Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and Infinitives

A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as a noun

that names an activity rather than a person or thing. Any action verb can be

made into a gerund.

Spelling Tip

Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark > barking

⚫For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide > sliding, ride

> riding

⚫For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die > dying, tie

> tying

⚫For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-

consonant and is stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex: beg> begging, begin > beginning. However: enter > entering (last syllable is not

stressed)

Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject:

1. Jogging is a hobby of mine.

Gerunds can act as an object following the verb:

1. Daniel quit smoking a year ago.

Gerunds can serve as an object after a preposition:

1. I look forward to helping you paint the house.

Note: The same spelling rules that apply to the progressive tenses also apply to

gerunds.

Some verbs and verb phrases are directly followed a gerund:

1. Paul avoids using chemicals on the vegetables he grows.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change

in meaning:

1. Some people prefer getting up early in the morning.

2. Some people prefer to get up early in the morning.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in

meaning:

1. He remembered sending the fax. (He remembered the act of send the fax)

2. He remembered to send the fax. (He remembered the fax and sent it.)

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It is

formed with to + base form of the verb. Ex: to buy, to work.

Infinitives can be used as:

an object following the verb:

1. Jim always forgets to eat

a subject at the beginning of a sentence:

1. To travel around the world requires a lot of time and money.

an adverb modifying a verb:

1. You promised to buy me a diamond ring.

an adjective modifying a noun

1. Tara has the ability to succeed.

Some verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:

1. Do you want to call your family now?

Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive:

1. I convinced Catherine to become vegetarian.

2. He advised me to sell all my shares of stock.

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without causing a change

in meaning:

1. Will you continue working after you give birth?

2. Will you continue to work after you give birth?

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a change in

meaning:

1) He stopped drinking coffee. (He never drank coffee again.)

2) He stopped to drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank some

coffee.)

Some Practice Questions:-

1. Finish

a. Gerund

b. to + infinitive