Forms of the Infinitive and Gerund.
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Forms of the infinitive |
Forms of Gerund |
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Active Voice |
Passive Voice |
Active Voice |
Passive Voice |
Present |
(to) do |
(to) be done |
doing |
being done |
Pres. Cont. |
(to) be doing |
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Perfect |
(to) have done |
(to) have been done |
having done |
having been done |
Perf. Cont. |
(to) have been doing |
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*Present Continuous and Perfect Continuous infinitives are rarely used.
The Present Infinitive refers to the present or future. I hope to meet her tonight. The Present Continuous Infinitive expresses an action happening now. He must be sleeping now. The Perfect Infinitive is used to show that the action of the infinitive happened before the action of the verb. He claims to have worked here before. (First he worked here, and then he claimed he had worked here.) The Perfect Continuous Infinitive is used to emphasize the duration of the action of the infinitive, which happened before the action of the main verb. He looks tired. He seems to have been studying for the test all night. The Present Cont., the Perfect and the Perfect Cont. Infinitives are used with verbs: appear, claim, happen, pretend, seem etc and with modal verbs.
The Present Gerund (Ving) refers to the present or future. Ann enjoys walking in the woods. The Perfect Gerund (Ving ) shows that the action of the -ing form has happened before the action of the main verb. We can use the Present Gerund instead of the Perfect Gerund without a difference in meaning. He denied having killed James. OR He denied killing James.
ADJECTIVES FOLLOWED BY INFINITIVES |
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(a) We were sorry to hear the bad news. (b) I was surprised to see Tim at the meeting.
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Certain adjectives can be immediately followed by infinitives, as in (a) and (b). In general, these adjectives describe a person (or persons), not a thing. Many of these adjectives describe a person's feelings or attitudes. |
glad to (do it) happy to pleased to sorry to* ready to prepared to upset to* anxious to delighted to disappointed to eager to content to willing to shocked to* stunned to* relieved to proud to motivated to lucky to ashamed to determined to fortunate to careful to sad to* hesitant to reluctant to afraid to likely to certain to surprised to* amazed to* astonished to*
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*The expressions with * asterisks are usually followed by an infinitive phrases with verbs such as see, learn, discover, find out, hear.
USING INFINITIVES WITH TOO AND ENOUGH |
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COMPARE (a) That box is too heavy for Bob to lift. (b) That box is very heavy, but Bob can lift it. |
In the speaker's mind, the use of too implies a negative result. In (a): too heavy = It is impossible for Bob to lift that box. In (b): very heavy = It is possible but difficult for Bob to lift that box. |
(c) I am strong enough to lift that box. I can lift it. (d) I have enough strength w lift that box. |
Enough follows an adjective, as in (c). Usually enough precedes a noun, as in (d). |
USING CAUSATIVE VERBS: MAKE, HAVE, GET |
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(a) I made my brother carry my suitcase. (b) I had my brother carry my suitcase. (c) I got my brother to carry my suitcase. |
Make, have, and get can be used to express the idea that "X" causes "Y" to do something. When they are used as causative verbs, their meanings are similar but not identical. In (a): My brother had no choice. I insisted that he carry my suitcase. In (b): My brother carried my suitcase because I asked him to. In (c): I managed to persuade my brother to carry my suitcase. |
FORMS X makes Y do something. (simple form) X has Y do something. (simple form) X gets Y to do something. (infinitive) |
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CAUSATIVE MAKE (d) Mrs. Lee made her son clean his room. (e) Sad movies make me cry.
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Causative make is followed by the simple form of a verb, not an infinitive. (INCORRECT: She made him to clean his room.) Make gives the idea that "X" forces "Y" to do something. In (d): Mrs. Lee's son had no choice. |
CAUSATIVE HAVE (f) I had the plumber repair the leak. (g) Jane had the waiter bring her some tea. |
Causative have is followed by the simple form of a verb, not an infinitive. (INCORRECT: I had him to repair the leak.) Have gives the idea that "X" requests "Y" to do something. In (f): The plumber repaired the leak because I asked him to. |
CAUSATIVE GET (h) The students got the teacher to dismiss class early. (i) Jack got his friends to play soccer with him after school. |
Causative get is followed by an infinitive. Get gives the idea that "X" persuades "Y" to do something. In (h): The students managed to persuade the teacher to let them leave early. |
PASSIVE CAUSATIVES (j) I had my watch repaired (by someone). (k) I got my watch repaired (by someone). |
The past participle is used after have and get to give a passive meaning. In this case, there is usually little or no difference in meaning between have and get. In (j) and (k): I caused my watch to be repaired by someone. |