| Infinitives
Form
| |
Infinitive |
Examples |
| Active |
to see |
I hope to see you again.
He promised not to see the girl. |
| Passive |
to be seen |
Such disgusting scenes
are not to be seen here. |
Form
- The infinitive is the form of the verb NOT
changed for person, number or tense. It is usually introduced with to.
- The negative is formed by putting not
before the infinitive.
Usage
| The to-infinitive is
used |
Examples |
| 1. as subject. |
To find fault
is easy. |
| 2. as object. |
He refused to pay
the bill. |
| 3. after a noun. |
There is a lot of work
to do/to be done today. |
| 4. after an adjective. |
She was happy to win the prize. |
| 5. after a question
word. |
I don¡¦t know what to
do. |
| 6. after the verb to
be. |
She is to see her class
teacher after school. |
| 7. after certain verbs. |
He wants to become a
lawyer. |
| 8. after too/enough constructions. |
He has got enough money
to live on. |
| 9. with only to express
disappointment. |
She came in only to
find her boyfriend had left. |
| 10. in expressions:
to begin with/be honest |
To tell the truth, I
don¡¦t like him. |
Bare infinitives
Form - The infinitive is used without to after
certain verbs.
Usage
| The bare infinitive
is used |
Examples |
| 1. after the verbs do,
does and did. |
He did not write
down the answer. |
| 2. after modal verbs- can,could,should,will
¡K |
You can leave
now if you want. |
| 3. after perception
verbs- see,hear,smell,feel.. |
I saw Tom run
out of the bank. |
4. after let
and make.
(passive + to-infinitive) |
They made him pay
for the damage.
He was made to pay for the damage. |
| 5. after would rather,
had better. |
I would rather not
go out tonight.
I had better stay at home. |
| 6. after except,cannot
but, can do nothing but. |
We could do nothing
except/ but wait. |
Gerunds
Form
| |
Gerunds |
Examples |
| Active |
seeing |
Seeing is not
believing. |
| Passive |
being seen |
She does not mind
being seen to work in the restaurant. |
Form
- The gerund is a verb ending in - ing. It
acts as a noun.
- The negative is formed by adding not before
the gerund.
Usage
| The gerund is used |
Examples |
| 1. as a noun
¡V subject/ object. |
Reading is fun.
Your car needs washing. |
| 2. after prepositions. |
The child is fond of
playing chess. |
| 3. after certain verbs:
spend, waste, avoid ¡K |
He spends his
free time digging the garden. |
| 4. after possessive
adjectives/ noun+¡¦s. |
Do you mind my joining
you on the trip? |
| 5. after go + verb¡Ving
(activities) |
Let¡¦s go shopping/
swimming/ camping. |
| 6. after be busy/
worth. |
He is busy doing exercise.
It is worth seeing. |
7. after certain
phrases:
look forward to/ devoted to/ objected to/
consent to/ used to/ accustomed to¡K |
I look forward to
seeing you soon.
I am not used to going to bed late.
He objected to pulling down the old house. |
8. after certain expressions:
It¡¦s no use/good¡KThere¡¦s no/no point in..
It¡¦s a waste of time/money¡K
have difficulty(in) /can¡¦t help
as/ like/ than |
It is no use crying over spilt milk.
There is no joking about this matter.
It is a waste of time playing online games.
I can¡¦t help laughing.
It was like being in the desert - so quiet! |
Verb + to-infinitive
or ¡Ving?
Usage
1. The to-infinitive and the gerund are used after certain verbs.
| The to-infinitive
is used after certain verbs: |
The gerund
is used after certain verbs: |
afford, agree, appear,
ask, attempt, decide,
expect, fail, hope, learn, manage, offer, plan,
prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem,
threaten, want, wish ¡K
e.g. He offered
to help us.
|
admit, anticipate,
appreciate, avoid, consider,
delay, discuss, enjoy, escape, excuse,
fancy, finish, forgive, imagine, involve, keep
mention, mind, miss, object to, practise,
prevent, postpone, quit, recall, report, resent,
resist, risk, save, stand, suggest, tolerate ¡K
e.g. We should avoid making mistakes. |
2. Either the to-infinitive
or gerund can be used after certain verbs with no difference in
meaning.
advise, allow, begin,
bother, can¡¦t bear, continue, encourage, hate, intend, like,
love, permit, prefer, ropose, recommend, require, start ...
e.g. We started
to do/ doing our summer homework.
|
3. Verbs taking to-infinitives
or gerunds have a change in meaning.
| Verbs taking to-infinitives |
Verbs taking gerunds |
1. forget: forget to do sth
e.g. I¡¦m sorry, I forgot to lock the car. |
1. forget: forget a past event
e.g. We¡¦ll never forget visiting Paris. |
2. remember: remember to do sth
e.g. Remember to read the instructions. |
2. remember: recall a past event
e.g. I don¡¦t remember meeting Ali before. |
3. mean: intend to
e.g. He means to move to New York. |
3. mean: involve
e.g. Love means sharing. |
4. try: do one¡¦s best; attempt
e.g. She tried hard to cope with her job. |
4. try: do sth as an experiment
e.g. Try adding more sauce to your pasta. |
5. stop: pause temporarily
e.g. He stopped to buy a gift on his way. |
5. stop: finish; cease
e.g. Stop talking to each other, please! |
6. regret: be sorry to
e.g. I regret to tell you that you¡¦ve failed. |
6. regret: feel sorry for what we¡¦ve done
e.g. I regret telling lies. |
7. be sorry: feel sad
e.g. I¡¦m sorry to hear the bad news. |
7. be sorry for: apologise
e.g. I¡¦m sorry for being late. |
8. hate: hate what one is about to do
e.g. I hate to interrupt, but I must do so. |
8. hate: feel sorry for what one is doing
e.g. I hate making you feel uncomfortable. |
9. be afraid: too frightened to do sth
e.g. I¡¦m afraid to walk over that bridge. |
9. be afraid of: afraid that sth may happen
e.g. She is afraid of being too fat. |
10. would prefer/love/like: specific preference
e.g. I ¡¥d prefer/like to see the manager. |
10. prefer/love/like: in general
e.g. I prefer/love watching TV. |
11. want/need: wish/ have to
e.g. I want/need to find a better job. |
11. want/ need: sth needs to be done
e.g. Your dress wants/needs cleaning. |
12. go: action
e.g. He went to see his sick grandparents. |
12. go: for activities
e.g. We often go shopping/ hiking. |
13. go on: finish doing sth & start to do sth
e.g. After sleeping, she went on to study. |
13. go on: continue
e.g. She goes on doing exercise.
|
Note
1. I saw Ken swim. It spent him an hour. (I saw the whole action from
beginning to end.)
I saw Ken swimming. ( I saw part of the action. I didn¡¦t wait until
he had finished.)
2. The teacher doesn¡¦t allow us to eat in class. (object + to-infinitive)
We are not allowed to eat in class. (passive form + to-infinitive)
The teacher doesn¡¦t allow eating in class. (verb + gerund)
Participles
Form
| Form |
Usage |
Examples |
| Present participle (verb+ing) |
- tell what sbd/sth is
- being active |
- The film was exciting.
- The burning candle was mine. |
| Past participle (verb+ed) |
- tell how sbd feel
- being passive |
- The students were excited.
- The burnt candle was mine. |
Sentence Transformation
1 a. Driving fast is dangerous.
b. It is dangerous to drive fast.
2 a. I prefer driving to flying.
b. I prefer to drive rather (than) fly.
3 a. They made him admit his guilt.
b. He was made to admit his guilt.
4 a. They let him enter the building.
b. They allowed him to enter the building.
5 a. She was too inexperienced to get the job.
b. She wasn¡¦t experienced enough to get the job.
6 a. We were interested in the lecture.
b. The lecture was interesting to us.
7 a. Could you clean up the room?
b. Do/Would you mind cleaning up the room?
c. Would you be so kind as to clean up the room?
8 a. It was difficult for him to do the crossword.
b. He had difficulty (in) doing the crossword.
c. He found it difficult to do the crossword.
d. He could hardly do the crossword.
9 a. It took her an hour to prepare the meal.
b. She took an hour to prepare the meal.
c. Preparing the meal took her an hour.
d. She spent an hour preparing the meal.
Ouiz
Notes & Exercises
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