Gerunds and Infinitives

Chapter 14

News Story:
Cat Tries to Pull a Fast One
on Firefighters

Recently in Florida, a typical Cat Avoids Getting Rescued

story had an unexpected twist. Catching a scared cat is no
easy task as the firefighters from the South Florida city of
Weston were well aware, but extracting a kitty from under the
frame of a car in heavy rain is even harder. Firefighters tried
jacking up the car and taking off a wheel, but the feline was
scared of being hurt. She kept avoiding the men. At some
point, the cat escaped undetected. This caused the crew to
continue searching for another hour. They began by peering
into the bushes and scouring a nearby parking lot. The
firefighters were used to catching a kitty in a short amount of
time. This was taking much too long. Eventually, they gave up
trying to find the cat and headed back to the station.
2

A gerund can be used as the subject of a

sentence or the object of a verb.

Catching a scared kitty is no easy task.

subject

The firefighters tried jacking up the car.

object of
the verb
3

A gerund can be used as the object of a

preposition.
The kitty was scared of being hurt.
object of
preposition

The firefighters were worried about hurting

the kitty.
object of
preposition
4

PRACTICE 1
Complete each sentence with a preposition and a
form of the verb in parentheses.
1. Firefighters are accustomed (catch) __________
to catching cats quickly.
2. Firefighters usually succeed (rescue) ___________
in rescuing lost cats.
3. They were tired (search) _____________
of searching for the kitty.
4. They were worried (hurt) ______________
about hurting the scared cat.
5. After 4 hours, no one would blame the firefighters (end)
___________
for ending the search for the kitty.
6. But the firefighters insisted (find) __________
on finding the lost cat.
5

Five hours later, the elusive cat reappeared -- at the station,

in the fire truck's rear wheel well. The firefighters were not
having a good time searching for the cat. They had spent a lot
of time trying to catch the cat, but they decided to give it one
more try. This time, firefighters used food to try to lure the cat
out. It didnt work. The cat refused to budge, so the crew
resorted to a successful three-person attack: one poked the
feline gently in the backside with a stick, another used a hose
to push it into an open area, so the third could grab it and pull
it out. The cat was dirty but unharmed. The cats owner
thanked them over and over for bringing his cat to safety.
6

-ing form follows certain special expressions.

have a good time
have fun

Verb -ing

The firefighters were not having a good time

searching for the cat.
The firefighters were not having fun searching
for the cat.
7

-ing form follows certain special expressions.

have trouble/difficulty
have a hard time
have a difficult time

-ing

They had a hard time trying to catch the cat.

They had trouble trying to catch the cat.
8

Some verbs are immediately followed

by an infinitive.
The firefighters wanted to find the cat quickly.
The cat refused to budge.
want to

refuse to

intend to

hope to

need to

promise to

plan to

offer to

seem to

like to

agree to

pretend to

decide to

appear to

ask to

PRACTICE 2
Gerund or Infinitive?
1. The firefighters had a difficult time (rescue)
rescuing the cat.
_________
to avoid the men
2. The cat seemed (avoid) _________
intentionally.
hurting the
3. They were worried about (hurt) ________
kitty.
10

PRACTICE 2
Gerund or Infinitive?
4. In the end, it required three people (catch)
to catch the cat.
_________
to stop the
5. The firefighters refused (stop) ________
search for the cat.
hiding in
6. Finally, they found the cat (hide) ______
their own truck.
11

Some verbs can be followed by either an

infinitive or a gerundwith no difference in
meaning.
The crew continued searching for the cat.

same meaning
The crew continued to search for the cat.
12

Some verbs can be followed by either an

infinitive or a gerund, but the meaning is
different.
Remember

Forget

Regret

Try

Firefighters tried jacking up the car and taking off

a wheel.
(They were able to jack up the car.)
Firefighters tried to jack up the car and take off
a wheel.
(They were NOT able to jack up the car.)
13

Some verbs can be followed by either an

infinitive or a gerund, but the meaning is
different.
A firefighter said to the cats owner: I regret to
tell you that we couldnt catch your cat.
(sorry to tell someone bad news right now)

After they found the cat, the firefighter said, I

dont regret spending so much time on the
search for the cat.
(sorry or not about something that already
happened)

14

PRACTICE 3
Check Your Knowledge
1. Who went (running, to run) after the cat?
2. The men spent too much time (catching, to catch) the
cat.
3. They remembered (searching, to search) for a lot of
other cats on other rainy days.
4. They caught the cat (hiding, to hide) in the fire truck.
5. They tried (finding, to find) the cat for a long time.
6. It is dangerous for cats (hurting, to hide) under a car.

15

CREDITS

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.
Images used under license from:
Shutterstock, Inc.

16