Gerund And Infinitive Worksheet
Gerund and Infinitive WorksheetIn this printable worksheet, the rules for using gerunds and infinitives will be explained in detail. Theexplanation will be followed by two practice activities with these grammar forms. Enjoy!Rules for Using Gerunds and Infinitives to Describe an ActionIn many English sentences, a main verb is used to describe an action. Take the sentence “Ilike swimming.” “Like” is the main verb, because it immediately follows the subject of the sentence“I.” “Swimming” is a verb too, but it’s not the main verb. It’s the action being described. In otherwords, “I like swimming” uses the verb “swimming” to describe an action that is “liked.” “I like toswim” also uses the main verb “like” to describe the action of swimming, but uses an infinitiveinstead of a gerund. So what’s the difference? Look at rules 1 through 3 below to find out.Rule 1) Use a gerund when the action that is being described takes place before the main verb.Example:She remembers eating ice cream yesterday.Explanation: The main verb here is remember, because it is what she (the subject)is doing. The action being described by the main verb is eating. The action of eatinghappens before she can remember. Eating must happen first, because you have to dosomething before you can remember doing it.)Rule 2) Use a gerund when the action that is being described takes place at the same time as themain verb.Example:She enjoyed eating ice cream yesterday.Explanation: The main verb here is enjoyed. Again, it’s the main verb because it iswhat she, the subject, is doing in the sentence. This time, however, the main verbwas done at the same time as eating ice cream, the action being described.This makes sense. You enjoy doing something when you do it, not before or afteryou do it. You can’t enjoy eating ice cream if you haven’t eaten it yet, and you can’tenjoy ice cream if it has already been eaten.Rule 3) Use an infinitive when the action being described happens after the main verb.Example: She likes to eat ice cream, so she’ll come to the ice cream shop with us.
Explanation: In the first clause in this sentence, likes is the main verb, while to eatis the action being described. Note that the second tense uses will come, a futuretense verb, to describe a future trip to the ice cream shop. But she likes eating icecream right now (and probably always likes eating ice cream, since the sentence isdescribing a preference).In short, the main verb likes is happening in the present, but the described action toeat will happen in the future, after the main verb. Specifically, it will happen duringa future trip to an ice cream shop.Hopefully this helps you understand gerunds and infinitives a little better. Let me give a fewmore examples. Suppose you like watching movies. You would say “I like watching movies” if youare watching movies right now, or if you are fondly remembering movies you have enjoyed watchingin the past.If instead you want to imply that you are looking forward to watching movies in the future,you can say “I like to watch movies.” However, saying “I like to watch movies right now,” or “I liketo watch movies last week” is incorrect grammar, and would not make sense to a native Englishspeaker.Gerunds, Infinitives, and Verbs-as-NounsGerunds and infinitives are also commonly used in verbs that have been turned into nouns.This may sound a little strange. How does a verb turn into a noun? Allow me to explain.Usually, a verb is used to describe what the subject of a sentence does. Examples ofsentences with this pattern include “Cats like mice” and “Cats like chasing mice.” In the secondsentence, “like” is the main verb, and “chasing” is the action being described. But both like andchasing describe what the cats, the subject of the sentence, do.However, at other times, a verb can actually be the subject of a sentence or clause. When thishappens, the verb behaves like a noun. Let’s look at some examples of this, with explanations. To start a fire is difficult if there are no matches.Explanation: Here the verb start has been put into the phrase to start a fire. Because tostart a fire is at the beginning of the sentence, and is followed by the verb is and theadjective difficult, to start a fire behaves like a noun phrase. You could substitute othernoun phrases for to start a fire and the sentence would still have correct grammar. Forexample, you could say This test is difficult or English is difficult. Starting a fire is difficult if there are no matchesExplanation: Like in the previous example sentence, the verb start is the main word inthe noun-phrase subject of the sentence. Everyone knows that starting a fire is difficult if there are no matches.Explanation: In this sentence, the verb start is the subject of the clause starting a fire isdifficult if there are no matches. Everyone is the subject of the sentence as a whole.
Everyone knows that to start a fire is difficult if there are no matches.Explanation: This sentence follows the exact same pattern as the previous example, witha verb as the subject of the clause. However, in this case, the verb start is an infinitiveinstead of a gerund.These example sentences are all very similar, except that two of them use an infinitive andtwo use a gerund. How do you know when to use a gerund or an infinitive in the subject of asentence or clause? Don’t worry, the answer to this is simple. See Rule 4 below!Rule 4) When using a verb in the subject of a sentence or clause, you can use either a gerund or aninfinitiveExample A: To build a house takes a long time.Example B: Building a house takes a long time.Example C: I am aware that to build a house takes a long time.Example D: I am aware that building a house takes a long time.Explanation: In each sentence, the verb build is the main word in the subject ofeither the whole sentence or a clause in the sentence. As part of a noun phrasesubject, build can be formed either as gerund building or infinitive to build.A verb can also be turned into a noun when it is the object of a preposition. I’ll give you acouple of examples below, again with explanations. She finds enjoyment in singing.Explanation: The verb sing is the object of the preposition in. She thinks of reading books as fun.Explanation: The verb read is the main word in the verb phrase reading books which isthe prepositional object for of.At this point, you may have already guessed the rule for using gerunds or infinitives inprepositional phrases:Rule 5) If a verb is a prepositional object, it should be a gerund, not an infinitive.Example: You may be thinking about taking the TOEFL exam.Explanation: As part of the larger verb phrase taking the TOEFL exam, the verbtake is the prepositional object of the preposition about. As a prepositional object,take must be expressed as the gerund taking.So there you have it! You now have all the rules you need for common uses of “-ing” and“to ” verbs. Below are two activities where you can review these rules and practice using gerundsand infinitives.
Activity 1: Underline the correct verb form for each sentence. In some cases, both the gerund (“-ing”verb) and the infinitive (“to ” verb ) can be correct. Then give the reason for your choice or choices. Ananswer key appears on the final page of this worksheet.1)I am tired from (running/to run).Reason for choice or choices:2)My dog really enjoyed (chasing/to chase) rabbits when she was alive.Reason for choice or choices:3)I know that (washing/to wash) dishes isn’t your favorite thing.Reason for choice or choices:4)(Making a movie/To make a movie) takes a lot of time and money.Reason for choice or choices:5)I want (going/to go) to the baseball game tomorrow, but I can’t.Reason for choice or choices:Activity 2: Write your own original sentences using gerunds and infinitives, as described below.1) A sentence where the activity being described takes place after the main verb (must use an infinitive):2) A sentence where the activity being described takes place at the same time as the main verb (must usea gerund):3) A sentence where the activity being described takes place before the main verb (must use a gerund):3) A sentence where a gerund is the subject of the sentence:4) A sentence where an infinitive is the subject of the sentence:5) A sentence where a gerund is the subject of a clause within the sentence:6) A sentence where an infinitive is the subject of a clause within the sentence:7) A sentence where the verb is a prepositional object (must use a gerund):
Activity 1 answer key:1)I am tired from (running/to run).Reason for choice or choices: The underlined verb is a prepositional object, andmust be a gerund.2)My dog really enjoyed (chasing/to chase) rabbits when she was alive.Reason for choice or choices: The underlined verb takes place at the same time asthe main verb (enjoyed) and must be a gerund.3)I know that (washing/to wash) dishes isn’t your favorite thing.Reason for choice or choices: The underlined verb is the subject of a clause, and canbe either a gerund or an infinitive.4)(Making a movie/To make a movie) takes a lot of time and money.Reason for choice or choices: The underlined verb the subject of a sentence and canbe either a gerund or an infinitive.5)I want (going/to go) to the baseball game tomorrow, but I can’t.Reason for choice or choices: The underlined verb takes place after the main verb(want) and must be an infinitive.
Gerund and Infinitive Worksheet In this printable worksheet, the rules for using gerunds and infinitives will be explained in detail. The explanation will be followed by two practice activities with these grammar forms. Enjoy! Rule
2 infinitive; gerund 5 infinitive; gerund 3 gerund; infinitive C Have the students work individually to complete the sentences using the gerund or infinitive forms. Then check the answers with the class. Ask the students to explain their reasons for choosing each form using the descriptions of the functions. For example, in item 1 the .
The infinitive phrase is "divided" by the adverse or another word. Example of an infinitive division: where the infinitve may be "to go" someone could divide the infinitive with an advisement describing the verb. "For boldly ." An example of a sentence of an infinitive division in a sentence may be, "she continued to quickly tighten the cloth."
Infinitive and gerund complements are lexically based. That is, the main verb of the sentence determines which type of complement is permitted after it. Choosing the verbal complement to follow is, therefore, mostly verb specific (Almulla, 2015). Generally, verbs taking infinitive or gerund complements can be classified into three groups: 1)
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To create a gerund, add -ing to the end of a verb. KEY POINTS A gerund is used as a noun. Students may find it difficult to tell the difference between a gerund and a present participle. Emphasize that to identify a gerund correctly they will have to understand which part of speech the word is. Participles
(Correct; because ‘the playing of‘ is now verbal noun and not ‘gerund‘) Rule 3 Verbal noun can be used in place of Gerund. But if there are two verbal nouns or gerunds in a sentence, both should be either verbal noun or gerund to maintain parallelism. Examples: 1. I dislik
A gerund is a verb form that acts as a noun. Gerunds always end in -ing. A gerund can function in all the same ways a noun can function, such as subject, object of a preposition, direct object, or subject complement. Below is a list of gerunds and functions. Write a sentence using the gerund as indicated. 1. swimming as a direct object
Your sheet-pile program FADSPABW (B-9) is a special case of this method. It was separately written, although several subroutines are the same, because there are special features involved in sheet-pile design. These additional considerations would in-troduce unnecessary complexity into a program for lateral piles so that it would be a little more difficult to use. Many consider it difficult in .
