VERB FROM

-Bare infinitive (without ‘to’)

-Full infinitive (with ‘to’)
-Gerund V-ing form
-participle
 The bare infinitive is used:

 a) After modal verbs (can, may, must, should, etc.)

You should start thinking about your future.
b) After the verbs let and make in the Active voice
My parents let me stay up later on weekends.
Our teacher made us retake the test.
 c) After would rather and had better
I’d rather go bowling tonight.
You’d better tell me everything you know about this.
 The bare infinitive is used:

 d) After the verbs see, hear, feel, watch, notice, observe,

look at, listen to IN THE ACTIVE VOICE for an action that
we perceived in its entirety
 e) After ‘why’ (not)

 f) After and that links 2 infinitives

 g) After the auxiliary or main verbs do/ does/ did
 h) After the verb have in the structure:
have sb do sth
 i)After the verb help (to infinitive is also possible)
 j) After but (meaning except), in negative statements.
 Certain verbs are followed by an object and the infinitive without to
(bare infinitive). The most common are:

let see help notice

make hear feel watch

She lets her children stay up very late.

I made them give me the money back.
I did’t see you come in.
Can you help me finish my homework?

The verbs have and know can also form this construction on certain
occasions.

Have Mrs Hansen come in, please.

 Infinitives is to + the simple form of a
verb
 To form infinitives use
to + base form of the
verb
Ex : I want to dance.
 To form negative infinitives use

not + infinitive

Ex: He decided not to go to the party.

Infinitives can be a single verb or a verb
phrase:

EX: I wanted to
infinitives
go to the dentist
prepositional phrase

He likes to play chess.

Infinitive phrase
 Functions of
1 . Subject of verb :
a. To master a language is time-consuming.
subject

b. To complete a journey island wide must be exciting.

subject

c. To see is to believe.
subject

d.To fly an airplane upside down can be very dangerous.

subject
 Functions of
2 . Direct Object :
a. Jean tried to get along with new classmates.
Direct Object

b. I like to do window shopping.

Direct Object

c. I want to enjoy myself tonight.

Direct Object
 Functions of
3 . Complement of Subject and Object :
a. Jean’s life-long goal is to win a Nobel prize for
physics. (S.C.)
b. I want you to tell the truth.
(O.C.)
c. We expected the speech to be interesting but it
wasn’t. (O.C.)
 Functions of
4 . Infinitive Phrase as Adjective:
a. A good play to read is the Skin of Our Teeth.

b. John willingly pays more money at the best

places to eat good steaks.

c. The man to see about this is the president of

the company.
 Functions of
5 . Infinitive Phrase as Adverb:
a. To be a professional pianist, Peter will have to
practice many more years.

b. Elvis ran to catch the train.

V Adv
c. Mary shouted to vent out her sorrow.
V Adv

d. The driver stopped to avoid the collision.

V Adv
 Infinitive of purpose
 Infinitives can also be combined with nouns to
express what will be done with something
Ex: Have you got a key to unlock the door?)
 The infinitive with to is used to talk about people’s
purposes, the reason why they do things.
Ex: I went to Brighton to learn English
 In negative sentences, in order not to or so as not
to are used; the infinitive alone is usually
incorrect:
Ex : I’m going now so as not to miss the train.
 Infinitive is used:
1. After it + be +adjective (it’s nice, it was stupid, etc.)
Ex: It was great to see you after such a long time.
2. After adjective
Ex: I’m happy to hear you are well.
She’s delighted to see him.
3. After the first / second / last / best, etc.
Ex: Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the
noon.
 Infinitive is used:
4. After too and enough
Ex: Laura is too tired to go jogging today.
It isn’t warm enough to go to beach yet.
5. After question words (how, what, when, where…
BUT not why)
Ex: I don’t know what to do.
6. After some, any, no and their compounds
Ex: I’ll make you something to eat.
He doesn’t have anywhere to stay.
 Infinitive is used:
6. It + costs / takes + O to Infinitive
Ex: It would cost millions to rebuild the castle.
It takes years to rebuild the castle.
7. It + takes / took + O + time + to infinitive
Ex: It took me 2 hours to do this exercise.
8. Causative form: S + get + O(người) + to infinitive
Ex: I get my son to do the the housework.
 after Verb
 The most common verbs followed by an infinitive
are:
afford decide love seem
agree determine manage start
appear expect mean swear
arrange fail neglect trouble
ask forget offer try
attempt happen prefer want
bear hate prepare wish
beg help pretend
begin hesitate promise
care hope propose
choose intend refuse
consent learn regret
dare like remember
 Infinitive after Verb
Some examples of this are:
I can’t afford to buy that BMW.
Shall we arrange to meet at eight?

I chose to come to this school because I didn’t

dare to apply for the bilingual one.
I failed to ring him. I meant to do it yesterday but
I seem to have lost his phone number.
He promised to look after the dog but now he
refuses to take him for walks.
My mum started to learn to drive only last month,
but she doesn’t want to continue.
 Verb + Object + Infinitive
 Some verbs are used with an object before and an infinitive
(eg She wants me to go shopping with her; not *…that I
go…)
 The most common verbs using this construction are:
advise get order trouble
allow hate permit urge
ask help persuade want
bear instruct prefer warn
beg intend press wish
cause invite recommend
command leave request
encourage like remind
expect mean teach
forbid need tell
force oblige tempt
 Verb + Object + Infinitive
Some examples of this are:
1.It was Glenn who persuaded me to apply for this
job.
2.The doctor advised him to take a complete break.
3.Please allow me to carry that bag for you.
4.We must appoint a time to meet again.
5.Tyler told his son not to hang out with his
classmates after school.
6.Miss Lin encourage Alex to study abroad.
7.They wanted us to leave.
 Punctuating An Infinitive Phrase
 When an infinitive phrase introduces a main
clause, separate the two sentence components
with a comma. The pattern looks like this:

 Infinitive phrase ,+ Main clause

Ex: To pass the exam, I have to study harder than

before.
 Punctuating An Infinitive Phrase
 When an infinitive phrase concludes a main
clause, you need no punctuation to connect the
two sentence parts. The pattern looks like this:

Main clause ＋ Infinitive phrase

Ex: Janice and her friends went to the mall

to buy groceries.
 Infinitive vs. Prepositional Phrase
 Don't confuse infinitives with prepositional
phrases that begin with to. Remember that a
prepositional phrase always ends with a
noun or a pronoun; an infinitive always ends
with a verb + (complement e.g. DO., ADJ,ADV,
or Noun )

I love to watch cartoons. Infinitive phrase

He went to school. Prepositional phrase
 Bracket Infinitive Phrases
1. Our new supervisor asked each person
(to bring a notebook. ) O.C.
ADV
2. (To complete the job, )we were required
(to work long hours. ) ADV
3. ( enter quietly.
The usher told us to ) O.C.
4. He reminded us to ( ask )for directions. O.C
.
5. (
To find fault with others is easy.
)
S
 Bracketing Infinitive Phrases
Exercise
S
6. (To finish her chemistry assignment) is
Michelle’s only goal tonight.

7. Linda hopes(to win the approval)of her

mother. DO

8. The best way(to learn English)is practice.

ADJ
9. Kevin has been working out(to keep fit.)
ADV
 Bracketing Infinitive Phrases
Exercise
ADJ
10. Her plan(to travel)around the world will come
true next year.
O
11. She wanted(to give up) dancing.
S
12. (To watch Uncle Billy tell this story)is an eye-
opening experience.
 Bracketing Infinitive Phrases
Exercise
S S.C.
13. is to love her.)
(To know her)`(

13. Juan went to college(to study medicine.)

ADV
 Identifying Infinitive or Prep. Phrase
 Identify the following phrases as prepositional
phrases (PP) or infinitive phrases (IP)
PP IP
1. They go(to Avenue of Stars)(to take some)
photos.
IP
2. Mom decided (to have steamed fish)for dinner.
IP PP
3. We walked(to the park)(to have a picnic.)
IP
4. Students are not allowed (to cheat)on the exam.
 Application 2-3
 Place parentheses around the infinitive
phrases in the following sentences.
1. Everyone expected(to receive the shipment)
before Friday. (O)

2. I asked them(to write legibly.) (O.C.)

 Application 2-3 (Cont’d)

(O
3. We tried (to stop
) the car) in time(to avoid the
accident.) (ADV)
(ADV)
4.(To get to the stage ), we had to enter through
the side door.

5. Ms. Baker was instructed (to begin the meeting at

two o’clock. ) (ADV)
A . General

B . Functions

C . Determiners and Possesives with Gerund

D . Important notes
E . Verbs followed by gerunds

F . Verbs followed by either gerunds or infinitives

G . Adverbs in gerund phrase

1 . Ordinary form : V + ing

2 . Perfect form : having + V3/Ved

3 . Active Gerund : V + ing

4 . Passive Gerund : being + V3/Ved

having been + V3/Ved

5. Affirmative Gerund : V + ing
6 . Negative Gerund : not + V + ing

not + having + V3/Ved

Gerunds may perform all the functions that nouns do
1 . Subject of verb :
Ex : Her cleaning the house is necessary .
subject

2 . Object of verb :
Ex : He dislikes her coming late every time .
Object of
verb
3 . Object of preposition :

Ex : My mother insists on my studying hard everyday .

Object
preposition
4 . Complement of verb :
Ex : Her favorite activity is playing football.
complement

5 . Appositive (đồng vị ngữ):

Ex : Ex : He only focuses on one thing – his earning money .
appositive
C . Determiners and Possesives with
Gerund
1 . Determiner + Gerund
The opening of Parliament
A killing of a living creature

2 . Possessive form + Gerund

His buying the house

Her mother ‘ s telling off her
 D . Important notes
1 . The Gerund phrase is the subject
 possessive form , esp possessive adj

Ex : Your loving her is such a stupid thing .

2 . The Gerund Phrase is the object

 object pronoun , just noun

Ex : We can’t understand him

his behaving like that . ( informal
formal ) )

Ex : He never approve of his daughter‘s loving a man like him .(( informal
formal ) )
 D . Important notes
3 . Person being talked about is clear  don’t use possessive adj

Ex : Thank you for your helping me .

Ex : I’m sorry for my waiting you up .

 D . Important notes

Ex : Instead of her health improving after the operation , it got worse .

Ex : They told us a story of an old ship having been sunk in Pacific Ocean .

4 . subject of a gerund phrase refers to a lifeless thing / an abstract idea

 usually don’t use the possessive form

Ex : I can’t understand the door’s not being open .

However , sometimes we can use the possessive form 
 D . Important notes

Ex : They don’t approve of Peter and Mary getting married .

Ex : I never agree with his and his friend cheating in the exam .

Ex : His and her beaking up was really a surprise .

5 . There is more than one noun before gerund

 don’t use possessive form .
 D . Important notes

Ex : We don’t need the president of the company attending the meeting

Ex : He can’t bear the thought of his best friend , once so rich and
handsome , being destitute now .

6 . A noun before gerund that is modified by a phrase

don’t use possessive form
 D . Important notes
7 . In gerund phrase derived from sentences beginning with expletives
such as “it” and “there” use “it” or “its” and “there”

it
Ex : In spite of being a rainy night , he went there alone .
its

Ex : We were mistaken about there being a meeting tonight .

 D . Important notes
8 . Gerunds refer to activities in general way
 uncount nouns  can’t be used with numbers

9 . A noun having a similar meaning to a gerund

 noun is preferred

infinitive -ing form noun

to arrive arriving arrival
to depart departing departure
to discuss discussing discussion

Ex : We are looking forward to your arriving

arrival .
 D . Important notes
10 . Gerund with an article
 can’t have a direct object  use an “of” structure after gerund

Ex : Learning a foreign language is very interesting .

 The learning of a foreign language is very interesting .

E . Verb followed by gerunds
admit appreciate
advoid consider
deny delay
finish enjoy
miss mind
practice postpone
recall quit
resent report
risk resume
dislike suggest
discuss understand
imagine mention
involve can’t help
Expressions followed by ‘gerund’
be busy can’t stand
can’t bear can’t help
it’s no use/ good how/ what about
it’s (not) worth what’s the use of
what’s the point of there’s no point in/ it’s pointless
feel like it’s a waste of
there is no have difficulty/ trouble/ a hard time

Expressions with ‘to’ followed by ‘gerund’

be used/ accustomed to get used/ become accustomed to
object to objection to
look forward to in addition to
prefer … to ...
The gerund is also used in the following
constructions:
constructions
1) It is no use/It is no good

Ex. It is no use trying to make her change

her mind.
It is no good interfering with other people’s
business.
2) There is no

Ex. There is no joking about such matters.

There is no denying the fact that the Clean
Hong Kong Campaign is a success.
3) It’s worth / It’s not worth

Ex. Is the film worth seeing ?

It is not worth going to see that film.

4) It’s a waste of money / time

Ex. It’s a waste of time writing the report.

It’s a waste of money buying the doll.

5 ) Have difficulty
Ex. Mary has difficulty doing her Maths homework .
I’m sorry I’m late. I had difficulty finding the
place.

6 ) Go-ing
Ex. Did you go shopping yesterday ?
How often do you go swimming in the
summer ?
 F . Verb followed by either
gerunds or infinitives
1 . No change in meaning

begin dread
hate like
love prefer
cease start
intend can’t bear
continue can’t stand
RESTRICTION: No –ing if start & begin are in Continuous forms
themselves.
Ex. It started raining OR it started to rain BUT
It was beginning to get dark
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (II):
2) Without meaning changes but depending on structure

Allow/ permit, forbid, advise, recommend, encourage

a) + -ing when the –ing word is their object
e.g. We don’t allow parking here.

b) + to inf. when there is a person-object

e.g. We don’t allow visitors to park here.

c) + to inf. in the Passive Voice

e.g. Visitors are not allowed to park here.
F . Verb followed by either
gerunds or infinitives
2 . Difference in meaning
F . Verb followed by either
gerunds or infinitives
2 . Difference in meaning
 G . Adverbs in gerund phrase

Ex : They were shocked at his completely beating his opponent .

Ex : They were shocked at his complete beating his opponent .

Ex : They were shocked at his beating his opponent completely .

In a gerund phrase , adverbs may remain unchanged or take adj form

Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (a)

-ing: the –ing action

happened before these
remember/ forget/ verbs
regret/ be sorry
to-inf.: the to-inf. action
happens after these verbs
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (b)

-ing: stop/ continue what

I’ve been doing so far
stop/ go on

to-inf.: purpose
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (c)

-ing: fear the possibility

of sth happening
be afraid/ dread
to-inf.: fear the prospect
(& so don’t do it)
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (d)

-ing: experiment with/

test sth
try
to-inf.: normal meaning:
make an effort
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (e)

-ing: normal meaning:

entail
mean

to-inf.: intend
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (f)

-ing: normal meaning:

general preference

to-inf.: habit/ state &

verbs of like/ dislike feelings about it

to-inf.: ALWAYS when

‘would’ precedes these
verbs
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (g)

-ing: describes the

process of teaching/
learning
teach/ learn
to-inf.: describes the
completed process
Some verbs are followed by either a
gerund or an infinitive (III):
III) With meaning changes (h)

-ing: passive meaning

(same as passive inf.)
need/ want/ require
to-inf.: normal structure
& meaning of these verbs