We have already talked about gerunds and infinitives usages and differences. in the article below I am going to tell you the most advanced use of gerund and infinitive in English.
The Most Advanced Use of Gerund And Infinitive
Some common verbs followed by a gerund (note that phrasal verbs, marked here with *, always fall into this category):
| acknowledge | She acknowledged receiving assistance. |
| * accuse of | He was accused of smuggling contraband goods. |
| admit | They admitted falsifying the data. |
| advise | The author advises undertaking further study. |
| anticipate | He anticipates having trouble with his supervisor. |
| appreciate | I appreciated having a chance to read your draft. |
| avoid | He avoided answering my question. |
| complete | I finally completed writing my thesis. |
| consider | They will consider granting you money. |
| defer | She deferred writing her report. |
| delay | We delayed reporting the results until we were 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. |
| 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. |
Some common verbs followed by an infinitive:
- afford
- We cannot afford to buy a house in California.
agree - The professors agreed to proofread my essay.
appear - The results appear to support your theory.
arrange - They had arranged to meet at noon.
beg - I beg to speak 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 his money from the bank?
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.
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?
Following a preposition (gerund only)
Gerunds can follow a preposition; infinitives cannot.
- Can you touch your toes without bending your knees?
- He was fined for driving over the speed limit.
- She got the money by selling the car.
- A corkscrew is a tool for taking corks out of bottles.
Note: Take care not to confuse the preposition “to” with an infinitive form, or with an auxiliary form such as have to, used to, going to
- He went back to writing his paper. [PREPOSITION + GERUND]
- I used to live in Mexico. [AUXILIARY + VERB]
- I want to go home. [VERB + INFINITIVE]
Following an indirect object (infinitive only)
Some verbs are followed by a pronoun or a noun referring to a person, and then an infinitive. Gerunds cannot be used in this position.
Some common verbs followed by an indirect object plus an infinitive:
- ask
I must ask you to reconsider your statement. - beg
They begged her to stay for another term. - cause
His findings caused him to investigate further. - challenge
Wilkins challenged Watson to continue the research. - convince
Can we convince them to fund our study? - encourage
She encouraged him to look beyond the obvious. - expect
They did not expect us to win an award. - forbid
The author forbade me to change his wording. - force
They cannot force her to reveal her sources. - hire
Did the department hire him to teach the new course? - instruct
I will instruct her to prepare a handout. - invite
We invite you to attend the ceremony. - need
They need her to show the slides. - order
He ordered the group to leave the building. - persuade
Can we persuade you to contribute again? - remind
Please remind him to check the references. - require
They will require you to submit an outline. - teach
We should teach them to follow standard procedures. - tell
Did she tell him to make three copies? - urge
I urge you to read the instructions before you begin. - want
I do not want you to have an accident. - warn
Why didn’t they warn me to turn down the heat?
Gerund
Present gerund (active form)
Structure 1:
S + GV + Gerund + ROTS
Examples:
- He enjoys reading religious books.
- I hate working with selfish people.
- I dislike teaching lazy students.
Structure 2:
S + GV + object + Gerund + ROTS
Examples:
- I dislike her coming late to class.
- You should stop him from disturbing the class.
Structure 3:
S + be + adjective + preposition + Gerund + ROTS
Examples:
- She is excited about marrying her soul mate.
- I am interested in learning English.
Structure 4:
S + VF + object + preposition + Gerund + ROTS
- I will call you after arriving.
- I met him before leaving Quetta.
- I drank some green tea after teaching my class.
Structure 5:
S + V + preposition + Gerund + ROTS
Examples:
- We always dream about buying a nice house in California.
- I work on writing a new chapter for the weak student.
Structure 6:
S + (be) phrasal Verb + Gerund + ROTS
- I am looking forward to meeting you.
- She is used to driving on the left.
Present Gerund (Passive form):
Structure 1: S + GVF + being + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- Every one dislikes being called stupid.
- He minds being fired for no reason.
- Many students appreciate being taught honestly at EYES.
Structure 2: S + GVF + object + being + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- We recommend the entry test being taken before joining EYES.
- She prefers the dinner being eaten before the cricket match starts on TV.
Structure 3: S + be c + adjective (VC) + preposition + being + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- I am proud of being called a linguist.
- He insisted on being told the truth.
- She complains about being disturbed.
- The students, who come from Quetta University, are proud of being taught by expert teachers at EYES.
Past Gerund (active form):
The active form of past gerund is used to show the present remark/result of a past action. Some specific gerund verbs, such as admit, mention, regret, enjoy, appreciate, remember, imagine, accuse of, apologize for, blame for, responsible for and deny could be used in this case.
Remember: If the first verb of a sentence (the verb used before gerund/infinitive) is in the past form, the past gerund and past infinitive show the past remark/result of a past action.
Structure 1: S + GV + having + V3 + ROTS
Examples:
- He denies having stolen the money.
- He regrets having argued with his teacher.
- I remember having prayed at the park near Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
- Rahimi mentioned having gone to Mexico while living in the city of El Paso.
Structure 2: S + be + adjective + preposition + having + V3 + ROTS
Examples:
- They are blamed for having killed a lot of innocent people.
- He is excited about having had the opportunity to learn English at EYES.
- He is accused of having stolen her heart.
Past Gerund (passive form):
Past Gerund (passive form) is also used to show the present remark/result of a past action, but the only difference is that a transitive verb should be used after been in this case.
Structure 1: S + GV + having been + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- I appreciate having been sent to the U.S.A. for modern education.
- We remember having been taught the basic use of gerund in Step3.
- She denies having been taken to the movies by her fiancé.
Structure 2: S + be + adjective + preposition + having been + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Example:
- He is proud of having been given the gold medal.
- The students are happy about having been taught by Rahimi.
- They are sad about having been told the bad news.
Infinitive
Present infinitive (active form):
Structure 1: S + INF VC + To + V1 + ROTS
Examples:
- We need to serve our country.
- He wants to improve his English at EYES.
- She expects to pass the final test.
Structure 2: S+ INF Vc + Obj + To + V1 + ROTS
Examples:
- We expect our students to study hard.
- She wants me to buy her a golden ring.
- They need us to support their project.
Structure 3: S + be + adjective + to + V1 + ROTS
Examples:
- He is happy to marry the girl he loved so much.
- People will be surprised to see an airplane made in Pakistan.
- We are eager to establish the branches of EYES in Herat and Mazar.
Present infinitive (passive form):
Structure 1: S + INF VC + to be + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- Our students expect to be given the Fulbright scholarships.
- He wishes to be assigned as a teacher at EYES.
- All students want to be taught by strong teachers.
Structure 2: S + INF VC + object + to be + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- I want your homework to be done properly.
- We expect our country to be improved soon.
- We need enough money to be invested in our business.
Structure 3: S + be + adjective + to be + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Examples:
- He is happy to be given the scholarship.
- My friend is lucky to be taken to Dubai for a vacation.
- Everyone is eager to be sent to the paradise.
Past infinitive (active form):
Past infinitive (active form) shows the present remark/result of a past action.
Structure 1: S + INF VC + to have + V3 + ROTS
Examples:
- His clothes are wet.
- He seems to have watered the garden
- Our teacher brags to have traveled to many countries.
- The municipality of Quetta claims to have paved many streets.
Structure 2:
S + be + adjective + to have + V3 + ROTS
- She is lucky to have passed the final test
- I am proud to have studied English grammar in the U.S.A.
Past infinitive (passive form):
Past infinitive (passive form) also shows the present remark/result of a past action. Some specific infinitive verbs such as, seem, appear, remember, look, learn, wish, agree, claim, forget, pretend could be used in this case.
Structure 1: S + INF VC + to have been + V3 (transitive) + ROTS
Example:
- He can`t forget to have been insulted in front of many people.
- She claims to have been given the highest position within the organization.
Structure 2: S + be + adjective + to have been + V3 + ROTS
Examples:
- Obama is happy to have been elected as a president of the U.S.A.
- He is angry to have been given the wrong information.
Conclusion:
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