Grammar Handout 8
GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES I
Note to the Instructor:
 Please do the handout after finishing LL-PIN Unit 8.1.
 Please do not provide students with input on gerunds and infinitives more than given in this handout as there
will be more handouts on this language point and different aspects of the topic will be covered in the
following handouts.
 This handout aims to:
 introduce the basic functions of GERUNDS and INFINITIVES in a sentence,
 provide an extended list of gerunds and infinitives after certain verbs,
 revise the use of (in order to) to give purpose.
In LL-PIN unit 8, you studied GERUNDS (Ving) and INFINITIVES (to + V1).
Remember that we can use GERUNDS and INFINITIVES after certain verbs.
VERB + GERUND
VERB + INFINITIVE
* I enjoy reading before I go to sleep.
* Older people tend to sleep less.
* These days, we keep hearing about light pollution. * We decided to sell our house and get rid of the
noise here.
* Do you like having a nap after lunch?
* Would you like to eat out tonight?
There are some other uses of gerunds and infinitives in addition to their use after certain
verbs.
TASK 1A. Read the text below and underline all the GERUNDS and INFINITIVES.
Making money from your hobby is not easy, but Sarah
Amari is lucky to earn money from her hobby, photography.
At first, she didn’t expect to make money from
photography, but now she runs a successful business.
Sarah was always interested in taking photographs. She was
also good at editing them on her computer by using the
Photoshop program. She continued working on her
photographs until she was happy with the result. Although
she had a lot of excellent photographs, she never planned to give them to people.
Then one day, a friend wanted to use one of Sarah’s photographs. She planned to put it on a
birthday card. Using a photograph on a card gave Sarah an idea. She decided to make greeting
cards with her photographs. She learned to design her own website, and then she started
selling her cards online. She kept adding new cards for different holidays and celebrations.
Her business is continuing to grow. Now, she is looking forward to opening a photography
shop. It is not important for her to earn a lot of money from that business. She is happy to do
something she likes.
Taken and adapted from Reppen, Randi, (2012). Grammar and Beyond 1,, Cambridge
University Press.
TASK 1B. Go over the uses of gerunds and infinitives in the boxes below, and fill in the
tables with the relevant sentences from the text.
GERUNDS
A gerund is the –ing form of a verb used as a noun. A gerund is used in the same ways as a
noun, i.e., as a subject or as an object. Gerunds:
FUNCTION:
 can be used as the SUBJECT of a sentence
EXAMPLES:
* Learning English is difficult.
* Swimming makes me feel relaxed.
* Not eating too much is a way to lose weight.
Examples from the text:
1. Making money ….
2. Using a photograph …
 can follow a PREPOSITION
(the prepositions may come after adjectives
or verbs.)
* He became rich by working hard.
* She apologized for not coming with us.
Examples from the text:
1. … was interested in taking photographs.
2. … was good at editing them…
3. … by using the Photoshop program.
4. … is looking forward to opening a photography shop.
The most common preposition combinations followed by gerunds are as follows:
be excited
be worried
complain
dream
talk
about doing it
about doing it
keep (someone)
prevent (someone)
prohibit (someone) from doing it
stop (someone)
 can follow CERTAIN VERBS
apologize (to someone)
blame (someone)
forgive (someone)
thank (someone)
for doing it
have an excuse
be responsible
believe
participate
succeed
be interested
in doing it
be tired
be accused
take care
instead
of doing it
insist on doing it
think of/about doing it
* She doesn’t mind driving at night.
* They discussed opening a small shop.
Examples from the text:
1. …continued working on her photographs…
2. … started selling her cards…
3. … kept adding new cards …
The most common verbs followed by gerunds are as follows:
admit
enjoy
mind
avoid
finish (get through)
practice
consider
involve
risk
deny
keep (keep on)
suggest
discuss
mention
 We can use GO + GERUND for some
We go dancing every weekend.
sports and leisure activities.
Did you go shopping yesterday?
GO + bowling, camping, dancing, fishing,
running, skiing, shopping…)
TASK 2. Complete the following sentences using the correct forms of the verbs in
brackets.
1. The police officer told him to stop, but the thief kept running (run).
2. He avoided looking (look) at me while I was criticizing him.
3. I have a lot of homework tonight, but I’d still like to go out with you later on. I will call
you when I finish doing (do) the homework.
4. I haven’t seen my friends for some time. I am thinking about having (have) a dinner party
at home.
5. Because we were really bored, I suggested not staying (stay) at home any longer. We
went out for dinner and then went to the cinema.
6. You have to be careful. You risk losing (lose) all your money in that business.
7. The Smiths’ house is too small. They are considering buying (buy) a bigger one.
8. Does your job involve travelling (travel) a lot?
9. He admitted stealing (steal) his mother’s silver tray but denied selling (sell) it for drugs.
10. In order to improve your English, you should practice speaking (speak) English in class.
TASK 3. Complete the sentences with an appropriate preposition and verb form.
e.g. Alice isn’t interested in (start) starting her own business.
1. Margaret had an important exam, but instead of (study) studying, she went to the theatre
with some of her friends.
2. The thief was accused of (steal) stealing a woman’s purse.
3. The rainstorm kept the planes from (take) taking off, so all the flights were delayed until
further notice.
4. Everyone in the neighborhood participated in (search) searching for the lost child.
5. Please don’t get offended. I don’t blame you for (finish) not finishing the project on time.
It is not your fault. I should have warned you about the deadline earlier.
6. I am sure he cannot come with us. His disability prevents him from (walk) walking such
long distances.
7. My sister always complains about (have) not having enough money for the things she
wants to buy.
8. It is no surprise that you hurt yourself. I will never forgive you for (take) not taking my
advice.
9. Henry is excited about (have) having a vacation in India.
10. We tried really hard, but we couldn’t stop him from (call) calling his assistant and
scolding her.
11. I know he is a very successful writer. Has he ever succeeded in (win) winning first prize
in a competition?
12. Why do you insist on (invite) inviting him to the party? I don’t want to see him there.
13. The professor thanked us for (listen) listening to him so carefully, and in return we
congratulated him on his perfect lecture.
The sentences in TASK 2&3 were taken or adapted from Azar, B. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 3rd Edition. Pearson
Education: NY.
INFINITIVES
An infinitive is the to + simple form of a verb used as a noun. Like gerunds, infinitives are
verb forms that can take the place of a noun in a sentence. Infinitives:
FUNCTION:
 can be used as the SUBJECT of a
sentence, but it is less common.
An infinitive is often used with “it”
when it refers to the subject of a
sentence.
 can follow an ADJECTIVE. Many of
these adjectives express feelings or
attitudes about the action in the
infinitive.
EXAMPLES:
* To learn a foreign language is difficult.
* It is difficult to learn a foreign language.
Examples from the text:
* It is not important for her to earn …
* I’m happy to meet you.
* She’s ready to go out.
Examples from the text:
1. …is lucky to earn money from her hobby…
2. …is happy to do something…
The most common adjectives followed by infinitives are as follows:
afraid to do
determined to do
lucky to do
anxious to do
happy to do
pleased to do
careful to do
likely to do
prepared to do
 can follow CERTAIN VERBS
ready to do
willing to do
* Everyone wants to be rich.
* He promised not to make the same mistake again.
Examples from the text:
1. didn’t expect to make money…
2. never planned to give …
3. wanted to use …
4. planned to put it…
5. decided to make …
6. learned to design …
7. continues to grow…
The most common verbs followed by infinitives are as follows:
afford
fail
offer
tend
agree
hope
plan
threaten
appear
intend
pretend
want
decide
learn
promise
wish
deserve
manage
refuse
would like
expect
need
seem
 can be used to express purpose. It may
* Sarah Amari opened a photography shop to sell cards.
appear as to, in order to, or so as to.
for + ing is used to talk about the general
purpose of something, or what it is
generally used for.
* Sarah Amari opened a photography shop for selling cards.
COMPARE:
I went to the USA to attend a conference/ for a conference
I will see the doctor to have a check-up / for a check-up.
* A saw is used for cutting wood.
Note that “to” is followed by gerunds if it is a preposition. Therefore, it is important to
use gerunds after the phrases below.
be used to
be accustomed to
prefer doing sth. to
sth.
in addition to
look forward to
doing
* I am not used to getting up early.
* I am accustomed to drinking Turkish coffee.
* I prefer playing tennis to playing basketball.
* In addition to buying a lot of books, she bought a
DVD.
* I look forward to receiving a letter from you.
Some verbs can take either an infinitive with to or an –ing form after them.
like
start
These verbs may be followed by either an infinitive or a
love
begin
gerund with little or no difference in meaning.
hate
continue
* It began to rain. / It began raining.
* I started to work. / I started working.
TASK 4. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
1.
We cannot afford to buy (buy) a new car this year.
2.
My brother is a vegetarian. He refuses to eat (eat) meat and meat products.
3.
Bob doesn’t like his job. He is thinking about finding (find) a new one.
4.
Our neighbor offered to look (look) after our children while we were at the concert.
5.
Our schedule isn’t working out. We should discuss changing (change) our daily routine.
6.
Jane studies really hard, and she hopes to pass (pass) the exam with a good grade.
7.
Although she is 35 years old, she will take the university exam this year. She is
determined to have (have) a university degree.
8.
His new job is really challenging. In addition to not spending (spend) time with his
family, he will have to get used to the long working hours.
9.
Mrs. Grant insisted on hearing (hear) the whole story and learning the truth.
10. They are considering not having (have) the party at home. Instead, they will have it
outside if it is warm enough.
TASK 5. Fill in the blanks with the gerund or infinitive forms of the verbs in
parentheses.
(1) Travelling (travel) to Mars might become reality sooner than you think. Scientists are
planning to send astronauts (2) to explore (explore) Mars in the near future. Even though they
know that it may be risky (3)to send (send) people rather than animals to Mars, they insist on
(4) using (use) people for this mission. The scientists believe that it’s the only way to find out
if there has ever been life on the planet and if there could ever be. “We think it is important
(5) to check (check) the chances of being able (6) to live (live) on another planet. After all, it
doesn’t seem impossible (7) to create (create) Earth-like conditions on Mars,” says Professor
Huxley from Michigan University.
Some other experts in the field, however, do not like this idea. They are trying to stop their
colleagues from (8)sending (send) people up there so soon in the experiment. “We need (9) to
study (study) the planet and the conditions there before we start doing anything like this.
There will be many challenges that we have to consider,” says a group of scientists from the
same university.
The argument is likely to continue for a long time, and this might be bad news for those who
are looking forward to (10) starting (start) a completely different life on another planet.
TASK 6. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.
1. Having good friends is important.
It is important to have good friends.
2. It’s not a good idea to travel at night.
It’s better to avoid travelling at night.
3. I think you repeat the same mistake whenever you do this task.
You seem to repeat the same mistake whenever you do this task..
4. It takes a long time to learn a second language.
Learning a second language takes a long time.
5. Sally wanted to get my attention, so she touched my shoulder.
Sally touched my shoulder in order to get my attention.
TASK 7. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
A. Jane is not an outdoors type. She (1) doesn’t like (like) going out, especially at the
weekend, so she has decided (2) to stay (stay) at home this weekend. She would like (3) to
have (have) a quiet weekend. She is interested in (4) reading (read) books about astrology.
She (5) bought (buy) a horoscope book two days ago and she wants (6) to read (read) it at
the weekend. While she (7) was doing (do) shopping, she saw her classmate, Helen. They
planned (8) to go (go) out for dinner on Wednesday evening. They discussed (9) inviting
(invite) a few more friends and they expect (10) to have (have) a wonderful evening.
B. George is a manager at a big company and he works really hard. He doesn’t have time to
cook at home, so he (11) usually eats (eat/usually) out, but he is tired of (12) eating (eat) fast
food. He worries about (13) putting on (put on) weight. Last weekend, he decided (14) to
make (make) changes in his life. He promised (15) not to consume (consume) fast food
anymore. When he was a child, he always ate healthy food because his mother avoided (16)
cooking (cook) food which was high in fat, sugar, and salt. George knows that it is important
(17) to eat (eat) healthy food, so he wants (18) to learn (learn) how to cook healthy meals
and he hopes (19) to find (find) time to cook at home. He wants to be able to do this, so he
decided (20) to take (take) cooking lessons, and he is looking forward to (21) starting (start)
the classes.
C. Kerem is a new student at METU. Unfortunately, he couldn’t succeed in (22) adapting
(adapt) to the new environment, so he is planning (23) to go (go) to the counseling unit.
People in the counseling unit are happy (24) to deal with (deal with) the students’ problems.
Kerem hopes (25) to solve (solve) his problem in a short time. He would like (26) to have
(have) new friends. In order to do this, he needs (27) to join (join) some of the clubs at
METU. When he solves his problems, he will enjoy (28) being (be) a student at METU.
References:
Azar, B, (1999). Understanding and Using English Grammar. 3rd Edition. Pearson Education: NY.
Reppen, Randi, (2012). Grammar and Beyond 1, Cambridge University Press.
Fuchs, M. & Bonner, M. (2000). Focus on Grammar (High-Intermediate). Pearson Education: NY.
DBE Materials Archive, METU.