THE INFINITIVE

To express purpose:
He reduced his working hours to look after the children.

1.-Complete the following sentences, using an infinitive with "to".

a) He´s got to go on a diet...................................................................................................
b) We´ve decided to employ an architect............................................................................
c) They telephoned the police..............................................................................................
d) There´s a plumber coming tomorrow..............................................................................
e) I went to the doctor´s ......................................................................................................
f) We had to call the Fire Brigade.......................................................................................
g) He joined the army..........................................................................................................
h) ......................................the team will have to play extremely well.

After adjectives:
We know we are unlikely to have a house with all mod cons.
Women are freer to express their emotions.

Also with too + adjective, and adjective + enough

This tea is too hot ( for me ) to drink.
Are you strong enough to lift that by yourself?

2.-To complete the following sentences, choose an adjective from List A and a verb
from List B. Don´t forget to use " to " with the infinitive

List A: delighted, certain, simple, important, hard, amazed, anxious, disappointed.

List B: meet, check, know, use, believe, be, hear, see.

a) They told me in the shop that this camera was.........................................but I can´t

get used to it at all!
b) I was.......................................................from his mother that he didn´t get the job he
wanted so much.
c) I´m sure you´re all very...........................................what your exam results are.
d) You can wait for him if you like - He´s...................................................home before
6 o´clock.
e) It´s ....................................................it´s June when you see all this rain!
f) I´ve learned so much about you and I´m..................................................you at last.
g) We were all ...........................................your picture in the paper. How on earth did
that come about?
h) It´s very .......................................................that the electricity is switched off before
you start.

3.-Complete the following sentences:

a) This case is too heavy for me.............................................................................
b) There aren´t enough eggs....................................................................................
c) Is the runway long enough for the plane.............................................................
d) The weather is too bad for the ship.....................................................................
e) He´s too short-sighted .........................................................................................
f) Have you had enough practice............................................................................

After main verbs:

Pam has learnt not to be too concerned about the standard of housework
They seem to have it all taped
Other common verbs which take a infinitive with " to " are:
Afford ask expect help manage
Agree begin fail hope offer
Pretend prepare arrange choose happen
Intend promise prefer refuse
After the object of a verb:
He taught me to play the piano
Other common verbs which take an object followed by an infinitive with " to " are:
Advise encourage force intend order
Allow expect get invite persuade
Ask forbid help leave prefer
Tell recommend remind want warn

4.-Complete the following sentences with suitable verbs from the two lists above. Fill in
an object where necessary.

a) We did everything we could to ....................................come with us, but he refused.

b) Would you..........................have tea or coffee?
c) If you.................................see him, please give him my regards.
d) Could you .....................................set the alarm for 6 a.m. ? It would be terrible if I
overslept.
e) When I was a child, my parents................................... play in the street, though I
wanted to.
f) Are you sure you can...................................to buy a new car? Wouldn´t a second
hand one be wiser.
g) He.....................................take a course in typing and said it would be very useful for
me.
h) When I leave school, I.................................get a job in a television studio.
i) If you take on an assistant, it will..................................get through your work more
quickly.
j) I ......................................climb the tree, but you ignored me. Now I don´t know how
we´ll get you down.

After some auxiliary verbs:

He has to make an effort
You need to take more care.
Other verbs in this group are: be, ought, used

THE INFINITIVE WITHOUT " TO " IS USED:

-After modal verbs.
You should come and see us more often.
Other verbs in this group are: will, shall, would, should, can, could, may, might, must.
-After " make " and " let ":
You can´t make me do anything! Let the next patient come in now
-After "would rather", "had better" and "why not...?"
I´d rather take a train (than fly) You´d better stay in bed Why not come with us?

THE GERUND
The Gerund or -ing form is a verbal noun. Gerunds can:

a)Stand on their own as nouns: Camping´s fine for a couple of weeks.

b)Follow certain verbs: I enjoy camping very much.
c)Follow prepositions: I like the idea of camping.
1.-GERUNDS AFTER PREPOSITIONS

1.-There have been several examples of gerunds following prepositions in the texts so
far. Choose the correct preposition from the list below to complete the sentences.
While after before without by

a)They decided to warm up...................cycling on.

b)The horseman rode for over a mile.......................stopping at a large camp in the
mountains.
c)By about 10 am we were back on the road.......................thanking the man for
everything he had done.
d)(The two cyclists reached India). There............................cycling through a small
village on the road, they met a young man.
e)Mat rode straight over.........................even slowing down.

In fact the gerund may be used after all prepositions. Here is another example.
It´s just a case of changing the money as you get into the new country.

2.-Complete the following sentences by adding the correct prepositions and the gerund
form of a suitable verb. (There is a list of the missing prepositions below if you need
help)

a)I left home as soon as I was capable..............................enough money to live on.

b)I would never use your telephone................................your permission first.
c)He explained that the machine was used.............................the bread into thin slices.
d)I´m afraid I´m awfully bad.........................names. What´s yours again?
e)She insisted...............................her share of the bill.
f)He gave up his job because he was fed up.............................such long hours.
g)My parents did nothing to prevent me...............................a pop music group.
h)I had some difficulty......................................a taxi at the station.

At for from in of on with without

The gerund also follows "to" when is is used as a preposition. The phrases below are
the most common examples of this use and are well worth remembering!

Look forward to object to prefer.......to.......... be used to

3.-Finish the sentences below with a suitable gerund form.

a)There´s a small entrance fee and so far no one has objected

to........................................
b)Although he´s a champion jockey, he actually prefers breeding dogs to.........................
c)Now I´ve got a relly good camera. I´m looking forward to.............................................
d)Don´t worry about leaving me in charge of the children, I´m quite used to....................

2.-GERUNDS AFTER VERBS

We have studied before that verbs showing preference are usually followed by gerunds
(like, hate, prefer), however the list is longer; here you have other common verbs which
are also followed by gerunds:

Admit dislike involve practise

Appreciate enjoy keep put off
Avoid finish mention resist
Consider give up mind risk
Delay can´t help miss suggest
 Deny imagine postpone can´t stand

1.-Match the two halves of the sentences below so that they make sense.

a.He had been considering 1.meeting again till September.

b.The smell of the soup put me off 2.getting completely lost.
c.In court she strongly denied 3.starting his own company.
d.He looked so funny that I couldn´t help 4.being anywhere near the scene of
the crime.
e.If you don´t take a map you risk 5.wanting to taste it.
f.Before our holiday we practised 6.opening the window.
g.As everyone was away we postponed 7.laughing out loud
h.It´s so hot, would you mind 8.saying a few phrases in Greek

2.-Complete the following sentences with suiltable gerunds.

a)If you seriously want to save money, you´d better give up..............................................
b)I don´t mind most housework but I can´t stand................................................................
c)The puppies looked so sweet that I couldn´t resist...........................................................
d)If you want to learn to ride a horse you won´t be able to avoid.......................................
e)Must you keep.....................................?It´s really annoying.
f)I´d hate to be a miner. Can you imagine.............................................?
g)Can I have the newspaper if you´ve finished..............................................?
h)The man the police caught finally admitted.....................................................................
i)When he said he´d forgotten the phone number, I suggested...........................................
j)My job as Tourist Officer for Birmingham involves........................................................

3.GERUNDS AFTER OTHER EXPRESSIONS

Gerunds are also always used after the expressions in the following examples.

It´s no use crying about It´s no good complaining to me!

The exam isn´t worth worrying

GERUND AND INFINITIVE

1.Some verbs can be followed by either the gerund or infinitive with no difference,
or only a small difference in meaning.

a) like, love, hate, prefer. (Anyway, as we studied before, it is more common to

use them followed by gerunds). For example:

-Do you watch much TV? Well, I like watching/ to watch the brakfast show = enjoy (no
difference but the first one is more common)

However, after would, the infinitive is normally used.

-Would you like to go for a walk?
-I´d hate to miss the chance.
-We´d love to hear from you.

b) begin, start. For example:

-It´s started snowing/ to snow ( no difference although the gerund is more common )

After the continuous form of a verb, only the infinitive is used. For example:
-It´s beginning to get dark.
2.Some verbs can be followed by either the gerund or infinituve, but with a
difference of meaning:

a) Remember / forget

Past action ..............I don´t remember seeing you at the party. Were you there?
..............I´ll never forget flying over the Alps for the first time

Future action.............Don´t forget to feed the cat, will you?

..............Did you remember to post that letter while you were out?

Remind (just remember that the meaning of this verb is “recordarle a alguien hacer
algo):
.................Remind me to lock the door before I leave.
.................”Remember me to lock the door” would be incorrect.

b) regret

Past action................He regrets stealing the money now

................I´ll always regret not going to university

Regret ..........to say........................I regret to say I lost my temper with him

Regret...........to inform (you)........We regret to inform you that yout flight has
been delayed.
Regret...........to tell (you)...............Mr Brown regrets to tell you that he is unable to
see you today.

c) stop

When stop is followed by a gerund it means to finish an action

Could you stop shouting?
When stop is followed by an infinitive, it means to interrupt one action in order to
do something else.
We had to stop walking to look at the map.

1.-Write sentences using the verbs above followed by an infinitive and then by a
gerund.
Afterwards, translate the examples given:

Remember (+ to):.................................................................................................................
Translation:
Remember (+ ing):...............................................................................................................
Translation:
Forget (+ to):........................................................................................................................
Translation:
Forget (+ ing):......................................................................................................................
Translation:
Regret (+ to):.......................................................................................................................
Translation:
Regret (+ ing):.....................................................................................................................
Translation:
Stop (+ to):..........................................................................................................................
Translation:
Stop (+ ing):........................................................................................................................
Translation: