Date:

Unit:1

Grammar:                                                         Gerund, infinitive or both?

Introduction :

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.

1-The form :

Infinitive = “to” + verb.

Gerund= verb+ ing.

2-Rules:

Generally speaking we can use the following rules:

Examples		Rules	Explanations
Verb+ing	1. I enjoy playing.  2. I denied stealing.	Often we use the gerund for an action that happens before or at the same time 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.

A)   Verbs that can be followed by a gerund:

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 :

Verb	Example
admit	He admitted cheating on the test.
advise	The doctor generally advised drinking low-fat milk.
allow	Ireland doesn’t allow smoking in bars.
anticipate	I anticipated arriving late.
appreciate	I appreciated her helping me.
avoid	He avoided talking to her.
can’t help	He can’t help talking so loudly.
can’t see	I can’t see paying so much money for a car.
can’t stand	He can’t stand her smoking in the office.
complete	He completed renovating the house.
continue	He continued talking.
consider	She considered moving to New York.
defend	The lawyer defended her making such statements.
delay	He delayed doing his taxes.
deny	He denied committing the crime.
discuss	We discussed working at the company.
don’t mind	I don’t mind helping you.
encourage	He encourages eating healthy foods.
finish	He finished doing his homework.
forget	I forgot giving you my book.
imagine	He imagines working there one day.
involve	The job involves traveling to Japan once a month.
keep	She kept interrupting me.
mention	He mentioned going to that college.
mind	Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes.
miss	She misses living near the beach.
need	The aquarium needs cleaning.
neglect	Sometimes she neglects doing her homework.
postpone	He postponed returning to Morocco.
practice	She practiced singing the song.
propose	I proposed having lunch at the beach.
quit	She quit worrying about the problem.
recommend	Tony recommended taking the train.
regret	She regretted saying that.
require	The certificate requires completing two courses.
risk	He risked being caught.
suggest	They suggested staying at the hotel.
tolerate	I tolerated her talking.
try	Sam tried opening the lock with a paperclip.
understand	I understand his quitting.

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.”

B-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 learning english when I was young.”
“I started to learn english when I was at the primary school.”