Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds

We form gerunds after certain verbs and the -ing ending.

We can use gerunds

a) as nouns.

Swimming is my favourite hpbby.

Ben likes cycling.

b) after prepositions.

Jenny's only five but she's very good at reading.

c) after the verb go when we talk about activities.

My class are going canoeing at the weekend

We also use gerunds after certain verbs and phrases.

.admit. avoid. be used tp. can't help. can't stand. deny. dislike. dislike. (don't mind). enjoy. fancy. fell like. finish. forgive. hate. have difficulty. imagine. involve. it's no good. it's no use. it's (not) worth. keep. like. love. miss. practise. prefer. prevent. regret. risk. spend time. suggest.

Some students are having difficulty in doing their Maths exercises.

It's no good only studying for test. You won't get good grades.

Infinitives

Some forms of infinitives:

i) Present (Active) -- (to) send

ii) Present (Passive) -- (to) be sent

iii) Perfect (Active) -- (to) have sent

iv) Perfect (Passive) --(to) have been sent

i) The teacher threatened to expel the badly behaved student.

ii) Photos can be edited on a computer.

iii) You should have tried harder to pass your exams.

iv) He should have been awarded a prize.

We use infinitives in two ways:

a) Full infinitives

b) Bare infinitives

a) Full infinitives

We form full infinitives with to and the verb. We use full infinitives

i) to explain purpose

They went to the library to look up information for their project.

ii) after adjectives such as afraid, scared, happy glad, sad, etc.

Jenny was so happy to pass her exams.

iii) after the words too and enough.

It was too late to change his mind about his studies.

His grades weren't good enough for him to go to university.

a) Full infinitives

We use full infinitives after certain verbs and phrases.

.afford. agree. allow. appear. arrange. ask. begin. choose. decide. expect. fail. forget. hope. invite. learn. manage. need. offer. persuade. plan. prepare. pretend. promise. refuse. seem. start. want. would like.

b) Bare infinitives

We use bare infinitives after

i) modal verbs.

You should ask your teacher for advice on your studies.

ii) had better to give advice.

You'd better be careful when you go mountain climbing.

iii) would rather to talk about preference. We often use the word than.

I'd rather stay at home than go out tonight.

Exercise 1

Complete the text with the gerund or the correct form of the infinitive of the verbs in the brackets.

Choose the best answers for each red blank.

Nature as a blackboard

Would you like (1) _________ (go) to a school that doesn't expect students (2) _________ (be) in class all day? What student wouldn't enjoy (3) _________ (attend) such a school if it existed?

Well, at Southern Cross School near South Africa's famous Kruger National Park, you can (4) _________ (do) just that. Teachers and children spend time in nature (5) _________ (look) for things that can be used (6) _________ (study) anything from to count by (7) _________ (count) how many different animals come to drink water during the night. Students can't help (8) _________ (become) involved in their lessons.

This school aims (9) _________ (teach) students the importance of (10) _________ (care) for the natural environment and the school's motto is Southern Cross is a School for the Planet.

Multiple Choice

Would you like (1) _________ (go) to a school that doesn't expect students (2) _________ (be) in class all day?

• to go

• going

Multiple Choice

Would you like (1) _________ (go) to a school that doesn't expect students (2) _________ (be) in class all day?

• to be

• being

Multiple Choice

What student wouldn't enjoy (3) _________ (attend) such a school if it existed?

• to attend

• attending

Multiple Choice

Well, at Southern Cross School near South Africa's famous Kruger National Park, you can (4) _________ (do) just that.

• do

• doing

Multiple Choice

Teachers and children spend time in nature (5) _________ (look) for things that can be used (6) _________ (study) anything from to count by (7) _________ (count) how many different animals come to drink water during the night.

• to look

• looking

Multiple Choice

Teachers and children spend time in nature (5) _________ (look) for things that can be used (6) _________ (study) anything from to count by (7) _________ (count) how many different animals come to drink water during the night.

• to study

• studying

Multiple Choice

Teachers and children spend time in nature (5) _________ (look) for things that can be used (6) _________ (study) anything from to count by (7) _________ (count) how many different animals come to drink water during the night.

• to count

• counting

Multiple Choice

Students can't help (8) _________ (become) involved in their lessons.

• to become

• becoming

Multiple Choice

This school aims (9) _________ (teach) students the importance of (10) _________ (care) for the natural environment and the school's motto is Southern Cross is a School for the Planet.

• to teach

• teaching

Multiple Choice

This school aims (9) _________ (teach) students the importance of (10) _________ (care) for the natural environment and the school's motto is Southern Cross is a School for the Planet.

• to care

• caring

Exercise 2

Choose the correct answers.

Multiple Choice

Some students can't afford ___________ to university.

• going

• go to

Multiple Choice

I don't feel like ___________ when the weather is warm.

• to study

• studying

Multiple Choice

1. Jason was glad ___________ that he had passed his exams.

• to learn

• learning

Multiple Choice

She'd better ___________ some advice on her studies.

• get

• to get

Multiple Choice

It's no use ___________ up all night studying.

• staying

• to stay

Multiple Choice

Teachers should be prepared ___________ students' questions.

• to answer

• answering

Multiple Choice

The children are too young ___________ these classes.

• attending

• to attend

Multiple Choice

Is she interested in ___________ to become a photographer?

• to train

• training