Gerunds and Infinitives

Example

Some people say that ~ (to play) computer games is bad for your brain. / Some people say that playing
computer games is bad for your brain.

Choose the correct form: either gerund or infinitive. Sometimes you have to add a preposition.

1 / Sam is looking forward ~ (meet) his girlfriend at the weekend. / Sam is looking forward to meeting his girlfriend at the weekend.
2 / My mother wants me ~ (help) her in the garden on Saturday. / My mother wants me to help her in the garden on Saturday.
3 / But before we can do that, I have to ask her how ~ (do) that. / But before we can do that, I have to ask her how to do that.
4 / ~ (play) tennis can be a lot of fun. / Playing tennis can be a lot of fun.
5 / I’m painting my wall ~ (make) it look better. / I’m painting my wall to make it look better.
6 / Of all my friends, I was the first one ~ (arrive) at the soccer field. / Of all my friends, I was the first one to arrive at the soccer field.
7 / If you can’t imagine ~ (ride) a roller coaster, it’s no use ~ (pay) the entrance fee [Eintrittsgeld] for the park. / If you can’t imagine riding a roller coaster, it’s no use paying the entrance fee [Eintrittsgeld] for the park.
8 / I’d like you ~ (come) with me to the party on Friday. / I’d like you to come with me to the party on Friday.
9 / I had to wait for my brother ~ (come) home from school before I could tell him about his bike. / I had to wait for my brother to come home from school before I could tell him about his bike.
10 / Our teacher said that there are many different ways ~ (learn) vocabulary. / Our teacher said that there are many different ways of learning vocabulary.
11 / I haven’t finished ~ (read) this book. / I haven’t finished reading this book.
12 / I still haven’t found out how ~ (use) this CD player. / I still haven’t found out how to use this CD player.

gerund-infinitive-ft.doc • 06.12.2007 Andreas Kalt, Creative Commons BY–NC–SA