Dancing? How else do you know if an adjective should be followed by an infinitive? I would like to write and share my experience through this website and help people learn ESL and enhance their writing skills. can take anywhere. These include decide, want, promise, plan and forget.. She decided to go with Elliot instead. When in doubt, use a dictionary! Answer Key . After the straightforward rules for verbs like manage (infinitive) and enjoy (gerund) it can be quite difficult for students to grasp the difference in meaning between a verb like try which can be followed by both, but with different meanings. Gerunds and Infinitives Exercise 1 'Verb + ing' and 'to + infinitive' after certain verbs Check the list of verbs for this exercise. One of the difficulties of the English language is to know whether to use a gerund (ex : doing) or an infinitive (ex : to do). B: These verbs must be followed by a gerund: You could say this actually makes sense: the gerund describes an action, something you do. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. With practice, you will be able to remember which one is which. I like reading books, but I hate writing. She practices playing the piano all the time. So, it is possible to use both infinitives and gerunds as subjects, but gerunds are much more commonly used as subjects. After the main verb, both gerunds and infinitives can be used. Gerunds are formed by adding “-ing” to the verb: “sleeping,” “drawing,” “swimming.” But they are not the “-ing” verb forms that you see in the present or past continuous tense. (I was doing something else, and I stopped; the smoking had not happened yet.) (See all the gerund and infinitive exercises here) Here's my video on the subject: We use gerunds (verb + ing): After certain verbs - I enjoy singing; After prepositions - I drank a cup of coffee before leaving Part Two: Key rules* *For all of these rules, if students ask you why , unfortunately, the answer is just that these are the rules—there’s no reason, this is … I would like to be an anchor in the function. One of the difficulties of the English language is to know whether to use a gerund  (ex: doing) or an infinitive (ex: to do). Note that these rules are taken from our Grammar Practice Worksheets lesson on Gerunds & Infinitives and are in our Resources section for your convenience. Many lessons can be centered around this information. When a verb follows a verb it either takes the gerund or infinitive form. For example: I stopped to smoke. You may not see “but” and “except” used this way often. This handy chart includes a summary of the rules of when to choose a gerund or an infinitive. Here are a few rules: Gerund: In this sentence, the words singing and laughing function as nouns, making them gerunds. This rule is useful enough to understand the usage of infinitives! Gerunds and Infinitives. Verbs with infinitives and gerunds. Although we do not find many infinitives in this next category, it is not uncommon to find gerunds taking on the role of Object of a Preposition:. Becoming a millionaire is a dream of many young people today. FIVE SIMPLE RULES. You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence. English learners have difficulty with gerunds and infinitives. And knowing the difference between them and using them correctly are essential to speaking English properly, especially in business English settings. Going to the beach? Indeed a gerund is a noun made from a verb. FIVE SIMPLE RULES. We decided to buy a house instead of by buying a new car. The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. You are very kind. Simple Rules to Master the Use of Gerunds and Infinitives. The more you notice gerunds and infinitives in your study of the English language, the easier it will get! Examples: Walking in the morning is … Complete exercises 11 - 20 to see if you understand what you've learned in parts 1 and 2. By Pacchy Students have a nice presentation about the use of to infinitive or ing form and do exercises about it. Click here to know about the subject, the complement and object of a sentence. The idea here is that gerunds are general in meaning whereas infinitives gives us a little bit more specific information. Often we use the infinitive for actions that follow the action of the main verb. Please check your email for further instructions. There are different types of infinitive in English. (Visiting my uncle was an action of my decision), I want to go out. Among these are which verbs (and adjectives and adverbs) should be followed by a gerund, which by an infinitive… It is formal and it is art. (noun; direct object of the verb like) . 2. Or maybe you will soon decide to travel the world! Some certain verbs can come after gerund or infinitive. 3. The students need to fill in the spaces with either the infinitive or the gerund form of the verb in brackets. She didn’t forget to phone.. 4. Activity components. (gerund – verb + ing) I want to see a movie. You will learn them naturally, as you progress in your English studies. The following exercises provide you with training in the use of and contrast between these forms in Spanish. Use gerunds after some expressions such as: An infinitive is to + the base verb (the verb with no ending). Using gerunds here would be incorrect. 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