16/08/2022

GERUND AND
INFINITIVE
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Gerund ‘ing’ Look at the following verbs and decide

and (with or • Which ones take an ‘-ing’ form?
without to) • Which ones take an infinitive?
• Which ones take both?
infinitive?
• Start struggle afford seem
• tend expect end up
• make someone …
• dream of begin continue

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• acknowledge She acknowledged receiving assistance.

• * accuse of He was accused of smuggling contraband goods.
• admit They admitted falsifying the data.

Verbs
• advise The author advises undertaking further study.
• anticipate He anticipates having trouble with his supervisor.

used •
•
appreciate
avoid
I appreciated having a chance to read your draft.
He avoided answering my question.

together •
•
complete
consider
I finally completed writing my thesis.
They will consider granting you money.

with •
•
defer
delay
She deferred writing her report.
We delayed reporting the results until we were
‘Gerund’ •
sure.
deny They denied copying the information.
• discuss They discussed running the experiments again.
• entail This review procedure entails repeating the test.

• look after He will look after mailing the tickets.

• * insist on He insisted on proofreading the article again.

• involve This procedure involves testing each sample twice.

Verbs used together with
‘Gerund’
• justify My results justify taking drastic action.
• mention The author mentions seeing this event.
• * plan on They had planned on attending the conference.
• postpone The committee has postponed writing the report.
• recall I cannot recall getting those results before.
• resent He resented spending so much time on the project.
• recommend She recommends reading Marx.
• resist The writer resists giving any easy answers.

• risk She risks losing her viewing time.

• sanction They will not sanction copying without permission.
• suggest I suggest repeating the experiment.
• * take care of He will take care of sending it to you.
• tolerate She can’t tolerate waiting for results.

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• Adapt to • Help with

• Adjust to • Inquire/enquire about
• Agree (with.. ) on • Insist on
• Apologize for • Interfere with
• Approve/ disapprove of • Keep on
• Argue about • Look forward to
• Ask about
Verbs + • Believe in
•
•
Object to
Participate in

Preposition +
• Blame for • Persist in
• Care about • Plan on

gerund •
•
Complain about
Consist of
•
•
Prepare for
Profit from
• Decide on • Prohibit from
• Depend on • Put off
• Discourage from • Succeed in
• Engage in • Suffer from
• Forgive for • There is no point in
• Give up • Think about/ of

Be+ Adjective •
•
Be used/ accustomed to
Be afraid of
• Be known for
• Be nervous about
+Preposition + • Be angry about
• Be perfect for
Gerund • Be ashamed of
• be proud of
• Be capable of
• Be certain about • Be responsible for
• Be concerned with • Be sad about
• Be critical of • Be successful in
• Be discouraged from • Be suitable for
• Be enthusiastic about
• Be tired of
• Be familiar with
• Be famous for • Be tolerant of
• Be fond of • Be upset about
• Be glad about • Be used to
• be good at • Be useful for
• Be happy about • Be worried about

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Some common verbs followed by an infinitive:

afford We cannot afford to hesitate.
agree The professors agreed to disagree.
appear The results appear to support your theory.
arrange They had arranged to meet at noon.
beg I beg to differ with you.
care Would you care to respond?
claim She claims to have new data.
consent Will you consent to run for office?
decide When did he decide to withdraw?
demand I demand to see the results of the survey.
deserve She deserves to have a fair hearing.
expect The committee expects to decide by tomorrow.
fail The trial failed to confirm his hypothesis.
hesitate I hesitate to try the experiment again.
hope What do you hope to accomplish?
learn We have learned to proceed with caution.
manage How did she manage to find the solution?
neglect The author neglected to provide an index.
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Some common verbs followed by an infinitive:

need Do we need to find new subjects?
offer We could offer to change the time of the meeting.
plan They had planned to attend the conference.
prepare He was not prepared to give a lecture.
pretend I do not pretend to know the answer.
promise They promise to demonstrate the new equipment.
refuse She refused to cooperate any longer.
seem Something seems to be wrong with your design.
struggle We struggled to understand her point of view.
swear He swears to tell the truth.
threaten The team threatened to stop their research.
volunteer Will you volunteer to lead the group?
wait We could not wait to hear the outcome.
want She did not want to go first.
wish Do you wish to participate?

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• Attempt
• Begin • Neglect
• Can/ can’t bear • Prefer
Verb + • Can/ can’t stand • Regret
• Cease • Propose
Infinite or • Continue • Remember
Gerund • Forget • See
• Hate • Stop
• Like • Start
• Love • try

Verbs with gerund or infinitive

• With change in meaning
• Without change in meaning

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Both Gerund & Infinitive - No Meaning

Change
• The following are some common verbs which can be followed by gerunds or infinitives.
 begin
 like
 hate
 start
 love
 can't stand
 continue
 prefer
 can't bear
• The meaning of sentence does not change whether you use the gerund or infinitive.
• EXAMPLES:
• She began to sing. Vs. She began singing.

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Both Gerund & Infinitive - Meaning Change

• Common verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives.

 remember
 regret
 stop
 forget
 Try
• Gerund and infinite forms carry different meanings.
 I remember to post the letter.
 I remember posting the letter.

 I regret going out.

 I regret to inform you that the books that you order are out of print.

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