2. Gerunds
• The gerund looks exactly the same as a
present participle, but it is useful to
understand the difference between the two.
The gerund always has the same function as a
noun (although it looks like a verb). Some uses
of the gerund are covered on this page. A
separate page deals with verbs that are
followed by the gerund.
3. Gerunds can be used after certain
verbs including enjoy, fancy, discuss,
dislike, finish, mind, suggest,
recommend, keep, and avoid.
• After prepositions of place and time.
I made dinner before getting home.
He looked unhappy after seeing his work schedule.
• To replace the subject or object of a sentence
Lachlan likes eating coconut oil.
Jumping off a cliff is dangerous, but a real thrill.
4. Examples:
• Flying makes me nervous.
• One of his duties is attending meetings.
• She is good at painting.
• I am giving Sally a driving lesson.
• One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.
5. Infinitives
• An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to
plus a verb (in its simplest "stem" form) and
functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb. The
term verbal indicates that an infinitive, like the
other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and
therefore expresses action or a state of being.
However, the infinitive may function as a subject,
direct object, subject complement, adjective, or
adverb in a sentence. Although an infinitive is
easy to locate because of the to + verb form,
deciding what function it has in a sentence can
sometimes be confusing.
6. Infinitives can be used after certain verbs
including agree, ask, decide, help, plan,
hope, learn, want, would like, and promise.
• After many adjectives:
It is hard to make dinner this late.
I find it difficult to describe my feelings about writing
research essays.
• To show purpose:
I left for Russia to study Russian.
I came to the office to solve the mystery of the
missing keys.
7. Examples:
• They went to see their friend.
• The exercises are easy to do.
• I came early in order to get good seats.
• The workout was easy to do.
• We will be glad to help you with your homework.
