1 Grammar Practice 1
Handout 4
Verb complementation: ing-forms and infinitives
Functions of the –ing and infinitive forms of verbs
–ing and infinitive forms of verbs functions
Reading is his favourite pastime.
To give is better than to receive. subject
I’ve finished working.
I want to leave. object
My worst vice is smoking.
adverbial complement
Her first impulse was to scream.
Forms of the gerund and the infinitive
Gerund Infinitive
I. Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the gerund or the infinitive (as indicated).
1. to be chosen
His greatest ambition is ___________________________ (choose) to take part in the Olympics. /passive infinitive/
2. ___________________________
To be accepted (accept) for that course changed my life. /passive gerund/
3. Please come in. I’m sorry ___________________________
to have kept (keep) you waiting. /perfect infinitive/
4. I saw Amy last night. She seems ___________________________
to be getting (get) much better. /continuous infinitive/
5. He denied ___________________________
having said (say) it to me. /perfect gerund/
6. We congratulated him on ___________________________
getting (get) the job. /gerund/
7. He was a difficult child, probably due to ___________________________
having been looked after (look after) by a series of different foster
parents. /perfect passive gerund/
II. Choose the appropriate form(s). ( there is
noun an adjective I -
ing forms function as nouns or verbs
1. I don’t like them / their gossiping. "
verb I adverb spiteful has to be used 1
"
nouns possessive form e. g their -
2. I don’t like them / their spiteful gossiping. , .
3. Have you heard them / their singing yet? verbs object pronoun e. g. them -
,
4. Singing / The singing songs is fun.
5. Singing / The singing of the national anthem in class was terrible. used with sense verbs
6. I’m looking forward to go / to going on holiday.
7. I’m used to be / being woken up at night.
8. The possibility to sell / of selling the house made him think about emigrating.
9. The mission of the USS Enterprise is to boldly go / to go boldly where no man has ever gone before. to go boldly
10. The report is to hand in / to be handed in first thing in the morning. infinitive
passive -
the doer of the action is not a subject of the sentence
Using infinitives
1. I bought a cage to keep my hamster in.
to express purpose and/or 2. I bought a cage for John to keep his hamster in.
result 3. I came here in order to tell you the good news.
4. I came here so as to tell you the good news.
5. They queued for hours at the box office only to discover that the show was sold out.
6. He is too ill to come.
7. The garden isn’t big enough to play games in.
to express an obligation 8. There is a lot of work to do.
9. I have (got) a few people to see.
, 2 Grammar Practice 1
Handout 4
after adjectives They are sure to have a good time.
Other adjectives:
(un)able, afraid, anxious, ashamed, bound, careful, certain, crazy, curious, due, eager, fit, happy,
impossible, likely, lucky, pleased, right, shocked, stupid, surprised, thrilled, welcome, wrong
after nouns She’s finally made a decision to leave.
Other nouns:
attempt, bid, desire, incentive, need, nuisance, opportunity, place, pleasure, reason, time, wish
III. Use the following information to complete the sentences.
1. People won’t leave their cars at home if public transport remains so expensive.
for people to leave their cars at home when public transport remains so expensive.
There is little incentive ___________________________
2. I want to get home to open my presents.
I'm anxious _______________________
to get home to open my presents.
3. Everyone will be able to comment.
Everyone will have an opportunity _________________________.
to comment to make a comment
4. Because of him I couldn't say no.
He made it impossible _______________________
for me to say no.
5. I agreed to her suggestion. I didn’t want to upset her.
I agreed to her suggestion in ______________________
order not to upset her.
6. I always keep fruit in the fridge. This keeps insects off it.
I always keep fruit in the fridge so _________________________
as to keep insects off it.
7. It’s likely that we'll be in Spain this time next year.
We ___________________________________
are likely to be in Spain this time next year.
Verbs followed by -ing forms:
# Pattern Example sentence(s) Other verbs with the same pattern
1 V+ing He admitted feeling jealous. burst out, carry on, consider, contemplate, defer,
delay, deny, escape, feel like, finish, keep (on),
postpone, practise, put off, save, suggest
2 V+ (O)+ing I don’t mind him going there. appreciate, avoid, can’t help, detest, dislike, enjoy,
I don’t mind going there. face, fancy, imagine, involve, justify, mention,
miss, prevent, recall, resent, resist, risk, tolerate,
understand
3 V+O+ing I caught him drinking at night. discover, feel, find, hear, leave, notice, observe,
see, spot, watch
4 V+ing The doctor advised taking a course of allow, forbid, permit, recommend
V+O+to-Inf antibiotics.
The doctor advised him to take a course of
antibiotics.
Verbs followed by infinitive forms:
# Pattern Example sentence(s) Other verbs with the same pattern
1 V+ to-Inf She decided to give up her job. afford, agree, aim, appear, attempt, care, consent,
demand, fail, fight, guarantee, happen, hesitate,
hope, manage, neglect, offer, prepare, pause,
pretend, promise, propose, prove, refuse, seem,
swear, tend, threaten, undertake, vow
2 V+(O)+to-Inf He didn’t expect to pass the exam. ask, beg, choose, dare, intend, trouble, want, wish
He didn’t expect her to pass the exam. (dare can also be used without to when there is no object)
3 V+(for+O)+to-Inf She has arranged to have swimming campaign, long, plan, wait
lessons.
She has arranged for her son to have
swimming lessons.
4 V+O+to-Inf They forced us to open our suitcases. cause, command, compel, encourage, get,
instruct, invite, leave, oblige, order, persuade,
remind, request, teach, tell, tempt, urge, warn
5 V+O+bareInf They made us raise our hands. let, help
(help can also be used with to)
Handout 4
Verb complementation: ing-forms and infinitives
Functions of the –ing and infinitive forms of verbs
–ing and infinitive forms of verbs functions
Reading is his favourite pastime.
To give is better than to receive. subject
I’ve finished working.
I want to leave. object
My worst vice is smoking.
adverbial complement
Her first impulse was to scream.
Forms of the gerund and the infinitive
Gerund Infinitive
I. Complete the sentences with the appropriate form of the gerund or the infinitive (as indicated).
1. to be chosen
His greatest ambition is ___________________________ (choose) to take part in the Olympics. /passive infinitive/
2. ___________________________
To be accepted (accept) for that course changed my life. /passive gerund/
3. Please come in. I’m sorry ___________________________
to have kept (keep) you waiting. /perfect infinitive/
4. I saw Amy last night. She seems ___________________________
to be getting (get) much better. /continuous infinitive/
5. He denied ___________________________
having said (say) it to me. /perfect gerund/
6. We congratulated him on ___________________________
getting (get) the job. /gerund/
7. He was a difficult child, probably due to ___________________________
having been looked after (look after) by a series of different foster
parents. /perfect passive gerund/
II. Choose the appropriate form(s). ( there is
noun an adjective I -
ing forms function as nouns or verbs
1. I don’t like them / their gossiping. "
verb I adverb spiteful has to be used 1
"
nouns possessive form e. g their -
2. I don’t like them / their spiteful gossiping. , .
3. Have you heard them / their singing yet? verbs object pronoun e. g. them -
,
4. Singing / The singing songs is fun.
5. Singing / The singing of the national anthem in class was terrible. used with sense verbs
6. I’m looking forward to go / to going on holiday.
7. I’m used to be / being woken up at night.
8. The possibility to sell / of selling the house made him think about emigrating.
9. The mission of the USS Enterprise is to boldly go / to go boldly where no man has ever gone before. to go boldly
10. The report is to hand in / to be handed in first thing in the morning. infinitive
passive -
the doer of the action is not a subject of the sentence
Using infinitives
1. I bought a cage to keep my hamster in.
to express purpose and/or 2. I bought a cage for John to keep his hamster in.
result 3. I came here in order to tell you the good news.
4. I came here so as to tell you the good news.
5. They queued for hours at the box office only to discover that the show was sold out.
6. He is too ill to come.
7. The garden isn’t big enough to play games in.
to express an obligation 8. There is a lot of work to do.
9. I have (got) a few people to see.
, 2 Grammar Practice 1
Handout 4
after adjectives They are sure to have a good time.
Other adjectives:
(un)able, afraid, anxious, ashamed, bound, careful, certain, crazy, curious, due, eager, fit, happy,
impossible, likely, lucky, pleased, right, shocked, stupid, surprised, thrilled, welcome, wrong
after nouns She’s finally made a decision to leave.
Other nouns:
attempt, bid, desire, incentive, need, nuisance, opportunity, place, pleasure, reason, time, wish
III. Use the following information to complete the sentences.
1. People won’t leave their cars at home if public transport remains so expensive.
for people to leave their cars at home when public transport remains so expensive.
There is little incentive ___________________________
2. I want to get home to open my presents.
I'm anxious _______________________
to get home to open my presents.
3. Everyone will be able to comment.
Everyone will have an opportunity _________________________.
to comment to make a comment
4. Because of him I couldn't say no.
He made it impossible _______________________
for me to say no.
5. I agreed to her suggestion. I didn’t want to upset her.
I agreed to her suggestion in ______________________
order not to upset her.
6. I always keep fruit in the fridge. This keeps insects off it.
I always keep fruit in the fridge so _________________________
as to keep insects off it.
7. It’s likely that we'll be in Spain this time next year.
We ___________________________________
are likely to be in Spain this time next year.
Verbs followed by -ing forms:
# Pattern Example sentence(s) Other verbs with the same pattern
1 V+ing He admitted feeling jealous. burst out, carry on, consider, contemplate, defer,
delay, deny, escape, feel like, finish, keep (on),
postpone, practise, put off, save, suggest
2 V+ (O)+ing I don’t mind him going there. appreciate, avoid, can’t help, detest, dislike, enjoy,
I don’t mind going there. face, fancy, imagine, involve, justify, mention,
miss, prevent, recall, resent, resist, risk, tolerate,
understand
3 V+O+ing I caught him drinking at night. discover, feel, find, hear, leave, notice, observe,
see, spot, watch
4 V+ing The doctor advised taking a course of allow, forbid, permit, recommend
V+O+to-Inf antibiotics.
The doctor advised him to take a course of
antibiotics.
Verbs followed by infinitive forms:
# Pattern Example sentence(s) Other verbs with the same pattern
1 V+ to-Inf She decided to give up her job. afford, agree, aim, appear, attempt, care, consent,
demand, fail, fight, guarantee, happen, hesitate,
hope, manage, neglect, offer, prepare, pause,
pretend, promise, propose, prove, refuse, seem,
swear, tend, threaten, undertake, vow
2 V+(O)+to-Inf He didn’t expect to pass the exam. ask, beg, choose, dare, intend, trouble, want, wish
He didn’t expect her to pass the exam. (dare can also be used without to when there is no object)
3 V+(for+O)+to-Inf She has arranged to have swimming campaign, long, plan, wait
lessons.
She has arranged for her son to have
swimming lessons.
4 V+O+to-Inf They forced us to open our suitcases. cause, command, compel, encourage, get,
instruct, invite, leave, oblige, order, persuade,
remind, request, teach, tell, tempt, urge, warn
5 V+O+bareInf They made us raise our hands. let, help
(help can also be used with to)
