Englishtown
Englishtown
Free
English for New Immigrants !
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Grammar
for foreigner:
ESL-52
ESL-53
Dictionary:
Contents: 8.
Connecting Ideas 9.
Comparisons 10.The
Passive
11.Cont/Noncount
Nouns and Articles
12.Ajective
Clauses 13.Gerunds and Infinitives
14.Noun
Clauses Appendix: Phrasal Verbs Preposition Combinations
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13-1 Verb + Gerund |
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verb gerund I enjoy walking in the park. |
A gerund is the -ing
form of a verb, It is used as a noun. walking is a gerund. It is used as the object of the verb enjoy. |
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13-2 Go + -Ing |
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(a) Did you
go shopping yesterday? (b) I went swimming last week. (c) Bob hasn't gone fishing in years. |
Go is followed by a gerund
in certain idiomatic. expressions about activities. Notice: There is no to between go and the gerund. Incorrect: Did you go to shopping? |
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13-3 Verb + Infinitive |
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(a) Tom offered
to lend me some money. (b) I've decided to buy a new car. |
Some verbs are followed by
an infinitive; An Infinitive = to + the simple form of a verb. |
| (c) I've decided not to keep my old car. | Negative form: not + infinitive |
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13-4 Verb + Gerund or Infinitive |
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(a) It began raining. (b) It began to rain. |
Some verbs are followed by
either a gerund or an infinitive. Usually there is no
difference in meaning. (a ) and (b) have the same meaning. |
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Common Verbs Followed by Either a
Gerund or an Infinitive begin like hate start love can't stand continue |
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13-5 Singular and Plural Verbs in Adjective Clauses |
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(a) Kate insisted on
coming with us. |
A preposition is followed by a gerund, not an infinitive. In (a): The preposition (on) is followed by a gerund (coming). |
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Common Expressions with Prepositions
Followed by Gerunds be afraid of (doing something) forgive (someone) for Plan on apologize for be good at be responsible for believe in insist on stop (someone) from dream about be interested in thank (someone) for be excited about look forward to be tired of feel like be nervous about worry about/ be worried about |
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| 13-6 Using By and With to Express How Something is Done | |
| (a) Pat turned off the tape recorder by pushing the stop button. | By + a gerund is used to express how something is done. |
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(a) Mary goes to work
by bus. (c) Andrea stirred her coffee with a spoon. |
By or with followed by a noun is also used to express how something is done. |
| 13-7 Using Gerunds as Subjects; Using It + Infinitive | |
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(a) Riding horse
is fun. (b) It is fun to ride horses. (c) Coming to class on time is important. (d) It is important to come to class on time. |
(a) and (b) have the same
meaning. In (a)" A gerund (riding ) is the subject of the sentence. Notice: The verb (is) is singular because a gerund is singular. |
| 13-8 It + Infinitive: Using For (someone) | |
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(a) You should study
hard. (b) It is important for you to study hard. (c) Mary should study hard. (d) It is important for Mary to study hard. (e) We don't have to go to the meeting. (f) It isn't necessary for us to go to the meeting. (g) A dog can't talk. (h) It is impossible for a dog to talk. |
(a) and (b) have a
similar meaning. Notice the pattern in (b): it is + adjective + for (someone) + infinitive phrase. |
| 13-9 Expressing Purpose with In Order To and For | |
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--- Why did you go to
the past office? (a) I went to the post office because I wanted to mail a letter. (b) I went to the post office in order to mail a letter. (c) I went to the post office to mail a letter. |
In order to expresses purpose. It answers the question " Why?" |
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in (c): in order
is frequently omitted. (a), (b), and (c) have the same meaning. |
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(d) I went to the post
office for some stamps. (e) I went to the post office to by some stamps. Incorrect: I went to the post office for buying some stamps. |
For is also used to express purpose, but it is a preposition and is followed by a noun phrase, as in (d). |
| 13-10 Using Infinitive with Too and Enough | |
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Too + Adjective +
(For Someone) +
Infinitive (a) A piano is too heavy to lift. (b) That box is too heavy for me to lift. Enough+ Noun + Infinitive (c) I don't have enough money to buy that car. (d) Did you have enough time to finish the test? Adjective + Enough + Infinitive (e) Jimmy isn't old enough to go to school. (f) Are you hungry enough to eat three sandwiches? |
Infinitives often follow
expressions with too. Too comes in front
of an adjective. In the speaker's mind, the use of too implies a negative result. |
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Infinitive often follow
expressions with enough. Enough comes in front of a noun. Enough follows an adjective. |
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