Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives

Gerunds vs Infinitives

Look at these questions...

• What is your hobby?

• What do you love doing?

• Going to the beach? Playing video games? Hiking (walking)? Singing? Dancing?

Nice! These are all examples of gerunds.

• Now, what if I ask you what you want to do every day?

• Maybe you are learning to draw. Maybe all you want to do is to read comic books. Maybe you are planning to start your own business. Or maybe you will soon decide to travel the world!

• 
  

These are also hobbies, aren’t they? But we used infinitives to describe them.

Explanation:

Gerunds and infinitives are very common in the English language.

They can be used in many situations.

Sometimes you may use an infinitive and a gerund.

Sometimes you have to choose between the two, because using one may be completely wrong.

Does it get confusing? Yes it does!

And knowing the difference between them and using them correctly are essential to speaking English properly, especially in business English settings.

What Is an Infinitive? What Is a Gerund?

An infinitive is the verb form that has “to” at the beginning. For example, “to do,” “to sleep,” “to love” and “to create.”

It is the simplest verb form that you have to modify to fit into sentences.

For example, “She sleeps” no longer contains the infinitive of the verb “to sleep.” Instead, it has been conjugated into the simple present third person form of the verb “to sleep”: sleeps.

Infinitives are easy!

Gerunds

A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding -ing at the end.

E.g:

Playing tennis is fun

Don't confused it with a continuous form!

E.g:

I was playing tennis

I am watching the news

EXAMPLES

•I LIKE PLAYING FOOTBALL (VERB ING: GERUND) (REPEAT THE ACTION MANY TIMES) 

•I LIKE TO PLAY FOOTBALL ( GENERAL)

Infinitives examples

• It is hard to make dinner this late.

• I came to the office to solve the mystery of the missing keys.

• Ross decided to go home instead.

• Do you need to do your laundry this weekend?

INFINITIVE AND GERUNDS

• Verbs followed by a gerund or infinitive with little to no change in meaning

• Example: It started to rain /  it started raining

​https://www.engvid.com/wp-content/media/Verbs-Followed-by-Gerunds-and-Infinitives.pdf

ACTIVITY

• Select 5 verbs from the list Common verbs followed by a gerund

• Select 5 verbs from the list Common verbs followed by an infinitive

• Select 5 verbs from the list Common verbs followed by both

  Create your own examples with each one of them.

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

Open Ended

What would you do in his situation?

Multiple Choice

1-Gerunds and infinitives can replace a noun in a sentence.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

Circle the correct answer:

2- Gerunds can be used after all following verbs except :

• enjoy

• don't mind

• avoid

• would like

Multiple Choice

3-...............is the present participle (-ing) form of the verb, e.g., singing, dancing, running.

• Infinitive

• Gerund

Multiple Choice

4-.............= to + the base form of the verb, e.g., to sing, to dance, to run.

• Gerund

• Infinitive

Multiple Choice

5-I would like.............. (come) to the party with you.

• coming

• to come

Multiple Choice

6-He enjoys .......... (have) a bath in the evening.

• having

• to have

Multiple Choice

7-I am learning............. (speak) English.

• speaking

• to speak

Multiple Choice

Take a deep breath ...

Multiple Choice

8-Do you mind ..........(give) me a hand?

• giving

• to give

Multiple Choice

9-He decided............ (study) biology.

• studying

• to study

Multiple Choice

10-We discussed .............(go) to the cinema, but in the end we stayed at home.

• going

• to go

Multiple Choice

He demanded _____ to the manager

• to speak

• speaking

Multiple Choice

She waited _____ a drink.

• buying

• to buy

Multiple Choice

Admit, suggest, tolerate, try, understand, keep, like, love, miss, need, require, forget, allow, help.

These verbs must be followed by:

• An infinitive

• A gerund

Multiple Choice

Learn, agree, decide, demand, have, hope, refuse, try, ask, wish.

These verbs must be followed by:

• A gerund

• An infinitive

Multiple Select

I offered

• To help

• Helping

• Job Interviews:

  • Situation: Simulate a job interview scenario where you need to describe your qualities and experiences.

  • Examples:

    • "I'm interested in this position because it's very challenging."

    • "I'm excited about the opportunity to work with your team."

    • "I'm experienced in handling customer inquiries."

    • "I'm confident about my ability to meet deadlines."

Gerunds : usage

• As the subject or object of a sentence

• E.g: Running is good for your heart

Gerunds : usage

• After some verbs of like or dislike: like,love, enjoy, hate, can't stand, don't mind

• E.g: I like studying english

• Exception: would like

• E.g: I'd like to study english more.

Gerunds : usage

• After prepositions: in,on,at,for, about,after,before,etc.

• E.g: I am good at writing poems

• E.g: I am interesting in studying science

• Exception: to (if is not a phrasal verb)

• E.g:

• I need to do my homework

• I'm looking forward to meeting you (phrasal verb)

Common verbs followed by a gerund

Some common verbs that are followed by gerund are: avoid, enjoy, finish, hate, keep, like, love, don’t mind, prefer, recommend, spend time, stop, suggest, etc.

Negative gerund 

The negative form of the gerund is not + -ing.

He enjoys not having to wake up early at the weekends. 

Common verbs followed by a gerund

Some common verbs that are followed by gerund are: avoid, enjoy, finish, hate, keep, like, love, don’t mind, prefer, recommend, spend time, stop, suggest, etc.

Infinitives

Particle 'to' + base form of the verb

BE CAREFUL! 'to' is not a preposition in this case

E.g:

I want to study english

​Restaurant Review:

• Situation: Write a restaurant review using descriptive adjectives and verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives.

• Examples:

  • "The food was delicious, and the service was outstanding."

  • "The atmosphere was relaxing, and the staff were friendly."

  • "I was disappointed with the portion sizes."

  • "I'm looking forward to trying more dishes next time."