Gerund vs. Infinitive
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- Gerunds can be used as a subject of a sentence. Take a look at some examples. Walking is good for.
In English, we use the verb form ending in -ing quite often without distinguishingbetween the use cases. Maxsea version 12 6 4 keygens download. This makes it difficult when we switch to Spanish, since wenow must make that distinction.
Infinitive: Practice ING gerunds vs. Infinitive using this ESL fun Game. This game is also excellent for classroom teaching. Teachers can engage students in a classroom vocabulary or grammar review. It is suitable for intermediate and advanced esl learners. Infinitives Battleship Game. Choose the appropriate verb form: infinitive or gerund.
In Spanish, we have to distinguish between using el gerundio and el infinitive,the gerund and the infinitive forms.Fortunately, there are a few simple tricks I will show you to determine if you aredealing with the infinitive, and if not, then use the gerund.
Gerunds
The gerund has three uses:
Progressive. Use the gerund with the verb estar to denote a continuing action, such as estoy leyendo, or 'I am reading.' Note that Spanish-learners tend to over-use the progressive tense (as in, they use it more than a native would). You really want to reserve this for when it is important that the action is in progress (or was in progress if using the past continuous tenses).
Adverb. Is your word, e.g., 'walking', 'talking', 'laughing', describing how an action is being done? If so, then its an adverb, and you use the gerund. Pasamos el día riendo. 'We spend the day laughing.' How did we spend the day? Laughing. Adverb.
Continuous action. Similar to the first case, here we use the gerund with one of a few particular verbs, andar, ir, seguir, and venir, to express ongoing action. Seguí estudiando. → 'I kept on studying.'
Infinitive
There are two main cases when you would want to use the infinitive and not the gerund.
Noun. If the word is a noun in the sentence, then use the infinitive. Here is the pro-top: If you can replace the -ing form in English with the infinitive 'to +
', then it is a noun and you want to use the infinitive. Here's a famous example: 'Seeing is believing.' Gerund or infinitive? Well, you can substitute 'To see is to believe.' and the sentence still works, so it is Ver es creer. Easy, right? Adjective. Rather than an adverb, if the word is describing a noun, it is an adjective and you want to use the infinitive. For example, 'reading group' is NOT 'el grupo leyendo', but rather 'el grupo de leer'. The tip here is if the word comes after a preposition, or could come after a preposition (like de + ..), then use the infinitive. 'We will leave after eating', 'Vamos a salir después de comer.'
Fortunately, that's pretty much it, and with these two simple rules you can figure out when touse an infinitive in the confusing cases, everything else is a gerund.
When I introduce a gerunds and infinitives activity in class, I’m usually faced with looks of quiet desperation or grim determination. Most students find the endless list of verbs to memorize daunting, to say the least! Also, most textbooks don’t cover the fact that there ARE a few helpful rules for deciding whether to use a gerund or an infinitive in a sentence. The next time you’re doing gerunds and infinitives in class, try teaching the rules below—your students will thank you!
The Basics
Gerund: VERB + -ING (eating, going, studying)
Infinitive: TO + BASE VERB (to eat, to go, to study)
A gerund is the present participle (-ing) form of the verb. An infinitive is to + thebase verb (the verb with no ending). Both gerunds and infinitives are action words (i.e., verbs) in meaning, but they act like nouns in the sentence. They always take a noun position: a subject or an object of the main verb. A gerund or infinitive is never the main verb (e.g., I hiking and I to study are incorrect).
- Skiing is fun.
- I like hiking.
- I need to study.
Even when the gerund or infinitive is the object of a sentence, it is common for a second object follow the gerund or infinitive because of their “verb” meaning.
- I enjoy watchingmovies.
- I don’t want to study English.
- I asked my friend to helpme.
Three Gerund Rules
1. Subject = Gerund
When you need an action as a subject, use a gerund. Infinitives are possible, but they are very formal and not very common in this position.
- Reading is my favorite hobby.
- Learning English has improved my confidence.
2. Preposition + Gerund
After a preposition, use a gerund. This is true for prepositions that are part of phrasal verbs, too.
- I thought about calling my grandma, but I was too tired.
- Are you planning on going to the party? (See the Notes section below to find out why planning is not a gerund.)
3. Verb + Gerund
A gerund or an infinitive can be used after a main verb. It depends on the verb, and there isn’t an easy rule for this case. Memorizing the most common verbs that take a gerund, such as advise, avoid, enjoy, finish, practice, quit, and suggest, is helpful.
- My teacher advised studying for the quiz.
- They enjoy making crafts in class.
*Don’t forget that some verbs take either a gerund or an infinitive with no change in meaning! Some common verbs include like, love, and hate.
- She likes watching movies.
- She likes to watch movies.
Three Infinitive Rules
1. Adjective + Infinitive
After an adjective, it is common to use an infinitive verb. A gerund is possible in some cases, but an infinitive is usually the better choice.
Gerunds And Infinitives Games Printable
- It is fun to play video games on the weekend.
- It was helpful to learn these grammar rules.
2. Noun + Infinitive
If the main verb has an object that is a noun or a pronoun, it is almost always followed by an infinitive verb instead of a gerund.
- Did you want me to call you?
- The students asked their teacher to help them.
*Note: This rules is very helpful, because it is stronger than the “verb + gerund” rule. For example, the verb advise normally takes a gerund (She advised studying for the test), but a noun/pronoun object will override this rule (She advised her students to study for the test). Far cry 2 update 1.03 crack.
3. Verb + Infinitive
A gerund or an infinitive can be used after a main verb. It depends on the verb, and there isn’t an easy rule for this case. Memorizing the most common verbs that take a infinitive, such as ask, choose, decide, get, need, plan, promise, and want, is helpful.
Gerund Vs Infinitive Rules
- He wants to learn Japanese.
- We need to clean up this mess.
*Try typing in “gerunds and infinitives verb list” into a search engine to see lists of common verbs that take a gerund or an infinitive.
Notes
Students often get confused by the other functions of -ing words in English. It’s worth pointing out that Be + -ing verb can also be a progressive verb form, and that -ing adjectives are possible after the Be verb or before a noun.
- I amstudying for my test. (present progressive verb; not a gerund)
- That game was exciting. (adjective; not a gerund)
- That was an exciting game. (adjective; not a gerund)
Practice
Try our Being Brave: Gerunds & Infinitives lesson in the Grammar Stories section of our Grammar School! Students can see gerunds and infinitives in context and practice through a variety of tasks, including a short reading, discussion questions, a writing activity, and two grammar exercises.