THE INFINITIVE/ THE GERUND (-ING FORM)

Forms of the Infinitive

Active Passive
Present (to) lose (to) be lost
Present Continuous (to) be losing ______________
Perfect (to) have lost (to) have been lost
Perfect Continuous (to) have been losing ______________

Active
present infinitive refers to the present or future e.g. He expects to stay here for a week.

Present continuous refers to an action happening now He seems to be working hard.

infinitive: (to) be + -ing
Perfect infinitive:
(to) have + past participle
Perfect continuous
infinitive: (to) have+ been +
-ing
Refers to the past and shows that
the action of the infinitive
happened before the action of the
verb
Refers to the past and emphasizes
the duration of the action of the
infinitive, which happened before
the action of the verb
He claims to have won a lot of money.
(First he won the money, then he
claimed that he had won it.)
He’s got a headache. He claims to have
been working on the computer all
morning. (We emphasise what he has
been doing all morning.)

The perfect infinitive is used with : verbs such as seem, appear, believe, know, claim, expect
and modal verbs.
Passive
Present infinitive: (to) be + past participle He hopes to be offered a promotion.
Perfect infinitive: (to) have been + past participle She is believed to have been kidnapped.

The verb tenses corresponding to the tenses of the infinitive are as follows:
Verb tenses Infinitive
He works/ will work to work
He is working/ will be working to be working
He worked/ has worked/ had worked/ will have worked to have worked
He was working/ has been working/ had been working/ will have been working to have been working

Forms of the Gerund

Active Passive
Simple Refers to the Swimming is an energetic form Losing being lost
present or future of exercise.
Perfect The action of the – He denied having lied to his having lost having been lost
ing form happened parent.
before the action
of the verb.

We can use the simple –ing form instead of the perfect –ing form with no difference in meaning.
e.g. He admitted to having stolen/stealing the
USE:
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The to-infinitive is used:
1) To express purpose
e.g. Jill went to the market to buy some vegetables.
2)After certain verbs:
agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, plan, promise,
refuse, etc
e.g. He refused to help us with the decorations.
3)After adjectives which:
a) describe feeling, emotions (happy, glad, sorry, etc)
b) express willingness/ unwillingness (willing, eager,
reluctant, anxious, unwilling, etc.)
c) refer to a person’s character (mean, clever, etc.)
d) with the adjectives lucky and fortunate
e.g. I was happy to hear that he had graduated.
Note: With adjectives which refer to character
we can also use an impersonal construction:
It +be+ adjective + of + noun/ pronoun.
e.g. It was clever of you not to say anything.
4) After certain nouns and pronouns such as
something, somewhere, anyone, nothing, etc. usually
to show that something is necessary or possible
e.g. Take something to read in the park.
5) after too/ enough
e.g. He is too young to drive a car.
6) with it + be + adjective (+ of + noun/pronoun)
e.g. It is important to pass your exams.
It is my ambition to run my own business.
It was kind of her to pay you the bills.
7) to talk about an unexpected event which can be
unpleasant or unsatisfactory, usually with only
e.g. They rushed to the stadium only to be informed
that the match had been cancelled.
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The –ing form is used:
1)As a noun
e.g. Jogging is an interesting way of relaxing.
2)After certain verbs:
admit, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, consider,
continue, delay, deny, discuss, enjoy, escape, excuse,
fancy, finish, forgive, go (for activities), imagine,
involve, keep (=continue), mention, mind, miss,
postpone, practice, prevent, quit, recall, recollect,
report, resent, resist, risk, save, stand, suggest,
tolerate, understand, etc.
e.g. He suggested going to the cinema.
She continued working on the project.
3)After: like, dislike, love, hate, enjoy, prefer to
express general preference
e.g. She hates singing.
Note: like+-to inf =it’s a good idea
e.g. I like to clean my room every day.
BUT:
would like/ would love/ would prefer +to –inf to
express specific preference
e.g. I would like to sing a song.
4)After expressions such as:
be busy, it’s no use, it’s (no) good, it’s (not) worth,
what’s the use of, can’t help, there’s no point (in),
can’t stand, have difficulty (in), have trouble, have a
hard/ difficult time, etc.
e.g. It’s no use trying to find the truth.
5)after: spend, waste, lose (time, money, etc.)
e.g. I spent a lot of money travelling around the
world.
6) after prepositions
e.g. He was found guilty of lying in court.
7) after the preposition “to” with verbs and
expressions such as:
look forward to, be used to, get round to, object to,
in addition to, prefer (doing sth to doing sth else),
etc.
e.g. They are looking forward to meeting us again.
8) after: be + the first/second, etc. / next/ last/ best,
etc.
e.g. Sarah was the last to arrive.
9) after verbs and expressions such as:
ask, learn, find out, wonder, want to know, decide,
explain, etc. when they are followed by question
words (who, what, where, how, etc.)
“Why” is followed by a subject+ verb, not by an
infinitive.
e.g. She wondered how to get to the post office.
I don’t know why you lied.
8) after the verbs:
hear, listen to, notice, see, watch and feel to describe
an incomplete action, that is to say that somebody
saw, heard, etc. only a part of the action.
e.g. I saw Mary writing the letter. ( I saw part of the
action. I didn’t see the whole action.)
But: hear, listen to, notice + bare infinitive
see, watch, feel to describe a complete
action, that is to say that somebody saw, heard, etc.
from beginning to end.
e.g. I saw Mary write a letter. (I saw the action from
beginning to end.)

Note: If two to-infinitives are joined with “and” or

“or”, the “to” of the second infinitive can be omitted.
e.g. I want to phone Mrs. Brown and tell her the
truth.
10) after certain nouns
e.g. What a surprise to meet you here!
11) with: so + adjective + as
e.g. Would you be so kind as to help me carry my
bags?
12) in the expression: for + noun/pronoun + to-inf
e.g. For her to be so successful was unforgettable.
13) in expressions such as: to tell you the truth, to
begin with, to be honest
e.g. To tell you the truth, I didn’t buy any vegetables.

The bare infinitive is used:

1) after modal verbs (can, should, must, etc.)

e.g. You should spend more time with your family.
But: Ought is followed by to-infinitive
e.g. He ought to go to the dentist.
2) after the verbs: let, make, see, hear and feel
e.g. We saw her hide in the wardrobe.
But: be made, be heard, be seen + to-infinitive (passive)
e.g. She was seen to hide in the wardrobe.
 When see, hear and watch are followed by an –ing form, there is no change in the passive.
e.g. I saw her crossing the street.
She was seen crossing the street.
Can/could + see/hear + -ing form
e.g. I could hear the noise coming from the kitchen.
(NOT: I could hear the noise come…)
3) After had better and would rather
e.g. You had better go to the dentist.
4) Help is followed by either the to-infinitive or the bare infinitive
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 e.g. He helped me (to) discover the truth.

Subject of the infinitive/ -ing form

1) a)The subject of the infinitive or the -ing form is omitted when it is the same as the subject of the main verb
e.g. I would like to help with the decorations.
b)When it is different, however, it is not omitted. The subject of the infinitive can be an object pronoun, a name
or a noun.
e.g. I would like him/Susan/my secretary to help with the decorations.
c) The subject of the –ing form can be an object pronoun, a possessive case
e.g. I remember him/his/John/John’s winning the game.
2) We use for+ noun/pronoun to introduce the subject of the infinitive in the following cases:
a) With verbs such as arrange, hope, long, prepare, ask, wait, etc.
e.g. We’ve asked the carpenter to come next week.
b) With adjectives such as anxious, cheap, convenient, dangerous, difficult, important, necessary, etc.
e.g. It’s important for you to pass your exams.
c) With nouns such as advantage, disadvantage, demand, disaster, idea, mistake, etc.
e.g. It was a bad idea for her to trust him.
d) With too/enough
e.g. It was too hard for them to find the hotel.
e) When the to-infinitive expresses purpose
e.g There are books for young children to read at the library.

Verbs taking the to-infinitive or the –ing form without a change in meaning
 begin, start, continue, propose, bother, intend
We never have two –ing forms together
e.g. They continued to talk/talking about the trip.
 advise, allow, permit, recommend, encourage take the to-infinitive when they are followed by an
object or when they are in the passive form. They take the –ing form when they are not followed by an
object.
e.g. He recommended us to stay in a hotel.(object)
We were recommended to stay in a hotel.(passive)
We recommend staying in a hotel.(no object)
 need/require/want + ing form
This construction often shows that it is necessary to repair or improve something. “Need” can also be
followed by a passive infinitive.
e.g. The roof needs repairing.
The roof needs to be repaired.

Verbs taking the to-infinitive or the –ing form with a change in meaning
Verb Meaning Example
1. forget + to-infinitive =not remember I have to go to the baker’s. I forgot to buy
some bread.
+ -ing form =not recall I’ll never forget swimming with the
dolphins for the first time.
2. remember + to-infinitive =not forget Did you remember to tell Susan about
the party?
+ -ing form =recall I remember meeting them before.

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 3. go on + to-infinitive =then We had dinner and we went on to talk
about our first meeting.
+ -ing form =continue She went on reading the book until 11
p.m.
4. mean + to-infinitive =intend to
+ -ing form =involve He wants to buy her the necklace, even if
it means paying a lot of money.
5. Regret + to-infinitive =be sorry to (it is normally We regret to announce you that your
used in the present simple grandparents have had an accident.
and is followed by verbs
such as say, tell, inform)
+ -ing form =feel sorry about They regretted moving to Florida.
6. Try + to-infinitive =attempt, do one’s best We tried to explain how it happened.
+ -ing form =do sth as an experiment If you are too tired, try drinking some
coffee.
7. stop + to-infinitive =stop briefly to do sth else She stopped to call her mother.
+ -ing form =finish, give up He stopped smoking because it affects his
lungs.
8. be sorry + to-infinitive =apologise for a present I’m sorry to say this, but you should go to
action the doctor’s.
for + -ing form =apologise for an earlier I’m sorry for lying to you.
action
9. Like + to-infinitive =think that sth is good or I like to go fishing whenever I’m free.
right to do
+ -ing form =enjoy (general preference) Steve likes hunting.
would like + to-infinitive =want (specific preference) I would like to visit Italy one day.
10. be afraid + to-infinitive =the subject is unwilling to She is afraid to touch the horse in case it
do sth hurts her.
+ -ing form =the subject is afraid that Tom doesn’t want to use your phone.
what is described by the – He’s afraid of breaking it.
ing form may happen

Too/ Enough
Too has a negative meaning. It shows that something is more than enough, necessary or wanted. It is used in
the following patterns:
a) too + adjective/adverb + to-infinitive
e.g. He is too young to drive.
b) too… for somebody/something
e.g. This tea is too hot for me.
c) too… for somebody/something + to-infinitive
e.g. This bike is too expensive for me to buy it.
Enough has a positive meaning. It shows that there is as much of something as is wanted or needed. It is used
in the following patterns:
a) adjective/adverb + enough + to-infinitive
e.g. He is tall enough to reach the shelf.
BUT: not + adjective/adverb + enough + to-infinitive (negative meaning)
e.g. She did not study long enough to win the competition.
b) enough +noun + to-infinitive
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e.g. They’ve got enough money to travel to Europe.