GERUNDS OR INFINITIVES

Gerunds - ing words and infinitivesto + verb are verb forms that can be used as nouns.. They can be used as subjects, objects, or objects of prepositions.. When used as direct objects

GERUNDS OR INFINITIVES

Gerunds (- ing words) and infinitives

(to + verb) are verb forms that can be used as nouns They can be used as

subjects, objects, or objects of

prepositions When used as direct

objects, you have to look at the main verb to decide whether to gerund or infinitive form You can find lists of

these special verbs in most grammar reference books

STRATEGIES FOR GERUND OR INFINITIVE ITEMS

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

Is the main verb one that can only be

followed by a gerund (admit, consider,

enjoy, regret, etc.)? If so, is the direct

object in the gerund (- ing) form?

INCORRECT [Charlie regrets to take that extra piece of pie.]

CORRECT Charlie regrets taking that extra piece of pie

Is the main verb one that can only be followed by an infinitive (afford, ask, decide, expect, etc.)? If so, is the

direct object in the infinitive (to )

form?

INCORRECT [We expect finishing before the deadline.]

CORRECT We expect to finish

before the deadline

1 Although the new

accountant enjoys working

transfer (B) or quitting (C)

because he dislikes the

supervisor nagging (D) him so much

To quit (as sth) (informal) to leave your job, school, etc.:

If I don’t get more money I’ll quit

To nag (at sb) to keep

complaining to sb about their behaviour or keep asking

them to do sth

SYN  To pester:

Stop nagging—I’ll do it as

soon as I can

2 Ms Smith wanted meeting (A) her coworkers, who

always gather to have (B)

lunch in the employee

cafeteria, but she had to

postpone (C) lunch in order to finish typing (D) one last

letter

To gather to come together, or bring people together, in one

place to form a group

3 Not only did we forget to

turn off (A) the lights, but we also failed locking (B) the

door, to check (C) that nobody

(D) the alarm

4 The file clerk says he can’t afford to live (A) on his salary

if he wants saving (B) some

money for an emergency, so

he’s going to stop complaining (C) and start looking (D) for

another job

To afford [no passive] (usually used with can, could or be

able to, especially in negative

5 The advertising manager considered leaving (A) the

firm, but he has decided

staying (B) here part time

while continuing (C) to work (D) on the Johnson project

6 The nutritionist told him to avoid (A) to eat (B) lots of

carbohydrates, focus on

having (C) more protein-rich foods and green vegetables,

least eight glasses of water a

day

Nutritionist (n) a person who

is an expert on the

relationship between food and health

Carbohydrate (n)

1 A substance such as sugar or

starch that consists of carbon,

hydrogen and oxygen

Carbohydrates in food provide the body with energy and heat.

2 Carbohydrates [pl.] foods such as bread, potatoes and rice that

contain a lot of carbohydrate

7 When we were talking

about relaxing (A) after work, Yafet said he enjoyed to listen (B) to music, Carla said she

preferred jogging (C), and I

mentioned I was considering

taking up (D) tennis

To take up sth to fill or use an amount of space or time:

The table takes up too much room.

I won’t take up any more of

your time

8 After Kendall admitted

taking (A) home office

equipment for his personal

use, the boss said he was

thinking of firing (B) him, but had decided letting (C) him

do (D) it again

To admit (to sth / to doing sth) | To admit (to sb) (that … ) to agree,

often unwillingly, that sth is true

9 Paula says she’s planning

on resigning (A) soon because she expects getting accepted

(B) into an MBA program,

To resign (from sth)|To resign (as sth) to officially tell sb that you are leaving your job, an

organization, etc.:

He resigned as manager after eight years

MBA (n) a second university degree in business (the

to do an MBA

10 If you want my advice

about succeeding (A) in the

arrive (B) on time every day, agree to work (C) late if

(D)

Workplace (n) (often the

workplace) [sing.] the office,

factory, etc where people

work:

The introduction of new

Technology into the workplace

To gossip to talk about other

people’s private lives, often in

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