The gerund can be used:

1. As the subject of a verb

2. As the object of a verb
3. As the object of a preposition
4. After a possessive or the possessive form
of nouns
5. After certain verbs
6. Special combination
7. Formed by adding “not” before it.
 Gerunds
A gerund is a noun made from a verb by
adding "-ing."
The gerund form of the verb:
read --- reading
write --- writing
swim --- swimming
 As the subject of a verb
When a gerund is used as the subject of a verb,
it is placed at the beginning of a sentence.
Reading romantic novels is my favourite pastime.

Smoking is hazardous to health.

Climbing mountains can be dangerous if we are not careful.

A baby’s crying woke me up last.

Walking from here to the local supermarket takes only five

minutes.
Notes: The gerund is also used in the following
constructions:
1) It is no use/It is no good

e.g It is no use trying to make her change

her mind.
It is no good interfering with other people’s
business.
2) There is no

e.g There is no joking about such matters.

There is no denying the fact that the Clean
Hong Kong Campaign is a success.
3) It’s worth / It’s not worth

E.g. Is the film worth seeing ?

It is not worth going to see that film.

4) It’s a waste of money / time

E.g. It’s a waste of time writing the report.

It’s a waste of money buying the doll.

5 ) Have difficulty
E.g. Mary has difficulty doing her Maths homework .
I’m sorry I’m late. I had difficulty finding the
place.

6 ) Go-ing
E.g. Did you go shopping yesterday ?
How often do you go swimming in the
summer ?
 As the object of a verb
When a gerund is used as the object of a verb
in a sentence, it is placed after the verb.

She tried to avoid getting involved in their quarrels.

He enjoys acting.

Mary disliked listening to pop music.

They hate eating fatty foods.

We all enjoy reading a good book.

 Note: The following words are followed
by gerunds, not infinitives:

Acknowledge , admit , anticipate , appreciate , avoid ,

celebrate , defer , delay , deny , detest , dislike , like ,
consider , doubt , enjoy , escape , excuse , fancy ,
finish , forgive , remember ,imagine , include , keep ,
mention , mind , miss , propose , pardon , postpone ,
practice , prevent , recall , recollect , report , resent ,
resist , risk , save , stand , suggest , tolerate ,
understand , be worth , be busy
 As a object of a preposition
A gerund can also be used as the object of a
preposition. In this case, the gerund follows the
preposition.

My brother is thinking of changing his job.

She is fed up with teaching English.

I look forward to seeing you in the summer.

I was interested in painting.

He persisted in carrying out the plan.

Notes1: There are two exceptions----
except and but .

e.g There was nothing left for us to do except complain

to the Consumer Council.

He did nothing but (to) watch television yesterday.

Notes2: In the following phrases, to is a

preposition.

used to, averse to, closed to, object to, devoted to,
when it comes to, opposed to, susceptible to,
look forward to, accustomed to, confessed to, key to
 After a possessive adjective
or the possessive form of nouns

Possessive adjective : my, our, your, his,

her, its, their

Possessive form of nouns : John’s my brother’s

Example :

Would you mind my using your book?

Would you mind Joan’s using your dictionary?

 After certain verbs
Avoid enjoy miss recall
appreciate finish oppose mind

resist dislike prevent waste

Examples :
1. I dislike having lunch with John.
2. Would you mind answering my question ?
3. When will you finish talking ?
7. Formed by adding “not” before it.

Example: I apologize for not being able to see

you off at the airport tomorrow.

He resented not having been invited

to the party.
 INFINITIVE:--BARE - INF.--
(1) After auxiliary verb
"do , does , did , shall , should, will , would , can , could , may ,
might , must"
Alice could not find the key.
I will be glad to help you.

(2)After verbs of perception

"see , notice , observe , watch ,hear , feel , smell"
I saw her get on the bus.
He heard her say that.

(3)After "make" & "let’’

His joke made us laugh.
She did not let her sister go to the party.
BARE - INF.
(4)After "had better" "would rather' "cannot but" "can
do nothing but"
You ‘d better think about it.
I ‘d rather wait here a little longer.
Compare “ I ‘d rather you waited here a little longer.
I cannot but laugh whenever I think of his humourous remark.
As it was raining hard , I could do nothing but stay at home
(5)After "need" "dare" and "except"
He needn’t do it himself.
Need he do it himself?
She dared not lie to her parents.
Dared she lie to her parents?
 TO - INF.
(1)As a subject
E.g To succeed at my fob is all I want at the moment.
To argue with him is a waste of time.

(2) To express an intention

E.g. I go to school to study.
She goes running everyday to lose weight.

(3) In order to join a question & answer in single sentence.

Q:Why did he move to Las Vegas?
A1:He wanted to be closer to the casino.
A2:He moved to Las Vegas in order to be closer to the
casinos.
 to - inf.

(4) So as ( not) to  join two sentences that

relate to the same idea in one sentence.

Eg. She studied very hard for the test. She

wanted to be save to pass.
She studied very hard so as to be save to pass
the test.
TO - INF.
(5) Verb + inf.
A few of the more common verbs normally followed by an
infinitive include :
afford agree appear attempt decide determine
expect hope like love need offer
pretend seem threaten refuse

We can’t afford to go away this summer.

The room appears to have been searched.
The prisoners attempted to escape but failed.
TO - INF.
(6) Verb + object +inf.
A few of the more common verbs normally
followed by an object + an infinitive include:
advise allow ask encourage help invite
know order teach tempt tell warn

The doctor advised me to take a complete break.

Please allow me to carry that bag for you.
We must appoint a time to meet again.
 TO - INF.
(7) Adjective followed by infinitive
dangerous important rude good

Eg. It s dangerous to walk home alone.

To walk home along is dangerous.

(8) “ Too” and ‘not enough’

Eg, He is too tired to work, he should take some
rest.
He is not tall enough to be a policeman.
COMPARISON
BETWEEN
GERUNDS AND
INFINITIVE
COMPARISON BETWEEN GERUNDS AND
INFINITIVE

(1) Some verbs followed by GERUNDS or

INFINITIVES without there being any change in
meaning .
Such verbs include ‘start , begin ,cease, continue
and can’t bear’.
(2) Those which can be followed by either without any
difference in meaning.
Eg. They continued to - work after lunch.
- working
 COMPARISON BETWEEN GERUNDS
AND INFINITIVE

STOP 。 When the teacher came, the

children stopped talking at once.
The driver stopped his cars to ask
where the farm was.

REMEMBER 。 I can’t find my key. I remember

putting it in my coat , pocket ,in
this morning.
I hope you will remember to post
my letter on your way to school.
 COMPARISON BETWEEN GERUNDS AND
INFINITIVE
FORGET 。 He has forgotten asking me the same
question yesterday.

He has asked me to lend him my

dictionary because he has forgotten to
bring it again. mountain.

TRY 。 After failing twice, they tried climbing

from the other side of the maintain.

This year they will try to climb a high

mountain.
COMPARISON BETWEEN GERUNDS
AND INFINITIVE
REGRET 。 I regret telling her the secret. Now,
everybody knows that I’ m going to
resign.
I regret to tell you that your
application has not been successful.
I ‘ll let you know when there is
another vacancy.
GO ON 。 They went on talking until late into
the night.
They went on to talk about other
things.
 COMPARISON BETWEEN GERUNDS
AND INFINITIVE

Eg. “Allow , advise , acknowledge , encourage ,

permit “,can be followed by an Object + infinitive.

She advised us to start early.

Compare: she advised starting early.

Eg. “deserve , need , want , and require “

Can be followed by either an active gerund or a
passive infinitive without change of meaning.

This needs- painting

- to be painted.
GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
Put the verbs in brackets into the gerund or the infinitive.
I want _____ (finish) work early tonight.
I hate ______ (wait) for buses in the rain.
I’m going to the café _____ (meet) Anna.
Sam is really good at _____ (climb).
Thank you for ____ (be) so helpful.
I enjoy _____ (listen) to the radio while cooking.
Let’s go now. I’m worried about _____ (miss) the train.
He refused _____ (help) me.

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GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
Put the verbs in brackets into the gerund or the infinitive.

9. There’s a lot of work ______ (do) in the new building.

10. ‘What’s this for?’
‘It’s for _______ (cook) the vegetables.’
11. I really love _____ (play) with the children.
12. ______ (swim) is a good form of exercise.
13. I can’t stand _____ (do) the washing-up.
14. We managed ______ (pass) the exam by _____ (test) each other
every evening.
15. We were getting tired, so we stopped _____ (have) lunch.
16. I was surprised _______ (not hear) about the new baby.

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