6A gerunds and infinitives
v erb s t h a t can be follow ed by e ith e r g eru n d or infinitive
v e rb s follow ed by th e g erund, th e infinitive, or th e b a s e form
1 1enjoy listening co m u sic. I couldn’t help laughing. 2 I want to speak to y o u . T h e y can’t afford to buy a new' car. 3 It might rain to n ig h t. I'd rather eat in th a n g o o u t to n ig h t.
1 it sta rte d to rain. It sta rte d raining. 2 R em em ber to lo ck th e d o o r. 1 rem em ber goin g to L im a as a c h ild . S o rry , I fo rg o t to do it. I'll n e v e r forget seein g th e T aj M a h al. I tried to open th e w in d o w . T ry callin g Yi Y i o n h e r cell p h o n e . Y ou need to clean th e car. The c a r n eeds cleaning.
3 37)))
W h e n o n e verb follow s a n o th e r, th e first verb d e te rm in e s th e fo rm o f the seco n d . T h is c a n be th e g e ru n d (verb + - ing) o r th e in fin itiv e (w ith to), o r the b ase fo rm (w ith o u t to).
1 U se th e gerund a fte r c e rta in v erb s a n d e x p ressio n s, e.g., enjoy, can't help. • W h e n a p h ra sa l verb is follow ed by a n o th e r verb, th e v e rb is th e gerund, e.g., keep on, give up, lookforward to, etc. 2 U se th e infinitive (with t o ) a fte r c e r ta in v e rb s a n d e x p re s s io n s , e.g., want, afford. 3 U se th e base form (without t o ) a f te r m o d a l v e rb s a n d s o m e e x p re ssio n s, e.g., might, would rather, a n d a fte r th e v e rb s make a n d let. • In th e p assiv e, make is fo llo w e d b y th e in fin itiv e . C o m p a re My boss makes us work hard. At school we were made t o wear a uniform.
3 38)))
1 S o m e v e rb s c a n b e fo llo w ed b y th e g e ru n d o r th e in fin itiv e w ith no difference in m eaning. T h e m o st c o m m o n v e rb s lik e th is a re start, begin, a n d
continue. 2 S o m e v e rb s c a n be fo llo w e d by th e g e ru n d o r th e in fin itiv e w ith a change o f m eaning. -
page 164 Appendix Verb patterns: verbs followed by the gerund or infinitive
remember + in fin itiv e = you re m e m b e r firs t, th e n y o u d o s o m e th in g . Remember + g e ru n d = y o u d o s o m e th in g th e n you re m e m b e r it.
and p r e f e r like, love, hate, and prefer are usually used with the gerund in English but can also be used w ith the infinitive. We tend to use the gerund when we ta lk generally and the infinitive when we talk specifically, e.g., I like swimming, (general) / like to swim firs t thing in the morning when there aren’t many people there, (specific) I prefer riding a bike to driving, (general) You don't need to give me a ride to the train station. I prefer to walk (specific) When like, love, hate, and prefer are used w ith would, they are always followed by the infinitive, e.g., I’d prefer to stay a t home tonight, I'd love to come with you.
- forget + in fin itiv e = y o u d id n 't re m e m b e r to d o s o m e th in g . forget + g e ru n d = You d id s o m e th in g a n d y o u w o n 't fo rg e t it. I t is m o re c o m m o n in th e n eg ativ e.
l ik e , lo v e , h a t e ,
a
C o m p le te w ith a g e ru n d o r a n in fin itiv e o f a v e rb f ro m t h e lis t.
carry call take w ait
try + in fin itiv e = m ak e a n e ffo rt to d o s o m e th in g . try + g e ru n d = e x p e rim e n t to se e i f s o m e th in g w o rk s.
-
need + g e ru n d is a p a ssiv e c o n s tr u c tio n , e.g., needs cleaning = n e e d s to b e c le a n e d N O T needs to clean.
(C i r c l e ) t h e c o r r e c t f o r m . Y o u r h a i r needs (cutting)/ to cut. It's r e a lly lo n g !
dean work
come
do
drive
eat o ut
go out
I ’m e x h a u s te d ! I d o n 't fe e l lik e going out to n ig h t. 1 I s u g g e s t ____________ a ta x i t o t h e a i r p o r t to m o rro w '. I t'l l b e m u c h q u ic k e r. 2 E v e n th o u g h t h e s n o w w a s r e a lly d e e p , w e m a n a g e d t o t h e lo c a l s to r e a n d b a c k . 3 W e 'd b e t t e r ____________ s o m e s h o p p in g - t h e r e i s n ’t m u c h fo o d f o r th e w e e k e n d . 4 I'm v e ry im p a tie n t. I c a n 't s t a n d ____________ i n lin e s . 5 I w a s e x h a u ste d a n d a y o u n g m a n o ffe re d _________ m y bags. 6 M y p a r e n t s u s e d t o m a k e m e ____________ m y r o o m . 7 W e t h r e a t e n e d ____________ t h e p o lic e i f t h e b o y s d i d n 't s to p t h r o w i n g s to n e s . 8 D o y o u fe e l l i k e ____________ t o t h e g y m w i t h m e ? 9 I ’d p r e f e r ____________ in s te a d o f g e tt in g ta k e o u t. 10
b
-
I d o n ’t m i n d ___________ la te to n ig h t i f y o u w a n t m e to .
1 I’ll n e v e r f o rg e t to see / seeing t h e G r a n d C a n y o n f o r th e f i r s t tim e . 2 I n e e d to call / calling t h e h e lp lin e . M y c o m p u t e r h a s c ra s h e d . 3 H a v e y o u t r i e d to take / taking a p ill to h e lp y o u sle e p ? 4 I ’m s u r e m y k e y s a r e s o m e w h e r e . I c a n r e m e m b e r
to lock I locking t h e d o o r t h i s m o r n in g . 5 I h a d t o r u n h o m e b e c a u s e I h a d f o r g o t te n to turn /
turning t h e o v e n o ff. 6 O u r h o u s e n e e d s to paint / painting. D o y o u k n o w a n y g o o d h o u s e p a in te r s ? 7 D id y o u r e m e m b e r to send / sending y o u r s is te r a c a rd ? I t's h e r b i r t h d a y to d a y . 8 W e tr i e d to learn / learning t o sk i la s t w i n t e r , b u t w e w e r e n ’t v e ry g o o d a t it.
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