THE GERUNDS A gerund is a noun formed by adding -ING to the verb. It´s often called a verbal noun. She enjoys dancing - He denied having stolen the money. The -ING form is used: 1- As a noun (as a subject or object) Eating vegetables is good for your health. I hate eating vegetables. 2. After certain verbs. He admitted murdering his wife. It´s better to avoid travelling during the rush hour. Have you ever considered going to live in another country? Nick keeps (on) ringing Rita and asking her to go out. He continued talking. I don´t enjoy writing letters. He escaped driving his car. She doesn´t fancy going out this evening. Have you finished washing your hair? Mary has given up smoking but her husband goes on smoking. I can´t imagine being 110 years old. Does your job involve meeting a lot of people? I´m looking forward to hearing from you again. Would you mind turning the radio down?. I miss visiting the museum because I was late.. They had to postpone going away because their son was ill. He practised playing the guitar. You risk being knocked down by a car. I can´t stand people shouting at me. They suggested going to the theatre instead of the cinema. Other verbs followed by a gerund: ADVISE - ANTICIPATE - APPRECIATE - COMPLETE - DENY DISCUSS - DISLIKE - FORGET - QUIT - RECALL - RECOLLECT - RECOMMEND - REGRET REMEMBER - RESENT - RESIST - OBJECT TO - PREVENT - REPORT - UNDERSTAND. 3. After LOVE, LIKE, DISLIKE, HATE, ENJOY , PREFER (to express general preference) I like getting up early / I like to get up early. I would like to be rich - I´d love to be able to travel round the world - Would you like to go to a party? Tom prefers driving to travelling by train / Tom prefers to drive rather than travel by train I´d prefer to stay at home tonight rather than go to the cinema. Shall we go by train? Well, I´d prefer to go by car / Well, I´d rather go by car. I´d rather you didn´t tell anyone what I said. 4. Expressions followed by -ING. - It´s no use worrying about it. There´s nothing you can do. - It´s no good trying to persuade me. You won´t succeed. - There´s no point in buying a car if you don´t want to drive it. - What´s the use of buying things you don´t need? - My house is only a short walk from here. It´s not worth taking a taxi. - I had difficulty finding a place to live. - It´s a waste of time reading this book. It´s rubbish. - It´s a waste of money buying things you don´t need. - I spent/ wasted hours trying to repair the clock. - How often do you go swimming? - I´m going skiing next year . - I´ve never been sailing. - I was busy studying for my Maths test. - I´m used to getting up early / I used to get up early when I was younger 5. Prepositions followed by -ING. Are you interested in working for us ? He is not very good at learning languages. I´m fed up with studying. The children are excited about going on holiday What are the advantages of having a car?
John went to work in spite of feeling ill. Y bought a new bicycle instead of going away on holiday. - Before going out I phoned Ann. (Before I went out I..........) What did you do after leaving school? (........after you left school) - They got into the house by breaking a kitchen window and climbing in. - Tom left without finishing his dinner. Many verbs have the structure verb preposition object. We talked about the problem - We talked about going to America. Has Tom succeed in finding a job yet? Are you thinking of / about buying a house? He´s always dreamed of being rich. She doesn´t approve of gambling. He insisted on buying me a drink. He apologised for keeping me waiting. These verbs have the structure verb object preposition -ing. They accused me of telling lies. Did they suspect the man of being a spy? I congratulated Ann on passing the exam. What prevented him from coming to the wedding? I thanked her for being so helpful. Please forgive me for not writing to you. They warned us against buying the car. 6. After the verbs SEE, FEEL, HEAR, LISTEN TO, NOTICE, WATCH, FIND, SMELL when they express an incomplete action, an accion in progress or a long action. I saw Kate painting the kitchen ( I saw Kate in the middle of painting. I saw part of the action in progress, I didn´t wait until she had finished.) I saw Kate paint the kitchen (I saw the whole action from beginning to end) Rachel saw David walKing with a stick. Can you hear someone playing the piano?. We found Mathew exercising in the gym. I could feel an insect crawling up my leg. When we talk about a short action, it often does not matter which structure we use. They heard a car turn / turning the corner. I didn´t see anyone leave / leaving any litter. 7. -ING CLAUSES She was sitting in an armchair reading a book. Jim hurt his arm playing tennis / he cut himself shaving. Having found a hotel, they looked for somewhere to have dinner. Feeling tired , I went to bed early.
THE INFINITIVE I.TENSES OF THE INFINITIVE Present : Present continuous: Perfect:
ACTIVE (to ) offer (to) be offering (to) have offered
PASSIVE (to) be offered (to) have been offered
Perfect continuous:
(to) have been offering
II. FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE: A. TO- INFINITIVE B. INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO A. TO - INFINITIVE. The to- infinitive is used: 1. As a subject or object: To leave now would be a mistake
-
He agreed to meet us tonight.
2. After some verbs and expressions. - We can´t afford to go to Australia. - Sarah agreed to work late at the office. - The computer program appears to have a bug in it. - He arranged to meet her at the Grand Hotel. - She decided not to go out that evening. - Are you hoping to get a job in London? -I managed not to lose my temper. - They planned to go on holiday. - I promise to write to you every day while I´m away. - Arthur never refuses to lend money to anyone. - Sarah seemed to be quite annoyed. - David failed to pay his electricity bill. - In the end our forecast turned out / proved to be correct. - He struggled to win civil rights for blacks. - They want to buy a new car. - They offered to give me a lift. - I can´t wait to see the photos you took. - He demanded to speak to the manager. - She learnt to drive when she was 20. - We are about to leave, so hurry up. - The thief got into the house because I forgot to close the window. - He asked to see the manager. - Paul pretended to have won the lottery. - Our neighbour threatened to phone the police if we didn´t stop the noise. - Many people have volunteered to help us paint the school. Other verbs followed by an infinitive. BEG- CARE - CLAIM - CONSENT - DESERVE- EXPECT - HESITATE - MEAN - NEED PREPARE - REGRET - REMEMBER - SWEAR - WISH. 3. Verbs followed by an object - to-infinitive. Los siguientes verbos pueden ir seguidos de nombre o pronombre que se refieren a otra persona distinta del sujeto.A continuación se añade un infinitivo. -He advised me to revise my English tenses. - He asked me to help him. - My guidebook enabled me to see all the places of interest. - We must encourage them to finish their degree. - They didn´t expect me to arrive until later that evening. - The burglars forced my aunt to give them her jewels. - We invited them to have a party. - I need them to repair the roof. - The captain ordered the sailor to lower the anchor. - Can I persuade you to have a glass of wine? - Did you remind her to bring her tennis raket? - That will teach you to mind your own bussiness. - He told Mary to get home by midnight. - Tim wants us to help him tonight. - The boss warned the workers not to go on strike. Other verbs: ALLOW -BEG - CAUSE - CHALLENGE - CONVINCE - DARE - FORBID - HIRE - INSTRUCT- PERMIT - REQUIRE ....
4. To express purpose She went out to buy some milk. 5. After certain adjectives. - Daniel will be ready to help us soon. - We were all sad to see her go. - Aren´t you happy to be here? - I was pleased to see him. - This exercise is difficult to do. 6. After some adjectives and adverbs with TOO and ENOUGH - He´s too young to drive. - He´s not old enough to drive. - She´s too short to reach the top shelf. - She isn´t tall enough to reach the top shelf. 7. After some nouns ( decision, attempt, plan, promise......) - She hurt her leg but made an attempt to finish the race. - Helen has the ability to go to University. - there is no reason to complain. - It´s a pleasure to work with you. 8. After WOULD LIKE - WOULD LOVE - WOULD PREFER to express specific preference. - I´d love to go for a walk. 9. After questions words: WHERE, HOW, WHAT, WHO, WHICH.... but not after WHY. - Has she told you where to meet them? - Tom showed me how to change a wheel. - The guide didn´t tell the tourist when to be back at the coach. - No one could explain why we had to wait. B- INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO 1. After CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, NEEDN´T, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL and WOULD. - I must speak to the manager. - It might rain later. - Sarah will be away for three days. 2. After HAD BETTER and WOULD RATHER - It´s cold. You´d better wear a coat. - I´d rather listen to Elvis than the Beatles. 3. After MAKE - object and LET - object. - That programme was funny. It really made me laugh. - Trevor will be here at five. His boss is going to let him leave work early. 4. After SEE or HEAR - on object - They saw the light come on. - We all heard the bomb go off. INFINITIVE or -ING? I. VERBS TAKING TO-INFINITIVE or -ING without a change in meaning. 1. BEGIN , START, CONTINUE , INTEND - to-infinitive or -ing. However, we never have two -ing forms together. The baby began crying / to cry It´s beginning to get cold. It has started raining / to rain John intends buying a house / to buy a house He continued working / to work after his illness. 2. ADVISE, ALLOW, PERMIT, RECOMMEND , ENCOURAGE when followed by an object or in passive form take a to- infinitive. They take the -ing form when not followed by an object. He doesn´t allow us to smoke here - They aren´t allowed to smoke here.-They don´t allow smoking here. I advised him to see a doctor - He was advised to see a doctor. - I advised seeing a doctor. 3.IT NEEDS / IT REQUIRES / IT WANTS - -ing form IT NEEDS can also be followed by a passive infinitive. The house needs / requires / wants painting The house needs repairing / to be repaired. II. VERBS TAKING TO-INFINITIVE or -ING FORM WITH A CHANGE IN MEANING.
1.FORGET - to- infinitive = not remember FORGET - ing form = forget a past event I´m sorry, I forgot to buy milk He´ll never forget flying over the Alps. 2. REMEMBER - to- infinitive = remember to do sth: Remember to turn off the cooker before leaving. REMEMBER - ing form = recall a past event: I don´t remember staying in this hotel before. 3. GO ON - to-infinitive= finish doing sth and start doing sth else After finishing the report, she went on to type some letters. GO ON - ing form = continue. She went on talking for hours. 4. MEAN - to-infinitive = intend to. He means to find a job abroad. MEAN - ing form = involve . Finding a job means attending many interviews. 5. REGRET - to-infinitive = be sorry to . I regret to tell you that there is no money left . REGRET - ing form = have second thoughts about sth one has already done. I regret buying / having bought this dress; it doesn´t look nice on me. 6.TRY - to-infinitive= do one´s best, attempt . The firemen are trying to put out the fire. TRY -ing form = do sth as a experiment. Why don´t you try adding some sugar to the sauce? 7. WANT - to-infinitive = wish. I want to spend my holidays in Spain. WANT -ing form = need sth done. This room wants painting again. 8. STOP -to-infinitive = pause temporarily. She stopped to get some petrol before continuing on her journey to Leeds. STOP -ing form = finish, end. Stop talking, please! 9. BE SORRY -to-infinitive = regret. I´m sorry to hear they fired him. BE SORRY FOR - ing form = apologise. I´m sorry for being / having been unfair to you. 10. BE AFRAID -to-infinitive = the subject is too frightened to do sth. I´m afraid to climb up that tree. ( I don´t want to do it) BE AFRAID OF - ing form = the subject is afraid that what is described by the - ing form may happen She won´t clim up the tree; she is afraid of falling. EXERCISES I. Look at he following pairs of sentences. Write whether the meaning is the same or different. 1. Betty began playing the piano at the age of four / Betty began to play the piano at the age of four. 2. Mike stopped eating junk food last week / Mike stopped to eat junk food last week. 3. He remembered buying the tickets / He remembered to buy the tickets. 4. We´ll never forget visiting Aunt Ann / We won´t forget to visit Aunt Ann. 5. She hates walking in the snow / She hates to walk in the snow. II. Fill in the blanks with a gerund or an infinitive, or both where possible. 1. We began..............................our homework at eight o´clock. 2. The doctor recommended .....................................................every day. 3. The pupils like........................................their lessons outside on the grass in the spring . 4. Doris loves..................................... to the beach in the summer. 5. The hotel allows guests...................................................in the underground carpark. 6. Because the pupils continued............................................ a noise, their teacher gave them more work to do. 7. I can´t stand.................................on buses. 8. His parents permit him................................ late at weekends, but not on school nights. 9. When will you start...................................... for your exam? 10. The bank advised........................................our money into a special account. III.Match an item from A with one from B to make sentences. A B 1.Do you remember whem a. as soon as possible. 2. Did you remember b. telling us he would be late 3. They stopped at c. you posted the letter?
4. They stopped 5. Lenny didn´t remember 6. Kevin doesn´t remember 7. Joe should stop working 8. Tina should stop to think
d. the post office to buy stamps. e. to tell us he would be late. f. to post the letter? g. before she speaks h. going to rock concerts years ago.
IV. CHOOSE the correct answer. 1. I can´t get used to LIVING - LIVE without a dog. 2. Would you mind TAKE - TAKING my mother to the station? 3. My father will never get used to HEARING - HEAR such loud noise. 4. We forgot PICKING UP - TO PICK UP our friend at the airport. 5. Alex appears TO BE - BEING in love with Nina. 6. He wants them SWIMMING - TO SWIM a lot. 7. It´s no use KNOCKING - TO KNOCK on the door. Nobody´s home. 8. Carol is looking forward to HEARING - HEAR from you. 9. I hope you remembered TELLING - TO TELL Marilyn that I´d be late. 10. Have they considered BUYING - TO BUY a new TV set? 11. She´s nearly finished. She´s just got two more potatoes PEELING - TO PEEL 12. He promised not TO LOSE - LOSING my new pen. 13. He doesn´t want to risk TO INSULT - INSULTING anyone. 14. She forgot about PHONING - TO PHONE her mother. 15. I´m not interested in SEEING - TO SEE an exhibition. V. Complete the following sentences using a suitable verb phrase. 1. John is very interested in ................................................................. 2. My brother gets easily bored with.............................................................. 3. In the winter, we enjoy.............................................................................. 4. She often postpones............................................................................... 5. Some people never make an effort........................................................... 6. Sometimes he can´t help........................................................................ 7. This year I´m planning.......................................................................... 8. My parents often remind me................................................................. THE GERUND A gerund is a noun formed by adding -ING to the verb. It´s often called a verbal noun. She enjoys dancing - He denied having stolen the money. The -ING form is used: 1- As a noun (as a subject or object) Eating vegetables is good for your health. I hate eating vegetables. 2. After certain verbs. He admitted murdering his wife. It´s better to avoid travelling during the rush hour. Have you ever considered going to live in another country? Nick keeps (on) ringing Rita and asking her to go out. He continued talking. She doesn´t fancy going out this evening. Have you finished washing your hair? Mary has given up smoking but her husband goes on smoking. I´m looking forward to hearing from you again. Would you mind turning the radio down?. I miss visiting the museum because I was late.. They had to postpone going away because their son was ill. He practised playing the guitar. I can´t stand people shouting at me. They suggested going to the theatre instead of the cinema. Other verbs followed by a gerund: ADVISE - COMPLETE - DENY - DISCUSS - FORGET RECOMMEND - REGRET - REMEMBER - OBJECT TO - PREVENT - REPORT - UNDERSTAND. 3. After LOVE, LIKE, DISLIKE, HATE, ENJOY , PREFER, DETEST (to express general preference)
I like getting up early / I like to get up early. I would like to be rich - I´d love to be able to travel round the world - Would you like to go to a party? Tom prefers driving to travelling by train / Tom prefers to drive rather than travel by train I´d prefer to stay at home tonight rather than go to the cinema. Shall we go by train? Well, I´d prefer to go by car / Well, I´d rather go by car. 4. Expressions followed by -ING. - It´s no use worrying about it. There´s nothing you can do. - It´s no good trying to persuade me. You won´t succeed. - My house is only a short walk from here. It´s not worth taking a taxi. - How often do you go swimming?
- I´m going skiing next year .
- I´ve never been sailing.
- I´m used to getting up early / I used to get up early when I was younger 5. Prepositions followed by -ING. Are you interested in working for us ? He is not very good at learning languages. I´m fed up with studying. The children are excited about going on holiday What are the advantages of having a car? John went to work in spite of feeling ill. I bought a new bicycle instead of going away on holiday. - Before going out I phoned Ann. (Before I went out I..........) What did you do after leaving school? (........after you left school) - They got into the house by breaking a kitchen window and climbing in. GERUNDS and INFINITIVES. 1. Fill in the blanks with the verbs in brackets in the form of GERUND or INFINITIVE 1. Delia doesn´t feel like................(GO) to the cinema tonight. 2. She decided......................(not GO)out that evening. 3. Are you hoping..................(GET) a job in London. 4. The teenager denied...................... (STEAL)the car from the carpark. 5. That play wasn´t worth...................(SEE) 6. They planned.......................(GO) on holiday. 7. I promise.........................(WRITE) to you every day while I´m away. 8. The committee disaproves of......................(BUILD) factories too close to houses. 9. Arthur never refuses............................(LEND) money to anyone. 10. Sarah seemed .........................(BE) quite annoyed. 11. It´s no use......................(TEACH) her how to drive; she doesn´t want to learn. 12. Would you mind.....................(HELP) me? 13. They want.......................(BUY) a new car. 14. She learnt.......................(DRIVE) when she was twenty. 15. They didn´t expect..........................(WIN) so much money. 16. When Joe was in South Africa, he just couldn´t get used to.....................(DRIVE)on the left side of the road. 17. Helen dislikes.................(WATCH) fiction. 18. He advised me...........................(REVISE) my English tenses. 19. The family enjoyed.....................(SWIM) in the lake last summer. 20.a/ His father stopped ........................ (SMOKE) six months ago. b/ On the way home he stopped..........................(BUY) some chocolates. 21. They didn´t expect me........................(ARRIVE) until later that evening. 22. Can I persuade you...........................(HAVE) a glass of wine? 23. She doesn´t like.................... (TALK) about people when they aren´t there. 24. Gary is worried about.................. (TELL) his parents that he damaged the car. 25. They are all in favour of .................... (HAVE) an end-of-year party. 26. We invited them...........................(HAVE) a party. 27. That will teach you.............................(MIND) your own bussiness. 28. Many people enjoy....................(TRAVEL) abroad. 29. He told Mary............................(GET) home by midnight. 30. Ian finally succeed in...................(FIND) the job he wanted. 31. We were all sad..........................(SEE) her go. 32. When we lived abroad, we often missed.......................(VISIT) our friends and family.
33. Be careful! That animal is capable of.....................(HURT) you if you make it angry. 34. I was pleased..............................(RECEIVE) his letter. 35. They saw the light..........................(COME)on 36. The dentist told Joe he must give up......................(EAT) sweets. 37. Trevor will be here at five. His boss is going to let him...................................(LEAVE) work early. 38. The judge found the man guilty of..................... (STEAL) over 20 cars. 39. I´m looking forward to....................(SEE) him tomorrow. 40. We all heard the bomb..........................(GO) off. 41. They´ve been talking about...................... (BUY) a new house. 42. Mike isn´t used to.................(WORK) so hard. 43. What is the use of......................(PHONE) the police? 44. a/ Remember..............................(GO) to the bank. You´ve got to pay the bills. b/ I don´t remember.........................(SEE) this film before. 45. Has she finished......................(PAINT) yet? 46. Charlie goes...........................(SWIM) every morning in summer. 47. He left England..........................(LIVE) in another country. 48. When she was a child, she used .............................(HELP) her mother at home. 49. a/ Y regret.........................(LEAVE) school at the age of 16. b/ Y regret...............................(TELL) you that you have failed the test. 50. a/ I´ve been trying.............................(START) this car for hours. b/ Why don´t you try.............................(PUT) some petrol in the tank?
THE INFINITIVE I. FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE: A. TO- INFINITIVE B. INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO A. TO - INFINITIVE. The to- infinitive is used: 1. As a subject or object: To leave now would be a mistake
-
He agreed to meet us tonight.
2. After some verbs and expressions. - Sarah agreed to work late at the office. - He arranged to meet her at the Grand Hotel. - She decided not to go out that evening. - Are you hoping to get a job in London? - They planned to go on holiday. - I promise to write to you every day while I´m away. - Arthur never refuses to lend money to anyone. - Sarah seemed to be quite annoyed. - They want to buy a new car. - They offered to give me a lift. - She learnt to drive when she was 20. - He asked to see the manager. - Our neighbour threatened to phone the police if we didn´t stop the noise. - They didn´t expect to win so much money. - They need to buy a new car. - She regretted to have told the truth. 3. Verbs followed by an object - to-infinitive. Los siguientes verbos pueden ir seguidos de nombre o pronombre que se refieren a otra persona distinta del sujeto.A continuación se añade un infinitivo. - The teacher doesn´t allow the students to eat in class -He advised me to revise my English tenses. - He asked me to help him. - They didn´t expect me to arrive until later that evening. - We invited them to have a party. - I need them to repair the roof. - Can I persuade you to have a glass of wine? - Did you remind her to bring her tennis raket? - That will teach you to mind your own bussiness. - He told Mary to get home by midnight. - Tim wants us to help him tonight. 4. To express purpose She went out to buy some milk. 5. After certain adjectives. - Daniel will be ready to help us soon. - We were all sad to see her go. - Aren´t you happy to be here? - I was pleased to see him. - This exercise is difficult to do.
6. After WOULD LIKE - WOULD LOVE - WOULD PREFER to express specific preference. - I´d love to go for a walk. B- INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO 1. After CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, NEEDN´T, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL and WOULD. - I must speak to the manager. - It might rain later. - Sarah will be away for three days. 2. After MAKE - object and LET - object. - That programme was funny. It really made me laugh. - Trevor will be here at five. His boss is going to let him leave work early. 3. After SEE or HEAR - on object - They saw the light come on. - We all heard the bomb go off.
INFINITIVE or -ING?
I. VERBS TAKING TO-INFINITIVE or -ING without a change in meaning. 1. BEGIN , START, CONTINUE , INTEND - to-infinitive or -ing. However, we never have two -ing forms together. The baby began crying / to cry It´s beginning to get cold. It has started raining / to rain John intends buying a house / to buy a house He continued working / to work after his illness. 2. ADVISE, ALLOW, PERMIT, RECOMMEND , ENCOURAGE when followed by an object or in passive form take a to- infinitive. They take the -ing form when not followed by an object. He doesn´t allow us to smoke here - They aren´t allowed to smoke here.-They don´t allow smoking here. I advised him to see a doctor - He was advised to see a doctor. - I advised seeing a doctor. II. VERBS TAKING TO-INFINITIVE or -ING FORM WITH A CHANGE IN MEANING. 1.FORGET - to- infinitive = not remember FORGET - ing form = forget a past event I´m sorry, I forgot to buy milk He´ll never forget flying over the Alps. 2. REMEMBER - to- infinitive = remember to do sth: Remember to turn off the cooker before leaving. REMEMBER - ing form = recall a past event: I don´t remember staying in this hotel before. 3. REGRET - to-infinitive = be sorry to . I regret to tell you that there is no money left . REGRET - ing form = have second thoughts about sth one has already done. I regret buying / having bought this dress; it doesn´t look nice on me. 4. STOP -to-infinitive = pause temporarily. She stopped to get some petrol before continuing on her journey to Leeds. STOP -ing form = finish, end. Stop talking, please!