Gerund pdf

The phrase modifies Tom, not woman. Points to remember 1. A participle is a verbal ending in -ing present or -ed, -en, -d, -t, -n, or -ne past that functions as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun. Participles and participial phrases must be placed as close to the nouns or pronouns they modify as possible, and those nouns or pronouns must be clearly stated.

A participial phrase is set off with commas when it: a comes at the beginning of a sentence b interrupts a sentence as a nonessential element c comes at the end of a sentence and is separated from the word it modifies. An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb in its simplest "stem" form and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

The term verbal indicates that an infinitive, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, the infinitive may function as a subject, direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence. To wait seemed foolish when decisive action was required. His ambition is to fly.

The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb intended. The infinitive phrase functions as an adjective modifying paper. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb agreed. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb asked.

The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb wanted. Carol actor or "subject" of infinitive phrase to be infinitive the captain subject complement for Carol, via state of being expressed in infinitive of the team prepositional phrase as adjective Actors: In these last two examples the actor of the infinitive phrase could be roughly characterized as the "subject" of the action or state expressed in the infinitive. It is somewhat misleading to use the word subject, however, since an infinitive phrase is not a full clause with a subject and a finite verb.

Also notice that when it is a pronoun, the actor appears in the objective case me, not I, in the fourth example. Certain verbs, when they. Still other verbs can go either way, as the charts below illustrate. Verbs that take infinitive objects without actors: agree fail learn prefer remember Examples: Most students plan to study.

We began to learn. They offered to pay. They neglected to pay. She promised to return. In all of these examples no actor can come between the italicized main finite verb and the infinitive direct-object phrase.

Verbs that take infinitive objects with actors: advise encourage instruct implore Examples: He reminded me to buy milk. Their fathers advise them to study. She forced the defendant to admit the truth. You've convinced the director of the program to change her position.

I invite you to consider the evidence. In all of these examples an actor is required after the italicized main finite verb and before the infinitive direct-object phrase. Verbs that use either pattern: ask expect would like want need allow force invite incite convince hire permit appoint remind teach tell order begin hesitate neglect pretend start continue hope offer promise try decide intend plan refuse.

Examples: I asked to see the records. I asked him to show me the records. Trent expected his group to win. Trent expected to win. Brenda likes to drive fast. Brenda likes her friend to drive fast. In all of these examples the italicized main verb can take an infinitive object with or without an actor. Punctuation: If the infinitive is used as an adverb and is the beginning phrase in a sentence, it should be set off with a comma; otherwise, no punctuation is needed for an infinitive phrase.

To buy a basket of flowers, John had to spend his last dollar. To improve your writing, you must consider your purpose and audience. An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb; it may be used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

An infinitive phrase requires a comma only if it is used as an adverb at the beginning of a sentence. Split infinitives Split infinitives occur when additional words are included between to and the verb in an infinitive. Many readers find a single adverb splitting the infinitive to be acceptable, but this practice should be avoided in formal writing. Examples: I like to on a nice day walk in the woods.

Comparing Gerunds and Participles Look at the following pair of sentences. In the first, the use of a gerund functioning as a noun allows the meaning to be expressed more precisely than in the second.

In the first sentence the interrupting itself, a specific behavior, is precisely indicated as the cause of the speaker's irritation. In the second the cause of the irritation is identified less precisely as Bill, who just happens to have been interrupting. In the second sentence, interrupting is actually a participle, not a gerund, since it functions as an adjective modifying Bill.

I was irritated by Bill's constant interrupting. I was irritated by Bill, constantly interrupting. The same pattern is shown in these other example pairs below: in the first of each pair, a gerund noun-function is used; in the second, a participle adjective-function.

Notice the subtle change in meaning between the two sentences in each pair. Examples: The guitarist's finger-picking was extraordinary. The technique was extraordinary. The guitarist, finger-picking, was extraordinary. The person was extraordinary, demonstrating the technique. He was not impressed with their competing.

The competing did not impress him. He was not impressed with them competing. They did not impress him as they competed. Grandpa enjoyed his grandchildren's running and laughing. Grandpa enjoyed his grandchildren, running and laughing. Comparing Gerunds and Infinitives The difference in the form of gerunds and infinitives is quite clear just from comparing the following lists: Gerunds: swimming, hoping, telling, eating, dreaming Infinitives: to swim, to hope, to tell, to eat, to dream Their functions, however, overlap.

Gerunds always function as nouns, but infinitives often also serve as nouns. Deciding which to use can be confusing in many situations, especially for people whose first language is not English.

Confusion between gerunds and infinitives occurs primarily in cases in which one or the other functions as the direct object in a sentence. In English some verbs take gerunds as verbal direct objects exclusively while other verbs take only infinitives and still others can take either. Many such verbs are listed below, organized according to which kind of verbal direct object they take. Verbs that take only infinitives as verbal direct objects agree learn hope propose Examples: I hope to go on a vacation soon.

They agreed to sign the treaty. Allen enjoys cooking. Allen enjoys to cook. She has continued working at the store. They like to go to the movies. They like going to the movies. Brent started to walk home. Brent started walking home. Forget and remember These two verbs change meaning depending on whether a gerund or infinitive is used as the object. Examples: Jack forgets to take out the cat. He regularly forgets. Jack forgets taking out the cat.

He did it, but he doesn't remember now. Jack forgot to take out the cat. He never did it. Jack forgot taking out the cat. He did it, but he didn't remember sometime later. Jack remembers to take out the cat. He regularly remembers. Jack remembers taking out the cat. He did it, and he remembers now. Jack remembered to take out the cat. He did it. Jack remembered taking out the cat. He did it, and he remembered sometime later.

In the second of each pair of example sentences above, the past progressive gerund form having taken can be used in place of taking to avoid any possible confusion. Sense verbs that take an object plus a gerund or a simple verb Certain sense verbs take an object followed by either a gerund or a simple verb infinitive form minus the word to. With many of the verbs that follow the object, the use of the gerund indicates continuous action while the use of the simple verb indicates a one-time action.

Still, sometimes the simple verb can indicate continuous action if one-time action wouldn't make sense in the context. She saw them jumping on the bed. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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Explore Magazines. Editors' Picks All magazines. He drove too quickly, so they arrested him. Why don't we stop here? Paul wonders if he might emigrate. He told us he was sorry that he was late. He will resign, no matter what I say.

Sorry to disturb you like this. He told them that he was guilty. He complained over and over again. The park attendant told them they were not allowed to walk on the grass. It cost too much. It was kind of you to meet me. It was kind of you to lend me the book.

I t would be quite pleasant to go to the concert. I would be grateful if you would not play that rock music. We have agree smoking a.

We were afraid of weight a. Have you consideredto a specialist? Do you like an evening watching television? Even though it was raining very hard, we would like to the park. I remember much more than I should have. We triedthe fire department, but the phone lines were down.

We advised Carloshis attorney a. For Questions , complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words. It's really important that you pay the bill today. I think it would be a good idea if you joined the beginner's class.

Meeting John in town was really surprising. John in town. In the future she became a successful business woman. WENT She I'll help you with your homework.

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