- •Grammatical categories of the gerund
- •Gerundial phrases
- •The gerund as subject
- •The gerund as predicate
- •The gerund as predicative
- •The gerund as part of compound verbal aspect predicate
- •The duration or continuation of the action,
- •4. The end of the action,
- •The gerund as attribute
- •Preposition ‘for’
- •Preposition ‘in’
- •Preposition ‘at’
- •The gerund as adverbial modifier
- •1. Adverbial Modifier of Time
- •Examples:
- •2. Adverbial Modifier of Manner and Attendant Circumstances
- •Examples:
- •3. Adverbial Modifier of Concession
- •Examples:
- •4. Adverbial Modifier of Comparison
- •Examples:
- •5. Adverbial Modifier of Cause/Reason
- •Examples:
- •6. Adverbial Modifier of Condition
- •Examples:
- •Adverbial Modifier of Exception
- •Examples:
- •Adverbial Modifier of Purpose
- •Examples:
- •The gerund as object
- •To advise to allow to permit to recommend to encourage
- •Preposition ‘for’
- •Preposition ‘at’
- •Preposition ‘from’
- •The Gerund and the verbal noun
- •Revision of gerund and infinitive
- •Appendix: verbals (2010-2011)
- •Infinitive and gerund
- •Verbs followed immediately by the infinitive
- •Verbs followed by either gerunds or infinitives without any change in meaning
- •Adjectives followed by the infinitive
- •Set expressions used with the infinitive
- •VI. Verbs commonly used with the gerund
- •VII. Adjectives always used with the gerund
- •Verbs with prepositions commonly used with the gerund
- •Set phrases with prepositions commonly used with the gerund
- •Gerunds after certain nouns with prepositions
- •Gerunds after prepositions
- •Infinitives and gerunds used with difference in meaning t o stop
- •T o remember, to forget, to regret,
- •T o mean
- •T o prefer
- •T o like
- •T o hate
- •T o be sorry
- •To be afraid, to dread, to fear
- •T o afford
- •T o consider
- •T o need
- •To advise to allow to recommend
- •T o be interested
- •T o imagine
- •Cannot help (used to say that it is impossible to avoid or prevent something)
The gerund as object
The gerund can be used as:
a direct object, e.g. Joan suggested asking her father for his opinion.
a prepositional indirect object, e.g. I wouldn't dream of letting strangers look after my children.
In the function of the direct object the gerund can follow a number of verbs. Some of them can combine only with the gerund, others both with the gerund and the infinitive. The verbs given below are followed only by the gerund.
-
to admit
to detest
to fancy
to practise
to risk
to appreciate
to enjoy
to mention
to put off
to suggest
to avoid
to escape
to mind
to recollect
to understand
to delay
to excuse
to miss
to resent
сan’t help
to deny
to fail
to postpone
to resist
сan’t stand
More verbs are given in the Appendix. Here are some examples of using the gerund after these verbs,
Beth avoided speaking in public as she was not sure of herself.
The boy admitted stealing the money from the cloak room.
Do you mind Alice’s joining us for the trip?
He mentioned flying to Reno for the weekend.
The gerund is found in the function of a direct object after two adjectives: to be busy and to be worth, e.g.
Is it worth buying this expensive printer?
He was busy packing his suitcase when the taxi arrived.
The following verbs and expressions can be followed either by gerund or by the infinitive with a difference in meaning
-
to like
to forget
to be sorry
to consider
to afford
to dislike
to remember
to regret
to be afraid
to mean
to hate
to try
to prefer
to fear
to consider
Mary couldn’t afford to go out very often as she was saving to buy a new car.
Philip doesn’t earn much and he can’t afford going out with friends every weekend.
I didn’t like the idea. It meant losing my job.
I meant to call you, but I forgot.
He bitterly regretted ever having mentioned her father’s unsuccessful business.
We regret to inform you that you have failed your exam.
Paul hates having his picture taken.
I hate to see you unhappy.
Note: For the difference in meaning see Appendix.
In the phrase would prefer … rather than both bare infinitive and gerund can be used after the conjunction ‘than’,
I would prefer to spend the weekend at home rather than drive/driving all the way to your mother’s.
Chantal would prefers travelling by train rather than flying.
There is also a group of verbs that can take either infinitive or gerund depending on the voice they are used in or the object they take.