
A: Are you sure?
B: I’m positive. I remember taking
the key out of my pocket, inserting it
in the key hole, and locking it.
ANSWER:
Remember + gerund: a mental
picture or image.
Remember + infinitive: the opposite
of forget.
 LIKE
A: Why are you paying all your bills
today? You can wait until next week.
B: I like to pay all my bills in the
beginning of the month. That way, I
don’t have to worry about them.
A: Let’s go dancing tonight?
B: Great! I like dancing.
ANSWER:
Usually –ing and infinitives mean the same thing. Bu
Like + -ing: something you enjoy
Like + infinitive: something you think is right or wis
 Fill in the blanks with the
correct form of the verb given:
Don’t forget ____________ (brush) your
teeth.
I can’t forget ____________ (see) him for
the first time.
Do you remember ____________ (go) to
school for the first time in your life?
I think people should stop
______________ (litter). It is so
disrespectful.
The players can’t stop ____________
(rest) during the game.
We are trying ____________ (learn)
how to use gerunds and infinitives.
I tried _____________(sleep) with a
grammar book under my pillow, but it
didn’t work.
The teacher said we should try
___________ (do) lots of exercises.
Let’s stop _____________ (study) and
have a pão de queijo. We can study
more later.
After he hit his head, he couldn’t
remember ______________ (be
rescued).
If you want to sell your car, you
should try ____________ (put) an ad in
the paper.
Many climbers have tried
____________ (climb) Mt. Everest. Not
many have succeeded.
 PART FIVE
VERB + OBJECT + INFINITIVE
 GROUP
A
Verb + to + infinitive
Verb + obj + to + infinitiv
I asked to see the manager.
I asked the waiter to bring me a drink.
We expected to arrive on time.
We expected them to arrive on time.
help
mean (=intend)
want
would like
ask
would prefer
expect
 GROUP B
Only verb + obj + to + infinitive
Remind me to give Ann the message.
I warned you not to play with fire.
Who taught you to ride a bike?

tell invite
order enable
remind teach
warn persuade
force get (=persuade)
 GROUP C
VERB + ing VERB + obj + infinitive
I don’t recommend staying at that
hotel.
I don’t recommend them staying at
Thethat
doctor advised not drinking alcohol.
hotel.
The doctor advised him not to drink alcohol.
advise allow
recommend permit
encourage
 GROUP D: Make and Let

Infinitive without to

he police made them put their hands on their heads

y father doesn’t let me stay out late.
o you let your kids watch violent movies?
assive Voice: make is used with to:
om was made to get in the car.

make
let
 Write sentences using the cues.
You may need to add an object.
The answers provided are mere
suggestions:
The guard /
warn / not / The guard
take pictures warned us not to
in the take pictures in
museum. the museum.
I / want / I want Paul to
Paul / stay stay here with us.
here with us.
I / not / I didn’t mean
mean / offend to offend
/ them. them.
Science / Science has
enable / go enabled us to
to the go to the
moon. moon.
My parents /
always / My parents always
encourage / encourage me to
do / whatever do whatever I
want.
Advise / I would advise
not / start you not to
smoking start smoking.

The sales
attendant / has The sales
been trying / attendant has
persuade / been trying to
customer / buy persuade the
/ the suit / for customer to buy
an hour. the suit for an
hour.
I / never / I never let my kids
let / my play outside at
kids / play night.
outside at
night.
Larry /
asked / Larry asked the
the teacher to explain
teacher / the assignment
explain again.
the
assignme
I / told / I told
be them to
quiet. be quiet.
I / would I would like
like / sit / her to sit next
next to me. to me.

They / They have

invited / invited us to
have have dinner with
dinner / with them.
I / would I would like to be rich.
like / be
rich.
I / want / I would like him to
help me. help me.

You / Do you
recommend / recommend
eat / that eating at that
restaurant? restaurant?
I think you should stop
studying gerunds and
infinitives to have a coffee
break.