GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
1.GERUNDS
As a subject.
Swimming is a good sport.
As an object after certain verbs.
Have you finished working?
After prepositions and phrasal verbs.
Before leaving home, she checked all the windows.
Jack gave up smoking five years ago.
After the following expressions:

It’s no use / It’s no good
It’s no use worrying about it.

There’s no point in / It’s (not) worth or worthwhile
This film is not worth watching.

Have difficulty (in) / A waste of money-time / Spend-waste (time) / Go
 It’s a waste of time reading that book.
 I spent hours trying to solve the problem.
 We go canyoning in summer.

To be used to / To be accustomed to / To get used to
I am not used to having arguments.
After certain verbs.

Verbs of likes and dislikes: like, dislike, hate, love, enjoy, mind, can’t bear, can’t
stand, fancy, finish, delay, imagine, admit, deny, avoid, consider, involve, miss,
postpone, risk, dread, resist, insist, find, smell, can’t help, keep (continue).
Ourenglishblog.com
2.INFINITIVES
To express purpose.
I got up early to work on my project.
After certain adjectives.
I was pleased to see them again.
I’m surprised to hear you say that.
After certain nouns and pronouns to show what is to be done with them or how
they are to be used.
I’ve got some homework to do.
Is there anyone else to mend?
After TOO.
It’s too cold to go out.
This exercise is too difficult for her to do.
After ENOUGH.
This exercise is not easy enough for me to do.
After that/it/there + to be + adjective + noun
That was an intelligent thing to do.
It was a strange thing to say.
There are other people to speak to.
After it + to be + adjective. (it sometimes uses of you, of him…)
It was nice of you to help me.
It was difficult to finish the project on time.
After certain expressions

To be about to: He was about to leave when the telephone rang.

To be bound to: You are bound to see her if you go there.

To be likely to: It is likely to rain this weekend.

To be to: No-one is to leave the room without permission.
After certain verbs

Conditionals: would like, would love, would hate, would prefer, would dislike

After some verbs: Offer, decide, hope, deserve, attempt, promise, agree, plan,
aim, afford, manage, threaten, refuse, arrange, learn, fail, seem, appear, tend,
pretend, claim, want, expect
Ourenglishblog.com

Verb + question word + to infinitive: ask, know, explain, understand, wonder,
show, tell …
 We asked how to get to the station

help + object + (to) infinitive:
 The man helped the little child cross/to cross the street.
Bare infinitives:




had better, would rather, make, let
You have been coughing a lot recently. You had better give up smoking.
I would rather have tea.
Our teacher makes us study every day.
In the past parents wouldn’t let their children travel on their own.
But in PASSIVE: make + to + infinitive:
 I was made to study every day..
Let in PASSIVE becomes “not allowed to”
 In the past, women were not allowed to study at university.
Ourenglishblog.com
3.DIFFERENT STRUCTURES
STOP

Stop + ing (stop and not continue)
 Stop making noise, please.

Stop + to infinitive (stop, pause and continue with sth else)
 On our way back home, we stopped to have lunch at a restaurant.
SUGGEST

Suggest + ing
He suggests going to the cinema

Suggest + S + that + should + V

Suggest + S + V He suggests we go to the cinema.
He suggests that we should go to the cinema.
ADVISE

No object: They advised painting the house before moving in.

With object: They advised us to paint the house before moving in.
ALLOW/PERMIT

No object: The headteacher doesn’t allow smoking in the corridors.

With object: The headteacher doesn’t allow the students to smoke in the corridors.
ENCOURAGE

No object: She encouraged taking the exam.

With object: She always encourages her children to study.
SEE

+ ing (You see sb in the middle of an action)

+ bare infinitive (See sb do sth, from beginning to end – Complete action)
I saw her take the book.
Ourenglishblog.com
I saw Ann waiting for the bus.
REMEMBER


+ ing (remember things in the past) I remember falling in a river when I was a
child.
+ to infinitive (remember to do things in present or future)
Did you remember to buy bread?
FORGET

+ ing (forget things in the past) John will never forget meeting his friend at the
airport last year.

+ to infinitive (forget to do sth in present or future) He forgot to buy the tickets.
REGRET

+ ing (regret sth in the past) She regrets taking the exam. She didn’t study hard
enough.

+ to infinitive (in present or future) We regret to inform you haven’t got through
the interview.
TRY

+ ing (try sth as an experiment or test) Try taking an aspirin and see if the pain
wears off.

+ to infinitive (attempt to do, make an effort to do) I was very tired. I tried to keep
my eyes open but I couldn’t.
MEAN

+ ing (with the meaning of “involve”) Going to the dentist means waiting a lot.

+ to infinitive (have the intention of) I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
NEED

+ ing (passive meaning) This room needs painting. The walls are dirty.

+ to infinitive (it is necessary) You need to study hard for your exams.
BE AFRAID

+ ing: Be afraid of (doing sth because there is a possibility that sth bad will
happen)
 We walked along the path very carefully because it was icy and we were
afraid of falling.
Ourenglishblog.com

+ to infinitive: Be afraid to (do sth, you don’t want to do sth because it is
dangerous or the result could be unpleasant)
 The streets in this city are not safe at night. Many people are afraid to go out
alone.
GO ON

+ ing (continue) Go on working.

+ to infinitive (change activity)
 After working as a lecturer at university, he went on to become a writer.
CATCH

+ ing ( See smo doing something)
 The shopkeeper caught the boy stealing the can of coke.

+ object + to infinitive (Purpose)
 He caught some fish to cook for dinner.
START / BEGIN

+ ing / + to infinitive (No change of meaning)
 We started doing / to do the exercise.

after continuous to infinitive: I am beginning to understand the exercise.
Ourenglishblog.com