GERUND

Origin and Meaning:

The word gerund is derived from the Latin word “Gerere” which means to do or
perform an action.
Definition:
The “ing” form of the verb which functions as a noun or which has the force of a
noun is called gerund.
Gerund is basically a verb and its “ing” form but function as a noun or has the
force of noun therefore, it is also called a verbal noun.
Gerund functions as a noun because it names an action and it is not related to any
tense.
Gerund is basically singular in its nature therefore it requires the pronoun “it”

but sometimes it can be plural and requires the pronoun “they”. Ex: Eating apple

is good for health because it contains vitamins. (Singular)

Ex: I don’t understand the meanings of these words because they are difficult.
(Plural)
Functions of Verb-ing
Verb-ing has the following functions
(1) As a verb:
As a verb “verb-ing” is used after “to be verbs” in continuous tenses as the present
participle verb.
Ex: They are playing cricket.
Ex: She is crying.
(2) As a noun:
As a noun “verb-ing” is used either before the verb (as a subject) or after the verb
(as the object).
Ex: Watching movie is fun.
Ex: He hates crying.
(3) As an Adjective:
Ex: He is a crying baby.
(4) As an Adverb:
Ex: She left the room crying.
 (5) As a Preposition:
Ex: You can ask my teacher concerning my marks.

Some Structure Related to Gerund

Gerund is used with noun, adverb and prepositional phrase to make gerund
phrase.

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 A) Gerund (verb-ing) + noun / adverb / prepositional phrase
Ex: Reading novel is interesting.
Ex: Driving slowly is boring.
Ex: Playing with children makes me happy.
B) Gerund (verb-ing) + singular noun + singular verb
Ex: Watching movie is fun.
C) Gerund (verb-ing) + plural noun + singular verb
Ex: Watching movies is fun.
Ex: Eating apples is good for health.
D) Gerund (verb-ing) + and + gerund (verb-ing) + plural verb
Ex: Eating and sleeping a lot are my habits.
Ex: Washing and cooking the dishes are girls’ duty.

Cases or Usages of Gerund

(1) Subjective Case of Gerund:
In this case a gerund is used before the verb at the beginning of the sentence in
order to function as the subject of the verb in a sentence.
Ex: Learning English is important.
Ex: Going to America is my desire.

(2) Objective Case of Gerund:

In this case a gerund is used as the object of the verb in order to function as the
object of the verb in a sentence.
Structure: Subject + Gerund verb + Gerund (verb-ing)
Ex: He likes eating alone.
Ex: They love going on trips.
(3) Gerund as the Object of Preposition:
In this case a gerund is used after the preposition in order to function as the object
of that preposition and it is shown through the following structures.
a) Adjective + Preposition + Gerund
Ex: We are interested in learning English.
Ex: I am tired of teaching at KELC.
b) Noun + Preposition + Gerund
Ex: My brother is the head of hiring people.
Ex: Ali is in charge of organizing the party.
c) Verb + Preposition + Gerund
Ex: Our teacher insists on coming to class on time.

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 Ex: We should keep on working hard.
(4) Gerund as the Complement of Be / Subjective Complement Case:
In this case a gerund is used after “be” in order to complete the meaning of “be”.
Ex: My desire is serving my nation.
Ex: What I want is going to America.
(5) Gerund is used after “No” to show prohibition.
Ex: No laughing.
Ex: No smoking.
(6) Gerund is used after the preposition “by” to show the way how
something is done.
Ex: I satisfied my hunger by eating rice.
Ex: He quenches his thirst by drinking water.
Ex: He found the meaning of “quench” by checking dictionary.
(7) Gerund is used after to do verbs (do, does, did) to show house works.
Ex: We did shopping yesterday.
Ex: Sana does cooking at home.
(8) Gerund is used after the verb “like” to mean for example.
Ex: I can do many things like teaching, playing, driving and etc.
(9) Go + Gerund:
It is used to show or talk about recreational activities (those activities in which a
person can be entertained).
EX: We go fishing every week.
EX: He went shopping yesterday.

Infinitive
Origin and Meaning:
The word “infinitive” is derived from the Latin word “infinitus” which means
unlimited.
Definition:
“To + the base form the verb” which functions as a noun is called infinitive Or the
non-finite form of the verb which function as a noun or which has the force of a
noun is called infinitive.
Ex: To drive, to write, to eat, to read, to dance and etc.
Note: “TO” before the base form of the verb is called infinitive marker but “TO”
before a noun or gerund is called preposition.
Different Functions of Infinitive
1) As a Verb:
As a verb “infinitive” is used after auxiliary verbs and some causative verbs.
Ex: I made my brother go to school.
Ex: They will invite him.

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 2) As a Noun:
As a noun “infinitive is used before the verb (as a subject) and after the verb (as
the object).
Ex: To learn English is essential.
Ex: I want to learn English.
3) As an Adjective:
Ex: It is not the place to eat.
4) As an Adverb:
Ex: I am happy to see her again.

Some Structures Related to Infinitive

An “infinitive” is used with a noun, adverb and prepositional phrase to make
infinitive phrase.
A) Infinitive (to + verb.1) + noun /
adverb / prepositional phrase Ex:
To read novel is interesting.
Ex: To drive fast is dangerous.
Ex: To play with knife is risky.
B) Infinitive (to + verb.1) +
singular noun + singular verb
Ex: To wash the car is boring
task.
C) Infinitive (to + verb.1) +
plural noun + singular verb
Ex: To wash the cars is boring.
D) Infinitive (to + verb.1) + and +
infinitive (to + verb.1) + plural verb
Ex: To wash and (to) cook the dishes
are girls’ duty.

Cases or Usages of Infinitive

1) Subjective Case of Infinitive:
In this case an infinitive is used before the verb at the beginning of the sentence in
order to function as the subject of the verb in a sentence.
Ex: To eat a lot of candy is harmful for teeth.
Ex: To run in the morning is a good exercise.
Note 1: In old fashioned English the subjective case of infinitive was introduced
through the following structure.
Structure: It + to be verb + adjective + Infinitive (to + Verb.1)
Ex: To learn English is important.
Ex: It is important to learn English.
Note 2: In the above example the pronoun “it” is an unreal subject or expletive
word and gives the same meaning as the infinitive phrase at the end of the
sentence.
2) Objective Case of Infinitive:
In this case an infinitive is used after the infinitive verb in order to function as the
object of the verb in a sentence.
Structure: Subject + infinitive verb + infinitive (to + verb.1)
Ex: They decided to go to Kabul.
Ex: She refused to marry him.

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 3) Infinitive as the Object of the Preposition:
Infinitive is used as the object of two prepositions which are: but and except.
Ex: They have no way except to win and qualify to the final.
Ex: There is no choice but to work hard and earn money.
4) Subjective Complement or Infinitive as the Complement of Be:
In this case an infinitive is used to complete the meaning of “be”.
Ex: Her wish is to become a doctor.
Ex: What they want is to eat a lot.
5) Infinitive as the Objective Complement:
In this case an infinitive is used to complete the meaning of an object to function
as the objective complement.
Ex: I told him to leave the class.
Ex: She asked me to call her.

Kinds of Infinitive
1) Absolute Infinitive:
Absolute infinitive is also called full infinitive and complete infinitive.
This kind of infinitive is (to + verb.1).
Ex: I can’t afford to buy that house.
2) Bare Infinitive:
This kind of infinitive is only the base form of the verb without the infinitive
marker “to” which is mainly used after auxiliary verbs and some causative verbs.
Note: Bare infinitive is also called simple infinitive, zero infinitive and plain
infinitive.
Ex: You will take quiz tomorrow.
Ex: They let their son watch movies.
3) Abridge Infinitive:
This kind of infinitive is only infinitive marker” to” without base form of the verb.
Ex: S1: Would you like to eat something?
 S2: Yes, I would like to.
Ex: I will call them only if you want to.
4) Split Infinitive:
In this kind of infinitive is (to + adverb + verb.1) when the infinitive marker “to”

is splitted from the base form of the verb by using an adverb Ex: I want to

carefully drive a car.

Ex: They need to successfully pass the test.

5) Complex Infinitive:
Structure: Subject + infinitive verb + object + infinitive (to + verb.1) + comp
Ex: The teacher told the students to leave the class.

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Ex: My father ordered me to help them.
6) Compound Infinitive:
Structure:
Subject + infinitive verb + infinitive (to + verb.1) + and + infinitive (to + verb.1)
+ Comp
EX: They need to listen and (to) speak a lot in order to learn English.
Ex: Sana hates to cook and (to) wash the dishes.
7) Perfective Infinitive:
This kind of infinitive is (to have + verb.3)
Ex: I forgot to have written my homework.
Ex: She remembers to have gone to the party.
8) Qualifying Infinitive:
This kind of infinitive is used to modify the whole sentence.
Ex: To tell the truth I hate her.
Ex: To be honest I am not interested in this class.
Lists of Verbs Followed by Gerund and Infinitive
There are four lists of the verbs which are followed by gerund and infinitive:
1) Verbs which are followed by Gerund:
There are some verbs which are only followed by a gerund if an infinitive
is used then the usage of infinitive is considered wrong. Such verbs are
(enjoy, avoid, suggest, mention, mind, appreciate, deny, delay and etc)
Ex: He suggested going to the movies.
Ex: We enjoyed watching that movie.
2) Verbs which are followed by Infinitive:
There are some verbs which are only followed by an infinitive if
gerund comes then the usage of gerund is considered wrong. Infinitive
verbs are divided into the following two structures:
a) Subject + infinitive verb + infinitive (to + verb.1) + comp
Verbs which are used in the above structure are: Refuse, afford, decide,
hope, plan, promise and etc.
Ex: I hope to pass the test.
Ex: They plan to start a new business.
 Ex: She refused to marry him.
b) Subject + infinitive verb + object + infinitive (to + verb.1) + comp
Verbs which are used in the above structure are: advise, encourage, tell,
remind, allow, invite and etc.
Ex: I advised him to study hard.
Ex: They told me to go there.
Ex: The parents allow their son to watch movies.
Note: There are some verbs which are used in both structures and they
are (ask, want, need, expect).
Ex: I expect to play well.
Ex: I expect them to play well.
3) Verbs Followed by both Gerund and Infinitive:
There are some verbs which are followed by both gerund and infinitive with
the same meaning such verbs are (like, dislike, love, hate, continue, begin,
start, prefer and etc).
Ex: I love eating manto.
Ex: I love to eat manto.
Ex: He hates watching TV.
Ex: He hates to watch TV.
4) Verbs Followed by both Gerund and Infinitive:

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There are some verbs which are followed by both meaning such verbs
gerund and infinitive with different remember, are (stop, forget,
regret and try).
a) Stop + Gerund:
It means that someone quits an action.
Ex: He stopped smoking cigarette.
Ex: I want to stop teaching English.
a) Stop + Infinitive:
It means that there are two actions and someone quits his or her first action
for the sake of performing the second action.
Ex: I stopped to answer the door.
Ex: He stopped to get some milk at the store.
b) Remember + Gerund:
It means that someone remembers or recalls something that happened in the
past.
Ex: I remember going to Afghanistan for the first time.
Ex: She remembers dancing at her friend’s party.
Ex: They remembered going to the movies.
b) Remember + Infinitive:
It means that someone remembers or recalls to perform his or her duty or
responsibility.
Ex: Sana remembers to wash the dishes.
Ex: I always remember to write my homework.
c) Forget + Gerund:
It means that someone forgets something that happened in the past.
Ex: Ali forgot teasing girls.
Ex: They forget going to the movies.
c) Forget + Infinitive:
It means that someone forgets to perform his or her duty or responsibility
Ex: He always forgets to write his homework.
Ex: I forgot to call you.

d) Regret + Gerund:
It means that someone regrets about something that happened in the past.
Ex: Pakistan regrets losing the match.
Ex: He regretted fighting with his brother.
d) Regret + Infinitive:
It means to tell or inform someone with a bad news.
Ex: I regret to tell you that most of you will fail.

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 Ex: She regrets to inform that her father passed away.
e) Try + Gerund:
It means to perform different experiments with a new or different approach
to see if it works or not.
Ex: The room was dark, so I tried opening window.
e) Try + Infinitive:
It means to make an effort.
Ex: We are trying to learn English.

Using Gerund as Subjects and using “it + infinitive”

Both gerund and infinitive have the same meaning when they are used as
the subject of the sentence.
Ex: Voting in every election is important.
Ex: To vote in every election is important.
Note 1: In old fashioned English the subjective case of infinitive was
introduced through the following structure.
Structure: It + to be verb + adjective + to + verb.1 (infinitive) + comp
Ex: It is important to vote in every election.
Ex: It is fun to read novel.
Note 2: In the above structure the pronoun “it” has the same meaning as the
infinitive phrase at the end of the sentence and it is called unreal and pseudo
subject or expletive word.

Infinitive of Purpose
There are many ways through which we can express purpose which are the
followings:
1) By using (in order to + verb.1)
Ex: We come to KELC in order to learn English.
Ex: He studies hard in order to get the first position.
Note: Sometimes “in order” can be deleted then in this case the infinitive (to +
verb.1) is used to express purpose.
Ex: We come to KELC to learn English.
2) By using (so as to + verb.1)
Ex: They go to school so as to learn something.
Ex: He works hard so as to earn much money.
Note: Both “in order to + verb.1” and “so as to + verb.1” are formally used
to express purpose but “in order” is more common than “so as”.
3) By using (For + Object)
Ex: He works for money.
4) By using (For + Gerund)
Ex: We come to KELC for learning English.
Note: Both the above structure and example are wrong because (for + gerund)
is never used to express purpose.
5) Be + Used + For + Gerund

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 This structure is used to talk about the general purpose of something and in
here in this case an infinitive can also be used.
Ex: A marker is used for writing.
Ex: A knife is used for cutting.
6) Be + used + to + verb.1
This structure is used to show or talk about the specific or particular purpose of
something and here in this case a gerund cannot be used.
Ex: A red marker is used to write titles on the white board.

Adjectives Followed by Infinitive

There are some adjectives which are followed by infinitive and these
adjectives show a person’s feelings.
Ex: I am glad to meet her.
Ex: He is excited to pass the test.
Ex: She is nervous to fail the interview.
Note: In the above examples the infinitive functions as an adverb because it
modifies adjective.

Using Infinitive with “Too” and “Enough”

Too:
It means excessive or more than enough and according to grammar it is an
adverb of degree which is used to show both difficulty and impossibility (it
means that it gives a negative sense).
Note: “Very” is also an adverb of degree which only shows difficulty but not
impossibility (it means that it gives a positive sense).
Ex: The coffee is too hot to take.
Ex: The coffee is very hot to take.
Some Structures with Too
1) Too + Negative Adjective
This structure is used to show or talk about something which is problem.
Ex: My shirt is too tight.
Ex: Our class is too small.
2) Too + adjective + to + verb.1
This structure is used to show or talk about the excessive condition which
stops an action from happening.
Ex: Ali is too lazy to pass the test.
Ex: I am too short to touch the fan.
Ex: It is too hot to play cricket.

3) Too + adjective + for + object + to + verb.1

This structure is used to show or talk about a particular person for whom
something is a problem.
Ex: It is too late for us to go to class.
Ex: It is too difficult for Ali to find her house.
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Enough:
It means sufficient or adequate and according to grammar it can be used as an
adjective and as an adverb.
1) Enough as an Adjective:
As an adjective “enough” means sufficient which shows sufficiency and used
in the following structures.
(a) Enough + noun:
Ex: He has enough money to buy that car.
Ex: I have enough time to reach there on time.
(b)Noun + enough:
Ex: Third world countries do not have resources enough to develop.
Ex: He has money enough to buy that car.
2) Enough as an Adverb:
As an adverb “enough” means very and it is used in the following structures.
(a) Adjective + enough:
Ex: Ali is intelligent enough to get first position.
Ex: We are tired enough to play cricket.
(b)Adverb + enough:
Ex: He drives fast enough to reach on time.
Ex: He talks quickly enough to understand him.