Infinitive

Basic, impersonal and

uninflected verb form found in
dictionaries.

Infinitive Forms
present

continuous perfect

Perfect
continuous

active

(to) take

(to) be
taking

(to) have
taken

(to) have been

taking

passive

(to) be
taken

(to) have
been taken

Negative with not: not to take

Present vs Perfect Infinitive

Present infinitive indicates a present /

future action:

He seems to like cookies.

Books must be taken to the library.

Perfect infinitive indicates a prior action:

She seems to have eaten all the cookies.
Books must have been taken to the library.

Verb + full infinitive

agree, appear, decide, hope, intend, learn, offer, plan,
seem, tend, wait, can afford, ask, beg, choose,
expect, need, want, would like, promise

e.g. He decided to leave.

Verb + object + full infinitive

cause, convince, force, invite, order, persuade, remind,
tell, trust,warn, advise, encourage, ask, beg, choose,
expect, need, want, would like, promise

e.g. She invited me to come.

Adjective + full infinitive

afraid, amazed, anxious, ashamed, careful, delighted,
eager, fortunate, glad, happy, lucky, pleased, ready,
sad, sorry,surprised, disappointed, astonished, nice,
difficult
e.g. This is difficult to understand.

too + adjective or adverb + infinitive

e.g. She is too young to vote.

Adjective or adverb + enough + infinitive

e.g. They are old enough to vote.

Infinitive of purpose
e.g.

I came here in order to learn.

To be + arrangement or command
e.g. She is to leave this very moment.
-

be + about

e.g. The conference is about to begin.

BARE INFINITIVE
(INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO )
- used after modals and verbs like let, make, see and
expressions like had better, would better.
e.g. Let me show you this.
Youd better go right away.

Help
can take either a full or a bare infinitive:
I helped them carry the boxes.
I helped them to clean up after the party.

GERUND
A noun formed from a verb,
describing an action, state or
process.

GERUND FORMS
Present

Perfect

Active

working

having worked

Passive

being worked

having been worked

Negative with not: not working

Subject

e.g. Walking is healthy.

Subject of a clause after believe,

consider, discover, expect, find,
wonder...
e.g. He found walking difficult.

Short prohibitions
e.g. No smoking!

Object
After the following verbs:

Appreciate, Avoid, Keep, Mention, Mind, Miss, Need,

Observe, Postpone, Quit, Recall, Recommend,
Resent, Require, Suggest, Delay, Deny, Discuss,
Dislike, Enjoy, Excuse, Finish, Understand

e.g. I shall risk walking with you.

Gerund after expressions

cant stand, its no use, feel like, be fed up

with, cant help, be busy, have fun, its not
worth
e.g. I cant help being afraid.
e.g. This is worth trying

Gerunds as objects of
prepositions:
be excited about, complain about, talk about, think about, worry
about,
Apologize for, blame for, famous for,
Believe in, interested in, succeed in,
Take care of, instead of, be accused of,
Insist on, count on, concentrate on,
Keep from, prevent from
By

e.g. I am thinking about taking the children to

Mexico. You get good grades by studying hard.

 GO

+ gerund

Recreational activities: camping, dancing,

sightseeing, swimming, skiing, fishing, jogging,
e.g. I will go fishing with you tomorrow.

Gerund with TO

Expressions look forward to, take to, be

accustomed to, be used to, in addition to
e.g. I am looking forward to seeing you.
I am used to standing in queues.

Verbs that are followed by

a noun phrase + infinitive:
They allowed me to smoke in the house.

can also be followed by a gerund.

They allow smoking in this building.

These verbs are:

advise, allow, encourage, permit,
require, urge

INFINITIVE OR GERUND
Regret, remember, forget, stop, try, get
I regret spending so much money,
I regret to say that you have to leave.
2. I remember seeing that man.
Please, remember to bring your ID card.
3. Ill never forget failing that exam.
I often forget to sign my cheques.
1.

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239, exercises 32 - 37