Gerunds and Infinitives

1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence. Examples:

Reading helps you learn English. subject of sentence Her favorite hobby is reading. complement of sentence I enjoy reading. object of sentence

Gerunds can be made negative by adding "not." Examples:

He enjoys not working. The best thing for your health is not smoking.

2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn." You can also use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence. Examples:

To learn is important. subject of sentence The most important thing is to learn. complement of sentence He wants to learn. object of sentence

Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not." Examples:

I decided not to go. The most important thing is not to give up.

3. Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a sentence. However, as subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. In the following sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more common in everyday English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential for something and sound more philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just remember that 90% of the time, you will use a gerund as the subject or complement of a sentence. Examples:

Learning is important. normal subject To learn is important. abstract subject - less common The most important thing is learning. normal complement The most important thing is to learn. abstract complement - less common

4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. In such situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence determines whether you use a gerund or an infinitive. Examples:

He enjoys swimming. "Enjoy" requires a gerund. He wants to swim. "Want" requires an infinitive.

5. Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects.

Verbs Followed by Gerunds

9 = verb followed by a gerund OR a noun + an infinitive 13 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with a difference in meaning 14 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with little difference in meaning admit advise [9] allow [9] anticipate appreciate avoid begin [14] can't bear [14] can't help can't see can't stand [14] cease [14] complete consider continue [14] defend delay deny despise discuss like [14] love [14] mention mind miss need [13] neglect [14] permit [9] postpone practice

prefer [14] propose [14] quit [13] recall recollect recommend regret [13] remember [13] understand Examples:

resent resist risk start [14] stop [13] suggest tolerate try [13] urge [9

report require [9] resent resist risk start [14] stop [13] suggest

She suggested going to a movie. Mary keeps talking about her problems.

6. Some verbs are followed by infinitives. List of Verbs Followed by Infinitives

Verbs Followed by Infinitives

8 = verb followed by an infinitive OR an optional noun + an infinitive 13 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with a difference in meaning 14 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with little difference in meaning agree appear arrange Tom agreed to help me. His health appeared to be better. Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.

ask [8] begin [13] can't bear [14] can't stand [14] care cease [14] choose [8] claim continue [14] decide demand deserve dread [13] expect [8] fail forget [13] get (be allowed to) happen hate [14] hesitate

She asked to leave. He began to talk. He can't bear to be alone. Nancy can't stand to work the late shift. He doesn't care to participate in the activity. The government ceased to provide free healthcare. I chose to help. She claimed to be a princess. She continued to talk. We decided to go to Hawaii. He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris. He deserves to go to jail. I dread to think what might happen. They expect to arrive early. He failed to get enough money to pay for the new project. I forgot to lock the door when I left. Debbie gets to go to the concert next week! Why can't I? She happened to be at the bank when it was robbed. He hates to clean dishes. She hesitated to tell me the problem.

hope intend learn like [14] love [14] manage need [8,13] neglect [14] offer plan prefer [14] prepare [8] pretend promise [8] propose [14] refuse regret [13] remember [13] seem start [13]

I hope to begin college this year. We intend to visit you next spring. I learned to speak Japanese when I was a kid. Samantha likes to read. We love to scuba dive. He managed to open the door without the key. I need to study. She neglected to tell me the date of the meeting. Frank offered to drive us to the supermarket. We plan to go to Europe this summer. He prefers to eat at 7 PM. They prepared to take the test. The child pretended to be a monster. She promised to stop smoking. Drew proposed to pay for the trip. The guard refused to let them enter the building. I regret to inform you that your application was rejected. Did you remember to lock the door when you left? Nancy seemed to be disappointed. Marge started to talk really fast.

swear tend threaten [8] try [13] vow wait want [8] wish [8] would like [8] (meaning "wish" or "want") yearn

She swore to tell the truth. He tends to be a little shy. He threatened to leave forever. Mary tried to lift the table, but it was too heavy. He vowed to get revenge. She waited to buy a movie ticket. I want to study Spanish. I wish to stay. We would like to start now. Melanie yearns to travel somewhere exotic.

Examples:

She wants to go to a movie. Mary needs to talk about her problems.

Direct and Indirect Speech

We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this you can use direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech.

Direct Speech / Quoted Speech

Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech) Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word. For example: She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations." or "Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.

Indirect Speech / Reported Speech

Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word. When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. For example: Direct speech Indirect speech "I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense change
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right): Direct speech Present simple She said, "It's cold." Present continuous She said, "I'm teaching English online." Present perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." Present perfect continuous She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years." Past simple She said, "I taught online yesterday." Past continuous She said, "I was teaching earlier." Past perfect She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived." Past perfect continuous She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes." Indirect speech simple Pastsaid it was cold. She continuous Pastsaid she was teaching English online. She Past perfect simple She said she had been on the web since 1999. Past perfect continuous She said she had been teaching English for seven years. perfect Pastsaid she had taught online yesterday. She perfect Pastsaid she continuous She had been teaching earlier. Past perfect NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived. Past perfect continuous NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change: Direct speech will She said, "I'll teach English online tomorrow." Indirect speech

would She said she would teach English online tomorrow. could can She said she could teach English She said, "I can teach English online." online. must had to

She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." shall She said, "What shall we learn today?" may She said, "May I open a new browser?"

She said she had to have a computer to teach English online. should what we should learn today. She asked might She asked if she might open a new browser.

!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to. Direct speech Indirect speech "I might go to the cinema", he said. He said he might go to the cinema. You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:Direct speech "My name is Lynne", she said. Indirect speech She said her name was Lynne. or She said her name is Lynne. You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event. Direct speech (exact quote) Indirect speech (not exact) "Next week's lesson is on reported She said next week's lesson is on reported speech ", she said. speech.

Time change
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting. For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at the time and place of reporting. + 24 hours - Indirect speech She said yesterday's lesson was on "Today's lesson is on presentations." presentations. Expressions of time if reported on a different day this (evening) that (evening) Today

today these (days) now (a week) ago last weekend here next (week) tomorrow

yesterday ... those (days) then (a week) before the weekend before last / the previous weekend there the following (week) the next/following day

In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it you must change the place (here) to the place (there). For example:At work "How long have you worked here?" At home She asked me how long I'd worked there.

Pronoun change
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes. For example: Me "I teach English online." You She said she teaches English online.

Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech. We use asked to report questions:For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started. We use told with an object. For example: Lynne told me she felt tired. !Note - Here me is the object.

We usually use said without an object. For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online. If said is used with an object we must include to ; For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China. !Note - We usually use told. For example: Lynne told me that she'd never been to China. There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked. These include:accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged, boasted, complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and thought. Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative. For example: He asked me to come to the party:He invited me to the party. He begged me to come to the party. He ordered me to come to the party. He advised me to come to the party. He suggested I should come to the party.

Use of 'That' in reported speech

In reported speech, the word that is often used. For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich. However, that is optional. For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich. !Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.

For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.