Language Avenue - Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds are verbs that are used as nouns. They are formed by adding -ing to the root of the verb.

Examples: read - reading; play - playing; dance - dancing.

as the subject of a sentence	Learning foreign languages is not easy.
as the object after certain verbs¹	I really enjoy reading comics.
after certain verbs + prepositions²	I plan on going to college.
after certain adjectives + prepositions³	Bob is not very good at managing children.
after prepositions	We'll have no difficulty in selling this product.
after verbs of perception (action is going on)⁴	I saw him staggering down the road towards the pub.

⁴ - Learn the rules of the use of gerunds and infinitives after verbs of perception.

Full infinitives consist of two words: particle to and the base form of the verb.

Examples: to read, to play, to dance, to talk, to do, to be.

certain verbs⁵	I want to dance with you.
adjectives in construction "It is (not)+ Adj"	It’s not always easy to read in English.
after other adjectives	I am proud to be a teacher.
question words	Can you tell me where to put the chairs?
the first/last/only	Henry Ford was the first to use flow production in a car factory.
adjective + for + (pro)noun	Until then cars had been too expensive for many people to buy.

modal verbs	Tom can’t speak Spanish at all.
verbs make and let	My teacher wouldn’t let me leave the classroom. She made me finish my classwork.
verbs of perception (completed action)⁶	I saw her open the fridge and help herself to the cake.

⁶ - Learn the rules of the use of gerunds and infinitives after verbs of perception here.

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