- •198097, Санкт-Петербург, а/я № 67
- •129224, Москва, п. Шокальского, д. 67, корп. 2
- •Isbn 5-8168-0059-0
- •The infinitive
- •1. Forms
- •2. Structures with the infinitive
- •3. Functions
- •3.1. Subject
- •3.2. Predicative
- •3.3. Part of a compound verbal modal predicate
- •3.4. Part of a compound verbal aspect predicate
- •3.5. Object
- •3.6. Attribute
- •3.7. Adverbial modifier
- •2) Adverbial modifier of result
- •3) Adverbial modifier of comparison
- •4) Adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances
- •3.8. Parenthesis
- •4. The split infinitive
- •The gerund
- •1. Forms
- •2. Structures with the gerund
- •3.1. Subject
- •3.2. Predicative
- •3.3. Part of a compound verbal aspect predicate
- •3.4. Object
- •2) The gerund is used after a number of verbs with prepositions:
- •3) The gerund is used after the following prepositional expressions:
- •4) There are a number of verbs which can be followed by either the infinitive or the gerund:
- •3.5. Attribute
- •3.6. Adverbial modifier
- •The participles
- •1. Forms
- •2. Structures with the participles
- •Objective Participial Construction;
- •Subjective Participial Construction;
- •Absolute Participial Construction;
- •2.1. Objective participial construction (opc)
- •2.2. Subjective participial construction (spc)
- •2.3. Absolute participial construction (apc)
- •3. Functions
- •3.1. Attribute
- •1) Participle I
- •3.2. Adverbial modifier
- •1) Adverbial modifier of time
- •2) Adverbial modifier of cause
- •3) Adverbial modifier of comparison
- •4) Adverbial modifier of manner (attendant circumstances)
- •5) Adverbial modifier of condition
- •6) Adverbial modifier of concession
- •3.3. Predicative
- •4. Misrelated participle
- •Practice section the infinitive
- •Participles
- •Revision
2) The gerund is used after a number of verbs with prepositions:
accuse of depend on object to speak of
agree to dream of/about persist in succeed in
approve of feel like prevent from suspect of
apologize for insist on rely on take to
complain of look like reproach with thank of
He dreamed of having a car.
She apologized for disturbing us.
I object to their coming here.
I feel like taking a walk.
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Verbals
3) The gerund is used after the following prepositional expressions:
to be aware of to be proud of
to be capable of to be sure of
to be fed up with (to have enough of) to be surprised at
to be fond of to be tired of
to be for/against to be/get used to
to be guilty of to be worth
to be happy about what is the use of..?
to be indignant at to have difficulty (in)
to be pleased about (= 'happy about') to look forward to
there is no point in
I am used to getting up early.
The risk is worth taking 1.
What is the use of waiting?
• I will be looking forward to seeing you.
• She had difficulty (in) finding the book.
Note: With the expression to be worth we use Active Gerund with passive meaning.
4) There are a number of verbs which can be followed by either the infinitive or the gerund:
a) remember, forget
We use the infinitive if we remember or forget to do something we have or had to do:
Remember to lock the door (He забудь закрыть дверь).
I forgot to ask him.
We use the gerund if we remember or forget something that took place in the past:
She remembered seeing this film. (Oнa помнила, что смотрела этот фильм).
She forgot ever going there.
Note: With these verbs we normally use Indefinite Gerund with reference to the past.
b) like, love, prefer, hate
The difference between the infinitive and the gerund used after these verbs is revealed mostly in the negative. We use the infinitive when we have feelings beforehand about what may happen, so that the meaning of these verbs is close to wish, want
I did not like to tell her that (= 'I did not want to, thought it unwise').
I preferred not to speak at all.
We use the gerund when our feelings accompany or follow what is going on, so that the meaning of these verbs is close to not enjoy:
• I did not like being a nuisance, but I felt that I was.
In the affirmative we can use both the infinitive and the gerund with practically no difference in meaning:
I love skating / to skate.
I prefer staying / to stay at home.
However, to express a particular action in the past the infinitive is usually used:
• I preferred to stay at home.
Note also the common patterns with prefer.
I prefer walking in the park to staying at home.
I prefer to walk in the park than (to) stay at home.
c) dread, regret
Dread is used with the infinitive of think; regret — with the infinitive of say, tell, inform:
• I dread to think what is going on there (= 'I try not to think').
• I regret to say that you are not accepted.
We use the gerund when we want to describe something unpleasant that is most likely to happen in the future (dread) or has happened in the past (regret):
• He regretted having told her that.
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I dreaded them coming.
I dread going to the dentist but I am going.
d) to be afraid
If you are afraid to do something you try not to do it at all in a particular situation.
We use to be afraid + the gerund to show that somebody wants to avoid an awkward situation or is generally afraid of something or somebody:
She was afraid to go = She did not go.
He was afraid even to move = He did not move.
The girl was afraid of offending anyone.
The boy was afraid of going to school, though he went there every day.
e) advise, intend, recommend
Two options are possible with these verbs:
verb + gerund verb + (pro) noun + infinitive
She advised taking a bus. He advised me not to buy it. He intended staying until The doctor did not recommend the small hours. her to have children.
He recommended limiting the amount of fat in her diet.
The gerundial construction is not common. Intend can also be used with the infinitive alone:
• He intends to marry her.
f) Cannot bear can be followed both by the gerund and the infinitive. We use the infinitive to mean that something we have to do is upsetting to us:
• I could not bear to tell him that.
We use the gerund to speak about something we dislike:
• I could not bear living with them under one roof.
Verbals g) mean Mean (= 'intend') takes the infinitive:
• He meant to get up early.
Mean (= 'entail') takes the gerund:
• This will mean going to bed earlier.
h) try Try (= 'attempt') takes the infinitive:
• He tried hard to be successful.
Try (= 'experiment') takes the gerund:
• Try drinking salted water.
Note: In informal English try + the infinitive is often replaced by try and do something without any change of meaning:
• Try and come in time.
i) understand Understand (= 'have the impression') takes the infinitive:
• I understood her to say that she did not like mice.
Understand (= 'understand why') takes the gerund (gerundial construction)
• I can't understand people liking it.