In this occasion, I am going to be dealing with two the important parts of the English language , they are gerunds and infinitives.
Definitions:
- Gerund : it is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) acts as a noun within the larger sentence.
| Gerunds are nouns formed from verbs: | walking, talking, thinking, listening | |
 | Gerunds are formed by adding ING to verbs: | think + ing thinking |
However, there are a few spelling rules that you need to know in order to form gerunds correctly. The spelling of a gerund depends on the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and consonants (b, c, d, f, etc.) at the end of the verb:
| If there is more than one consonant, just add ING: | |
| thinking | |
| If there is more than one vowel, just add ING: | |
| beating | |
| If there is one vowel and one consonant, and the syllable is stressed, double the consonant and add ING: | ||||
hitting
| ||||
examples:
- Reading helps you learn English. subject of sentence
- Her favorite hobby is reading. complement of sentence
- I enjoy reading. object of sentence.
Examples:
- He enjoys not working.
- The best thing for your health is not smoking.
admit, discuss ,finish ,miss, quit, give up, postpone stop (=quit), avoid resist, consider, dislike keep on practice think about
recommend ,put off ,enjoy, mind, suggest ,go _ activity.
MUST be followed by a gerund:Practice:http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/gerund1.htm
- Infinitive : it is the simple present form of a verb used as either a noun, adjective, or adverb. The verb of the infinitive is normally preceded by the word to. When the infinitive follows some verbs as the direct object, the to may be dropped.
Examples:
- -He urged me to give up fried food.
- She didn’t hesitate to tell the boss that some employees were stealing office supplies.
- The MaThe school promised to help me find an apartmentrtin .
- Family offered to watch their neighbor’s dog for the whole week.
want, need ,would like ,hope, expect ,agree, seem, appear ,learn ,mean ,try, forget ,offer ,and agree.
There are some cases in which verbs allows us to use both ( a gerund or an infinitive). They are:
attempt, continue, intend ,plan, begin ,dread, like, prefer, hate, love, start, stop, try and cannot stand.
The doctor advised me to reduce my fat intake.
Exercises:
| In most other cases, just add ING: | |
| studying | |
| seeing | |
