SAU FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT ENGLISH PREP CLASSES

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

A) Common Verbs Followed by Gerunds

admit He admitted stealing the money. mention She mentioned going to the cinema.
advise She advised waiting until tomorrow. mind Would you mind opening the door?
anticipate I anticipate having a good time on vacation. miss I miss being with my family.
appreciate I appreciated hearing from them. postpone Let’s postpone leaving until tomorrow.
avoid He avoided answering my question. practice The athlete practiced throwing the ball.
complete Finally I completed writing my composition. quit He quit trying to solve the problem.
consider I will consider going with you. recall I don’t recall meeting him before.
delay He delayed going to Ankara. recollect I don’t recollect meeting him before.
deny They denied committing the crime. recommend She recommended seeing the show.
discuss They discussed opening a new business. resist I couldn’t resist eating the dessert.
dislike I dislike driving long distances. risk She risks losing all of her money.
enjoy We enjoyed visiting them. suggest He suggested going to the cinema.
finish She finished studying about ten. tolerate She won’t tolerate cheating in the exam.
can’t help I can’t help falling in love with you. understand I don’t understand his leaving the school.
keep I keep hoping he will come.

B) Common Preposition Combinations Followed By Gerunds

ADJECTIVES VERBS
be responsible for be excited about complain about / of insist on
be famous for be worried about dream about / of believe in
be guilty of be accustomed to talk about / of participate in
be capable of be committed to think about / of succeed in
be tired of be devoted to keep (someone) from apologize for
be accused of be opposed to prevent (someone) from thank (someone) for
be interested in be used to prohibit (someone) from object to
stop (someone) from look forward to

C) Go + Gerund

“Go” is followed by a gerund in certain idiomatic expressions to express recreational activities.

go bird-watching go fishing go sailing go skating

go bowling go hiking go shopping go swimming
go camping go hunting go sightseeing go window shopping
go dancing go jogging go skiing go running etc…..

We went fishing on Saturday.

They will go mountain climbing next weekend.

1
 D) Special Expressions Followed by Gerunds

have fun / a good time We had fun playing beach volley. / I had a good time talking to you.
have trouble / difficulty He had difficulty solving the math problem.
have a hard time / difficult time I had a hard time finding your house.

spend time / money doing sth. She spends her time studying at the library. fghfghfghfghfghfghfghfg
waste time / money doing sth. He wasted most of his time playing video games

find someone doing sth. When I walked into the class, I found him sitting on my desk.
catch someone doing sth. When I went to the kitchen I caught a thief looking into the fridge. cb

it is worth Do you think it is worth buying such an old car?

there is no point in You passed the exam. There is no point in studying a lot.
there is no use doing something There is no use giving him advice. He never keeps our advice.
it is no good doing sth. It is no good talking to him, he is so angry.
it is no use doing sth. It is no use waiting here, he won’t show up. fghfghfghhhhhhhhhhhhhh

E) Common Verbs Followed by Both Gerunds And Infinitives

The verbs in this group may be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive with little or no difference in
meaning.

begin It began raining. There is no difference between “began to

It began to rain. rain” and “began raining”.
start I started working.
If the main verb is progressive, an Infinitive
I started to work.
(not a gerund) is usually used.
continue They continued studying.
They continued to study.

like I like playing football. I enjoy playing football.

I like to play football. I want to play football.
love I love watching western movies.
I love to watch western movies.

hate I hate saying this, but I don’t like him.

I hate to say this, but I don’t like him.

prefer I prefer staying home to going to the concert. Notice the patterns with prefer.
I prefer to stay home than (to) go to the concert.

2
 F) Common Verbs Followed by Infinitives
afford I can’t afford to buy that new car.
agree They all agreed to help us.
appear She appears to be tired.
arrange I’ll arrange to meet you at the airport.
beg He begged to come with us.
care I don’t care to see that show.
claim She claims to know a famous film star.
consent She finally consented to marry him.
decide I have decided to leave on Monday.
demand I demand to know who is responsible.
deserve She deserves to win the prize.
expect I expect to enter the school in the fall.
fail She failed to return the money on time.
hesitate Don’t hesitate to ask for my help.
hope We hope to see you again.
learn He learned to play the piano.
G) Common Verbs Followed by Both Gerunds And Infinitives
The verbs in this group may be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive with difference in meaning.
Judy always remembers to
remember lock the door.
I remember seeing the Alps
for the first time. The sight
was impressive.
Sam always forgets to lock
forget the door.
I’ll never forget seeing the
Alps for the first time.
I regret to tell you that you
regret failed the test.
I regret lending him some
money. He never paid it back.
I’m trying to learn English.
try
It was hot inside. I tried
opening the window, but it
didn’t help.
I was working in the garden
when he came. I stopped to talk
stop to him.
When the professor entered the
room, the students stopped
talking. The class became quite.
manage She managed to finish her work early.
mean I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
offer They offered to help us.
plan I am planning to have a party.
prepare We prepared to welcome them.
pretend He pretends not to understand.
promise I promise not to be late.
refuse I refuse to believe his story.
seem That cat seems to be friendly.
struggle I struggled to stay awake.
swear She swore to tell the truth.
threaten She threatened to tell my parents.
volunteer He volunteered to help the poor.
wait I will wait to hear from you.
want I want to tell you something.
wish She wishes to come with us.
remember + infinitive = remember to
perform a responsibility, duty, or task.
remember + gerund = remember (recall)
something that happened in the past.
forget + infinitive = forget to perform a Forget followed by a
responsibility, duty, or task. gerund usually occurs
forget + gerund = forget something that in a negative sentence
happened in the past. or a question.
regret +infinitive= regret to tell someone,
to inform someone of bad news.
regret + gerund = regret something that
happened in the past.
try + infinitive = make an effort.
try + gerund = experiment with a new or
different approach to see if it works.
stop + infinitive = infinitive of purpose,
in order to
stop + gerund = finish doing something
that is in progress.
3
EXERCISES:
A: Choose the correct choice
1. to study- studying
a- I remember …………………………………. this piece of grammar last year.
b- I must remember ………………..…………. my notes on gerunds and infinitives tonight.
2. to announce-missing
a-We regret …………………….….. ….that all trains to Ankara will be delayed for two hours.
b- I regret ……………………….…….. the train to Ankara. I got to the meeting two hours late.
3. to buy- buying
a- I stopped ……………………..…………. a newspaper on my way home from the office.
b- I have stopped ………………………….. newspapers. You can’t believe a word you read in them.
4. 4- to have – having
a- I tried …………………….……..tennis lessons, but they didn’t make much difference to my game.
b- I tried ………………………….. tennis lessons, none of the teachers were available in the evening.

B: Choose the correct answer

1) John prefers reading / to read books to watching TV.
2) Fiona remembered to do / doing the shopping before she came home.
3) Helen tried to find / finding her ring, but she couldn’t.
4) I regret to tell / telling you that your application has been rejected.
5) Tim prefers to study / studying in the library rather than do his homework at home.

C: Complete the sentences using Gerunds or Infinitives

1) She avoided ……………………..…… (look) at me while I was criticising her.
2) She chose ……………………….……..(stay) home while we went out.
3) Don’t hesitate……………………(contact) me if you need any help.
4) He admitted ……………………….…..(steal) his mother’s money but denied………….………..(sell) it for drugs.
5) I don’t recall……………………..….…..(meet) you before.
6) My parents won’t tolerate………………..……………(lie).
7) You will risk …………………………… (lose) all your money in that business.
8) He never seems ……………………………… (succeed).
9) I didn’t agree …………………………....…….. (work) with him.
10) They had to postpone ……………...………….. (give) a party because of the car accident their son had.

D: Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verbs from the box.
1- There is no point in …………………….… for the class. It has already started.
feel - watch -
2- This book isn’t worth………………….…. . Its plot is nonsense.
run - meet -
3- You waste a lot of time ………………………….. those ridiculous series on TV.
read - get - try
4- It is no good ……………… to persuade my father. He won’t allow me to come with you.
- visit
5- Are you sure you won’t have any difficulty ……………….…….. to the airport on your own?
6- My friend in England says in his letter that he is having a good time there ………….……….. . interesting places and
………………………… people from various cultures.
7- I can’t help ………………….. sorry for them when I see small children in the street begging for money.

E: Complete the following sentences using the verbs

with their correct prepositions 3- How does this snake stay cool in the desert?
waiting listening having going (It buries itself in the sand)
……………………………………………………………
1) I’m interested ………………………… to music.
2) She is afraid ……………………out in the dark. G: Complete the following sentences using ( without +
3) He is looking forward………………….his gerund )
holiday soon.
4) I’m tired …………………for the bus to come. 1- She answered the questions. She didn’t hesitate.
Let’s take a taxi. ……………………………………………………………

F: Answer the following questions using by + gerund 2- He lied to his friends. He didn’t think of the
consequences.
1- How do you satisfy your hunger? ……………………………………………………………
(I eat some fruit) …………………………………..
……………………………………………………………
2- How do you manage to make ends meet with such a 3- My brother rides his bike and he doesn’t hold on to the
small salary? handlebars.
(I don’t spend anything on luxury items) ……………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………..

4
5