Grammar Land

Saturday 6 August 2011

Gerunds and Infinites

Verbs Followed by an Infinitive She agreed to speak before the game.
agree aim appear arrange ask attempt be able beg begin care choose condescend	consent continue dare decide deserve detest dislike expect fail forget get happen	have hesitate hope hurry intend leap leave like long love mean neglect	offer ought plan prefer prepare proceed promise propose refuse remember say	shoot start stop strive swear threaten try use wait want wish

Verbs Followed by an Object and an Infinitive Everyone expected her to win.
advise allow ask beg bring build buy challenge	choose command dare direct encourage expect forbid force	have hire instruct invite lead leave let like	love motivate order pay permit persuade prepare promise	remind require send teach tell urge want warn
Note: Some of these verbs are included in the list above and may be used without an object.

Verbs Followed by a Gerund They enjoyed working on the boat.
admit advise appreciate avoid can't help complete consider	delay deny detest dislike enjoy escape excuse	finish forbid get through have imagine mind miss	permit postpone practice quit recall report resent	resist resume risk spend (time) suggest tolerate waste (time)

Verbs Followed by a Preposition and a Gerund We concentrated on doing well.
admit to approve of argue about believe in care about complain about concentrate on confess to	depend on disapprove of discourage from dream about feel like forget about insist on object to	plan on prevent (someone) from refrain from succeed in talk about think about worry about

Both Gerund & Infinitive - No Meaning Change
The verbs below are common verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives.
The meaning of sentence
infinitive.
* begin
* like
* hate
* start
* love
* can't stand
* continue
* prefer
* can't bear
EXAMPLES:
* Sophorn began to sing.
Sophorn began singing.

* Sokhom liked to go to school when she was a girl.
Sokhom liked going to school when she was a girl.

* Choudy loves to talk with her friends.
Choudy loves talking with her friends.

* Rosa prefers to watch movies in Spanish.
Rosa prefers watching movies in Spanish.

does not change whether you use the gerund or
Both Gerund & Infinitive - Meaning Change
The verbs below are common verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives.
The meaning of sentence
* remember
* regret
* stop
* forget
* try
EXAMPLES
* Wei remembered to go to the store on his way home from school.
does change whether you use the gerund or infinitive.
This means that Wei did go to the store on his way home. He didn't forget to
go to the store.

Wei remembered going to the store on his way home from school.
This means that Wei went to the store at some time in the past and he
remembered doing it.

* Latasha regretted to tell the student that his essay was deleted.
This means that Latasha was sorry for the student because the essay was
deleted. In this case, regret refers to telling someone bad news.
Latasha regretted telling the student that his essay was deleted.

This means that Latasha personally felt bad because she told the student
that his essay was deleted. She may feel bad because something bad may
have happened afterwards such as the student later got angry and started
yelling.
* Paul stopped to smoke.
This means that Paul was doing something but then he stopped doing it to
smoke.
Paul stopped smoking.
This means that Paul used to smoke (cigarettes, cigars, etc.) but he doesn't
smoke now.
* Jerome forgot to go to the bank.
This means that Jerome did not go the bank.
Jerome forgot going to the bank.
This means that Jerome went to the bank at some time in the past but he
doesn't remember doing it.
* Maria tried to close the window.
This means that Maria attempted (made a physical effort) to close the
window but she was unable to do it.
Because it was very cold in her home, Maria tried closing the window.
Maria then tried turning up the heat.
This means that Maria was attempting to solve the problem of being cold.
Try + gerund means to attempt to solve something. Because she was cold,
Maria first closed the window. However, she was still cold, so she then
turned up the heat. Both actions, closing the window and turning up the
heat, were accomplished by Maria.