Participles, Gerunds And Infinitives English Grammar Worksheet Page 3
ADVERTISEMENT
1
2
3
4modifies that noun. In the final example, the past tense verb ‘tried’ is followed immediately by the
infinitive, and so the infinitive functions as an adverb because it tells us why the student was ‘trying’.
Gerunds Vs. Infinitives
Writers often have problems deciding if a particular sentence should include a gerund or an infinitive.
One way of determining the difference between the two is to remember that gerunds describe actions
that are real, fixed, or completed, while infinitives describe actions that are unreal, abstract, or in the
future. The following two sentences are an example of this difficulty:
Ex. I remembered taking my passport.
Ex. I remembered to take my passport.
Gerund
Infinitive
The first example includes the gerund ‘taking’ (a noun), and so the phrase ‘taking my passport’
means the speaker recalled an event in the past in which s/he took her/his passport. The second
example, by comparison, includes the infinitive ‘to take’ as an adjective affecting the noun ‘passport’,
which means the speaker in this example is emphasizing that s/he had to bring her/his passport with
her/him because of the possibility (abstract) that s/he might have needed it.
While the previous two sentences have different meanings, there are cases when the gerund or
infinitive form of the same verb can be used to indicate the same idea. Consider the following:
Ex. I anticipate having the report done today.
Ex. I expect to have the report done today.
Gerund
Infinitive
Both of these sentences express the same idea, but one uses a gerund (‘having’) and the other uses
an infinitive (‘to have’). The important difference between the two is their respective verbs: anticipate
vs. expect. The table below lists common verbs that take gerunds or infinitives:
Gerunds
Infinitives
Advise = I advise taking more time.
Agree = He agreed to wait for a better time.
Complete = She completed analyzing the data.
Decide = They have decided to help us.
Consider = Let’s consider eating now.
Hope = I hope to prove my hypothesis.
Discuss = We should discuss having a meeting.
Need = You need to listen.
Involve = This role involves using chemicals.
Prepare = Let’s prepare to leave.
Recommend = I recommend leaving it behind.
Refuse = She refused to be denied.
Suggest = He suggested switching the date.
Want = I want to explain my ideas.
Another way of determining when to use gerunds is by including prepositions in your sentences. This
method works because only gerunds, and never infinitives, follow prepositions.
Ex. She received money after applying for a grant.
Preposition
Gerund
ADVERTISEMENT
0 votes
Related Articles
Related forms
Related Categories
Parent category: Education