GERUNDS
As nouns / examples:
  • smoking is bad
  • playing basket is really funny

After certain verbs / admit
appreciate
avoid
consider
contemplate
delay
deny
detest
dislike
endure / enjoy
escape
excuse
face
fancy
feel
like
finish
forgive
give up / can’t help (help=evitar)
imagine
involve
keep
leave off
mention
mind
miss
postpone
practise / put off
resent
resist
risk
spend
can’t stand suggest
understand
waste
After prepositions /
  • Interested in working
  • Good at learning
  • Fed up with studying
  • Advantages of studying
  • The knife is only good for cutting bread
  • How about playing tennis tomorrow?
  • I bought a new car instead of going away on holiday
  • He passed the exams by studying previously
after expressions with to (when it is used as a preposition):
examples:
  • look forward to: i look forward to hearing from you
  • prefer…to…: He prefers learning maths to watching tv
  • be used to: jane is used to driving on the right
  • get used to: after a lot of practice, she got used to driving on the left

After certain expressions /
  • It is no use crying
  • It’s no good complaining to him
  • It’s a waste of time going there
  • It’s a waste of money buying things you don’t need
  • There is no point in having a car if you never use it
  • It is not worth worrying about

INFINITIVES
1. verb + to
(e.g. decide to do/ forget to do, etc.) / afford
agree
aim
appear
arrange
attempt
claim
decide
deserve
fail
forget / hope
learn
manage
offer
plan
pretend
promise
refuse
seem
tend
threaten
examples:
  • it was late, so we decided to take a taxi home
  • i agreed to lend him some money
  • they seem to have plenty of money
  • i like george but i think he tends to talk too much
  • anne pretended not to see me as she passed me in the street

2. after verb + object / advise
enable
force
get (=persuade, arrange for)
invite
order
persuade
remind
teach
tell
warn / examples:
  • can you remind me to phone ann tomorrow?
  • peter taught me to drive
  • i couldn’t write the letter. i got somebody to help me

also without object:
ask
beg
expect
help
mean (=intend)
want
warn
wold kike
would hate
would love
would prefer / examples:
  • we expected tom to be late or we expected to be late
  • would you like me to go now? or would you like to go now?
  • he doesn’t want anne to know or he doesn’t want to know

3. after the following expressions:
ask
decide
know
remember
forget
explain
learn
understand
wonder / how to
where to
whether to
what to / + infinitive
Examples:
  • We asked how to get to the station
  • I don’t know whether to apply for the job or not

4. after too/enough /
  • (not) adjective/adverb + enough + infinitive. example: i’m not tall enough to reach the top shelf
  • enough + noun + infinitive. example: i have enough money to buy a car
  • with the same subject: too + adjective/adverb + infinitive. example: i’m too short to reach the top shelf.
  • with a different subject: too + adjective/adverb + forsubject+ infinitive
example: that shelf is too high for toby to reach (note: the subject of the main verb, that shelf, is also the object of the infinitive, it. we have to take the word it out of the sentence)
5. infinitive without to /
  • after modal verbs. example: it may rain or i would go
  • after would rather and had better
example: i’d rather have a cup of tea or you’d better clean up this mess before mum gets back
  • verb + object + infinitive without to: feel, hear, help, let, listen, make, notice, see, taste, watch
example: hot weather makes me feel tired or let me carry your bag for you
verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives
1. with the same meaning / begin
bother
can’t bear
continue
like, love, hate, prefer
start
examples:
I like watching the late night show
i like to watch the late night show
2. with different meaning / advise
allow
forbid
forget
go on
help
mean
need
permit
recommend
regret
remember
stop
try / examples:
need
  • i need to do something (=it is necessary for me to do it). e.g. i need to study so as to pass the exam.
  • something needs doing (=something needs to be done). e.g. the batteries in the radio need changing (=they need to be changed)
remember
  • you remember doing something after you have done it. e.g. I’m absolutely sure i locked the door. i clearly remember locking it. (=i locked it, and now i remember this)
  • you remember to do something before you do it.
e.g. please remember to post the letter (=don’t post it)
try
  • try to do (=attempt to do, make an effort to do). E.g. i was very tired. i tried to keep my eyes open but i couldn’t.
  • try doing (=do something as a an experiment, “probar”). E.g. the photocopier doesn’t seem to be working. try pressing the green button.

3.others (two structures) / advise
allow
encourage
forbid
permit
recommend / 1. verb + gerund
  • I wouldn’t recommend staying in that hotel
  • she doesn’t allow smoking in the house
2. verb + object + infinitive
  • i wouldn’t recommend you to stay in that hotel
  • she doesn’t allow us to smoke in the house

verbs followed by infinitive without to or gerund
after the verbs:
see, watch, notice, hear,
listen to, taste, feel / 1.verb+ obtect + infinitive ( see it happen)
e.g. we saw louise plant the tree (louise planted the tree. we saw her do the whole job
e.g. the reporters watched the players train in the gym (they watched all the training)
2.verb+ object +gerund (see it happening)
e.g. we saw louise planting the tree (louise was planting the tree. We saw her in the middle of the job)
e.g. the reporters watched the players training in the gym (they watched some of the training, perhaps not all of it

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