Gerunds And Infinitives

Gerunds and Infinitives Part 1
1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." 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
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Gerunds can be made negative by adding"not."

Examples:

. He enjoys not working.
. The best thing for your health is not smoking.
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2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. 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 wantsto learn. object of sentence
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Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

. I decided not to go.
. The most important thing is not to give up.
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3. In these examples, gerunds usually sound more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. 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
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4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. 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 toswim. "Want" requires an infinitive.
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5. List of verbs followed by gerunds:

|admit |He admitted cheating on the test. |
|advise |The doctor generally advised drinking low-fat milk. |
|allow |Ireland doesn't allow smoking in bars. |
|anticipate |I anticipatedarriving late. |
|appreciate |I appreciated her helping me. |
|avoid |He avoided talking to her. |
|begin |I began learning Chinese. |
|can't bear |He can't bear having so much responsibility.|
|can't help |He can't help talking so loudly. |
|can't see |I can't see paying so much money for a car. |
|can't stand |He can't stand her smoking in the office. |
|cease |The government ceased providing free healthcare. |
|complete|He completed renovating the house. |
|consider |She considered moving to New York. |
|continue |He continued talking. |
|defend |The lawyer defended her making such statements. |
|delay |He delayed doing histaxes. |
|deny |He denied committing the crime. |
|despise |She despises waking up early. |
|discuss |We discussed working at the company. |
|dislike |She dislikes working after 5 PM.|
|don't mind |I don't mind helping you. |
|dread |She dreads getting up at 5 AM. |
|encourage |He encourages eating healthy foods. |
|enjoy |We enjoy hiking. |
|finish...