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Gerunds and Infinitives:
Verb+Gerund / Verb+ Infinitive
A gerund is a verb
that functions as noun. For example:
- I enjoy playing tennis. I enjoy play
tennis" is incorrect.
- We practice speaking English every
day.
- They just bought a new swimming pool.
In English the infinitive
is made of to and the verb. For example:
- I want to learn a new language.
- You forgot to close the door.
Verbs are often
followed by infinitives or gerunds and choosing
which to use has few fixed rules, it depends
mainly on the individual verb.
Verb + Gerund
Here are some common
verbs that can be followed by gerunds, but not
infinitives.
admit - He admitted
taking the money.
celebrate - We celebrated winning the competition.
deny - The government denied spending too little
on education.
dislike - I dislike complaining.
enjoy - She enjoys meeting her friends.
finish - I finished working there last month.
imagine - I imagine being a waitress is a difficult
job.
keep - Where are my keys? I keep losing them.
mind - I don't mind waiting, we've got time.
miss - I miss talking with my sisters.
remember - Do you remember going to Italy?
risk - Jeff's always late. He risks losing his
job.
stop - Don't stop singing, it's really nice.
suggest - I suggest having lunch first.
Gerunds are also
used after some phrasal verbs. For example:
- If you keep on doing the same thing,
you'll get the same results.
- She wants to give up drinking coffee.
Verb + Infinitive
Below are some common
verbs that can be followed by infinitives, but
not usually gerunds.
aim - I'm aiming
to finish this book by the end of March.
afford - I can't afford to buy new clothes.
agree - My boss agreed to give me a reference.
decide - We decided to have a baby.
deserve - You deserve to have a better score.
forget - Don't forget to lock the door.
hope - I hope to go to Harvard Business School.
learn - I learnt to read when I was 3 years
old.
mean - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you
angry.
need - You don't need to study a lot, you need
to study a little for a long time.
offer - He offered to help me carry these bags.
plan - They plan to go abroad next year.
pretend - He's pretending to be sick.
promise - She promised to be here on time.
refuse - Why do they always refuse to listen?
seem - She seems to be really intelligent.
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Click below for exercises
on gerunds and infinitives.
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