To-infinitives and gerunds 2

2 To-infinitives and gerunds

2.1 We sometimes use one verb after another verb. Often, when one verb follows another,
it takes the to-infinitive form.

Hi, Ann. This is Paul.

Fred wants to know
if you are free this Why doesn’t he ask me
evening. himself? Tell him to ask
me himself!

O
The to-infinitive does not change with the person or number of the subject.

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We plan to visit Canada this summer.

S
He plans to visit Canada this summer.

I
It is not affected by the tense of the verb either.

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She has learnt to drive.

A
I have no idea when she’ll learn to drive.
She learnt to drive when she was 18.
She’s learning to drive this summer.

2.2 Some common verbs that may be followed by a to-infinitive include:

afford beg happen offer threaten

agree begin help plan volunteer

aim choose hope prepare want

appear decide learn pretend wish

arrange expect manage promise would like

ask fail mean refuse

(can’t) bear forget need seem

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 2.3  Some of the verbs listed above can be used in the structure: verb + object + to-infinitive.
He helped to clean the blackboard. (verb + to-infinitive)
He helped the teacher to clean the blackboard. (verb + object + to-infinitive)

There are other verbs that can be used in this structure. Some common ones include:

advise encourage get order teach

allow enable invite persuade tell

cause expect need remind warn

They encouraged me to join the competition.

The doctor reminded the patient to take his medicine on time.

2.4 We can also use the to-infinitive to show purpose.

TO
IS
Why did you set
off so early? I set off early to

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avoid the traffic.

A
  Note
1 The to-infinitive verb form for am, are, is, was and were is to be.
He seems to be busy today.
Compare: He is busy today.

2 The negative form is not + to-infinitive.

 She’s decided not to buy the car.
Mr Leung advised us not to spend too much time on social media.

2.5 Certain verbs may be followed by the -ing verb form instead of the to-infinitive form.

I like playing with my

mum and dad. I enjoy
swimming too.

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 To-infinitives and gerunds 2
In this example, the -ing form of the verb is called a gerund and is used as a noun.
Verbs followed by a gerund instead of the to-infinitive include:

admit deny feel like keep practise

avoid dislike finish mind resist

consider enjoy go miss risk

delay escape imagine postpone suggest

I’ve finished washing Eric says he’s

my hair. You can use tired. He doesn’t
the bathroom now. feel like going

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for a swim.

IS T
2.6 Verbs that follow most prepositions (at, in, on, of, about, by, etc.) are also used in the
-ing form. In this situation, the gerund is the object of the preposition.

R
Jamie is fond of playing tennis.

A
We are excited about going to Japan.

2.7 After phrasal verbs (give up, keep on, look at, put off, etc.) and some expressions like
can’t help, can’t stand, etc. we also use the gerund.

I can’t stand waiting

here any longer. It’s
noisy and crowded. I’ve decided to
give up smoking.

  Note
If you can’t stand doing something, you strongly dislike it, or cannot accept it.
If you can’t help doing something, you can’t stop yourself from doing it.
I couldn’t help crying when I heard the bad news.
Compare: I’m sorry I couldn’t help you (to) walk your dog yesterday.

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2.8 The negative is formed by adding not before the gerund.
They suggested not going out alone at night.

2.9 Some verbs can be followed by the -ing form or the to-infinitive form without much
difference in meaning. Some of these verbs are:

attempt can’t bear hate like prefer

begin continue intend love start

Do you come Why don’t you

here often? go by plane?

TO
Yes. I like
My grandma
prefers travelling/

S
swimming/ to travel by train.

I
to swim.

A R
A Complete each sentence using the to-infinitive form of one of the verbs in the margin. Use each verb
once only.

1 Karen is having a quarrel with John. She refuses to talk to him.

finish
get up
help
2 Jason broke his ankle during the marathon and he failed the race.
kill
see 3 Jonathan always offers when his friends are in need.
talk

4 The policeman stopped the man and asked his ID card.

5 They left at 9.00 pm because they needed early the following day.

6 The robber threatened her if she didn’t give him all her money.

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 To-infinitives and gerunds 2
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B Look at the exchanges on the left and complete the sentences using the verb + object + to-infinitive
structure.

1 Tom’s friend invited him to watch a movie .

Let’s watch a movie
together sometime.

I’d love to.

May I use your computer? 2 Sabrina’s brother won’t allow

.
No, Sabrina. I am using
it to do homework.

You should join the singing

TO 3 Carmen encouraged

S
competition, John. You have .

I
a beautiful voice.

R
Really?

A
You need to be careful
when you make friends
on the Internet, Janet.

I will, Dad.
4 Mr Fung warned

on the Internet.
about making friends

Don’t forget to return

5 Jimmy’s mother reminded
the books, James.
.
I won’t.

Keep quiet, kids. We

6 The teacher told
shouldn’t disturb other
museum visitors.
while they were
inside the museum.
Okay.

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C Complete these sentences using the -ing form of the verbs in the margin. Use each verb once only.

1 ‘I’m hungry,’ he said. ‘Would you mind making me some noodles?’

climb
learn
make 2 Alex has a lot of books. He enjoys .
read
sleep
visit 3 My little brother is afraid of alone. He shares a bed with my

mother.

4 If you have the flu, you should wear a mask and avoid crowded places.

5 Jessie loves Japanese culture and she has thought of Japanese.

6 The explorers succeeded in

TO to the top of the mountain.

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D Rewrite the sentences using the given words and the -ing form of the verb provided. Follow the example.

A R
1 She went to school after

2 Mrs Wong gave me some tips for

having breakfast . (have/breakfast)

. (improve/my

English)

3 Tim exercised at the gym before . (go to/work)

4 We can spread love and joy by . (help/people in need)

5 We were very disappointed about . (lose/the final

game)

6 We adopted a puppy from an animal welfare group instead of

. (buy/one)

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 To-infinitives and gerunds 2
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E Choose the correct word/phrase to complete each sentence.

1 I’m not in a hurry. I don’t mind waiting . to wait/waiting

2 I couldn’t help when I heard the joke. to laugh/laughing

3 My mother dislikes high heels. to wear/wearing

4 Tracy was angry and refused to me. to talk/talking

5 My brother can’t stand that silly TV to watch/watching

programme.

6 My sister loves classical music. I plan

TO to give/giving

S
her a concert ticket as a birthday present.

I
7 Mr Suen is out of town. We don’t expect to see/seeing

R
him again until next Friday.

8 ‘Would you consider

A to another city?’

‘No, I love Hong Kong. It’s a wonderful place to live.’

9 I couldn’t imagine my dog. He grew up

to move/moving

to leave/leaving
with me and he’s still my best friend!

10 ‘You can’t delay the problem, Rebecca,’ to solve/solving

Mr Kwan said to me.

11 Mr Chan’s car is old, but it seems in good to be/being

condition.

12 I’m sorry I made that remark. I didn’t mean to hurt/huring

you.

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F Complete the following article with the correct forms of the words given in brackets.

Anna was born to poor parents. Her family could not (1) afford to provide

(afford/provide) her a proper education. She (2)

(want/become) a singer. She left home when she was 15 to (3)
(try/work) her way to stardom.

At first, she worked as a radio station assistant. After doing that for a few
months, a producer (4) (ask/her/host) a programme.

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She (5) (agree/do) it right away. Her first programme

T
was about teen problems. As people (6) (like/call)

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her ‘Nana’, the programme was called Talk to Nana.

R I
A
In her programme, she answered teenagers’ questions over the phone. While
the caller spoke, she let them say what they (7)
(want/say). ‘I think we (8) (need/listen) to what they
say first,’ she said in an interview. ‘Most of them just need someone to lend
them an ear.’ She also (9) (try/help) them by giving
them solid, helpful advice. Her programme (10)
(start/gain) a large audience and she soon became a popular radio host.

This was many years ago. Last year, Anna died at the age of 75. Thousands of
people attended her funeral. They (11) (want/pay)
their last respects to a lady they loved.

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 To-infinitives and gerunds 2
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G Penny is talking about a city she wishes to visit and what she wants to do there. Complete the sentences
using the correct forms of the verbs given in brackets.

1 I’ve never been to Beijing. I’d love to visit the city one day.
I feel like climbing (climb) the Great Wall.

2 I’d prefer (take) the train to

(fly) on a plane. I don’t mind (spend) more
time to get there. I would enjoy the beautiful scenery along the
way.

TO
S
3 I am fond of (take) photos. When

I
I go there, I will definitely take my camera with me.

A R
4 I’ve never seen snow, so I’d prefer
there in winter to
(go)
(take) a summer trip.
Of course I would take my warmest clothes with me!

5 I am thinking of (visit) all the interesting

places in the city. My uncle has promised to show me around
when I am there. It will be so kind of him!

6 I’ll keep a diary during my stay. I will write about everything I do

in Beijing. I will be excited about (share) my
experiences with my friends when I return.

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H Complete the following article from the school’s Social Service Club Newsletter using the structure
verb + to-infinitive or verb + gerund and the words provided.

Join Doctor p t and bring joy to those in need!

As usual, the school’s Social Service Club will arrange (1) to visit

(visit) a hospital this coming December, where our club members will take gifts to

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patients who need (2) (stay) there during Christmas. This

T
year the visit will be even more special because Doctor Pet has already agreed

S
(3)
(lend) us their therapy dogs to visit the hospital with us.

R
Recently, Doctor Pet has promised (4)

I (bring) us a team of

A
12 therapy dogs on the day of the visit. In order to make sure the visit goes smoothly,

the Social Service Club is inviting you (5) (join) a one-hour

workshop next Friday. The workshop will teach you (6)

(handle) the dogs, and you will learn (7) (give) simple

instructions to a dog, such as to order it (8) (sit). All the

therapy dogs are well trained. They won’t bite, so you will not be at risk of
(9)
(injure) yourself.

If you love dogs and are thinking of (10) (help) those in

need, we encourage you (11) (sign up) for the workshop and

join the visit! We are sure that you will enjoy the experience.

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 To-infinitives and gerunds 2
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Using the language

We often use to-infinitives after verbs such as decide, forget, help, manage, try and want when talking
about decisions and effort. We can use them in, for example, a blog post to describe people’s
hobbies and activities. Look at the example below. Note the use of to-infinitives in bold.

Blog post (excerpt)

Today I decided to go hiking. I had a great time! I wanted to take photos of the mountains.
I managed to get some beautiful shots just as the sun was setting. However, I forgot to check
the bus timetable. When I finished hiking, the buses had stopped running! I tried to find a
taxi, but there were none available. In the end …

We often use gerunds after verbs such as consider, enjoy, feel like, mind and suggest when

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talking about possibilities and preferences. We can use them in, for example, an email, to
describe people’s plans and the planning process. Look at the example below. Note the use

T
of gerunds in bold.

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Email (excerpt)

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What do you feel like having for dinner? Thomas suggested getting sushi, but I know you don’t
enjoy eating fish. Any ideas? We could also consider going to a cha chaan teng around 5.30 for

A
afternoon tea, if you don’t mind eating early. I promise to …

Your teacher wants you to complete the following blog post about a nice dinner with friends to practise
using to-infinitives and gerunds. Fill in the blanks using the correct forms of the verbs given in brackets.
Write the rest of the post in your own words. Do not write more than 60 words.

My friends and I wanted (enjoy) a nice dinner to celebrate the beginning of summer.

Sally decided (make) a reservation at a fancy restaurant, but then she forgot

(confirm) the booking! We had considered (reschedule), but Jacky

said, ‘Actually, I don’t enjoy (eat) fancy food.’ He suggested (get)

some takeaway food instead. We managed to buy some sushi and ate it in a park.

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