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Gerund and Infinitives Part1

Date: Oct 18 2007

Author: fairy77

Lesson

Gerunds and Infinitives Part 1

1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.

Examples:

· Reading helps you learn English. subject of sentence

· Her favorite hobby is reading. complement of sentence

· I enjoy reading. object of sentence

Gerunds can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

· He enjoys not working.

· The best thing for your health is not smoking.

2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn." You can also use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.

Examples:

· To learn is important. subject of sentence

· The most important thing is to learn. complement of sentence · He wants to learn. object of sentence

Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

· I decided not to go.

· The most important thing is not to give up.

3. Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a sentence. However, as subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. In the following sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more common in everyday English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential for something and sound more philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just remember that 90% of the time, you will use a gerund as the subject or complement of a sentence.

Examples:

· Learning is important. normal subject

· To learn is important. abstract subject - less common

· The most important thing is learning. normal complement

· The most important thing is to learn. abstract complement - less common

4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. In such situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence determines whether you use a gerund or an infinitive.

Examples:

· He enjoys swimming. "Enjoy" requires a gerund.

· He wants to swim. "Want" requires an infinitive.

5. Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects.

Examples:

· She suggested going to a movie.

· Mary keeps talking about her problems.

6. Some verbs are followed by infinitives.

Examples:

· She wants to go to a movie.

· Mary needs to talk about her problems.

Comments

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aliyatul_hikmah

Indonesia

Keep Smiling

salimelarabi

Tunisia

Useful, thanks for your efforts.

imranzaidi

Pakistan

Great Lesson through a simple way .. Really its able to be praised … now i can more clearly distinguish between gerund and infinitive .. before reading this lesson this concept was confusing for me …. i have really enjoyed this lesson .. thanks a lot .. Englishbaby.com .

Anjella.Uz

Uzbekistan

it was useful for me:)

memory27

Myanmar

very usefull for all…..

Bruce Cheng

Benin

The creator of the CRAZY ENGLISH Liyang says:DON`T SHY ,JUST TRY! We should love losing face.

kyawsoe

Myanmar

It is very useful and I like this lesson.

m4bhu

India

its a meaningful lession especially 4 me thanks a lot

yuki gao

China

if there is some exercise, it would be perfect. i understand after i read ,but it is difficult when you do i t or speak it

fred_edik

Azerbaijan

Hi.It is first time I'm here.I is more useful.Thanks

rosabella

Egypt

Thanks for this useful lesson

enyioma

Nigeria

love it

kogyi

Norway

very very useful and important for everyone who interesting to study English.

flashrak

Pakistan

Hmmm!sounds realy great to me more now because my teacher taught me and now i have more sufficient knowledge about GERUND by means of this defination.

so keep doing may GOD save you!