Infinitives and Gerunds

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net When I first started teaching I didn't even know the meaning of 'gerund‘ while 'infinitive' seemed somehow faraway and exciting. Then I discovered the awful truth.... Mike JC Smith The ideas and many of the examples in this presentation come from Explaining English Grammar by George Yule - Oxford University Press 1998 Infinitives and Gerunds

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The awful truth.... • Most people don’t understand this. • What is worse, when we teach something we don’t, ourselves, understand we often say, “Oh, you just have to remember this. Here are some lists.” • Have you ever said this to a student... ... simply because you, yourself, didn’t or don’t understand? • I did that for a while...

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Searching for answers... • Most people don’t understand this.A quick search on Google “esl gerund and infinitive” • “When two verbs are used together, the second verb is often in the gerund form (-ing) or the infinitive. There are no specific rules concerning which verbs take which form. Like irregular verbs, you will need to learn which form a verb takes.” • Kenneth Beare, ESL About.comhttp://esl.about.com/od/beginningenglish/ig/Basic-English/Gerund-or-Infinitive.htm

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Searching for answers... • Most people don’t understand this.A quick search on Google “esl gerund and infinitive” • “... in many situations, although there is a slight difference in meaning, gerunds and infinitives are used interchangeably. ”“With any luck your textbook will not address gerunds and infinitives directly but will still give students lots of practice using them” • Hermione_111, busyteacher.orghttp://busyteacher.org/4123-gerund-vs.-infinitive-how-to-explain-the.html

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Google “esl gerund and infinitive” • Plodding on with lists/exerciseshttp://www.eslpartyland.com/quiz-center/haightmult.htmhttp://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/el-to-ing.htmlhttp://www.fiestaesl.com/gerinf.htmlPotentially dangeroushttp://www.usingenglish.com/forum/general-language-discussions/713-infinitive-gerund.htmlhttp://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/gerund_infinitive.htmhttp://esl.lbcc.cc.ca.us/eesllessons/gerundinf/gerundinf.htm Might understand but not helpinghttp://esl.about.com/od/beginningenglish/ig/Basic-English/Gerund-or-Infinitive.htmhttp://busyteacher.org/4123-gerund-vs.-infinitive-how-to-explain-the.htmlhttp://eslteachingideas.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/gerunds-infinitives-esl-grammar-ideas.htmlhttp://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/infinitive-gerund • Understand and attempting to explain • http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_1.htmhttp://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/gerinf.htmUnderstand and explaining • http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/gerunds.htmGeorge Yule http://amzn.com/0194371727

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm One of the best sites. • Verbs Followed by an Infinitive • She agreed to speak before the game. begin care choose condescend consent continue dare decide deserve detest dislike expect fail forget get happen have hesitate hope hurry intend leap leave like long love mean neglect offer ought plan prefer prepare proceed promise propose refuse remember say shoot start stop strive swear threaten try use wait want wish

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm One of the best sites. • Verbs Followed by an Object (some don’t need) and an Infinitive • Everyone expected her to win. advise allow ask beg bring build buy challenge choose command dare direct encourage expect forbid force have hire instruct invite lead leave let like love motivate order pay permit persuade prepare promise remind require send teach tell urge want warn

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm One of the best sites. • Verbs Followed by a Gerund • They enjoyed working on the boat. admit advise appreciate avoid can't help complete consider delay deny detest dislike enjoy escape excuse finish forbid get through have imagine mind miss permit postpone practice quit recall report resent resist resume risk spend (time) suggest tolerate waste (time)

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm One of the best sites. • Verbs Followed by a Preposition and a Gerund • We concentrated on doing well. admit to approve of argue about believe in care about complain about concentrate on confess to depend on disapprove of discourage from dream about feel like forget about insist on object to plan on prevent (someone) from refrain from succeed in talk about think about worry about

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verblist.htm One of the best sites. • Verbs that take Gerund and Infinitives(do you agree?) acknowledge admit advise afford agree allow anticipate appear appreciate ask avoid beg begin celebrate challenge choose command consent consider continue dare decide demand deny deserve discuss dislike enable encourage endure enjoy expect fail feel finish forbid force forget get give up hate have hear help (cannot) help hope imagine intend invite involve learn let like love make mention miss need neglect notice persuade plan practice prefer pretend promise recommend refuse regret remember remind see seem start stop teach tell understand want watch wish

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/infinitive-gerund Understand but not helping. • Verbs that take Gerund and InfinitivesSame Meaning(do you agree?) attempt begin bother cannot bear cease continue hate intend love prefer start

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/infinitive-gerund Understand but not helping. • Verbs that take Gerund and InfinitivesSame Meaning But Different Use(do you agree?)

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net The lists...http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/infinitive-gerund Understand but not helping. • Verbs that take Infinitives or Present Participle

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Let’s become more helpful...

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net We look at three major concepts to give the learner a better chance of producing correct or acceptable language time sequencing 'noun-ness' factuality and reality Does not put the whole truth, but it is the truth and can be confidently applied by learners. Avoids 'negative learning’. Major Concepts

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Do you surf? Yep I like/enjoy surfing. Like to surf this afternoon? Sure, surfing is better than studying. Hmm, the surfing is better at Bondi than Manly.Yep, I saw people surfing there today. Let’s go surfing now... Can you explain all this to a learner of English? Native Utterences

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net This rule of thumb (by itself) is about 80% correct and works for both transitive and intransitive verbs. Would you like to surf? Do you want to eat? My doctor encouraged me to get fit. He entered the competition to win a holiday. All these are simple time sequences of verbs: first like then surf first want then eat first encourage then get fit first enter then win Time Sequence Infinitive

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net This rule of thumb (by itself) is about 60% correct.It is sometimes called ‘experiential’. I like/love/enjoy surfing He resented cooking for her. He finished working at 4pm. All these are reverse time sequences of verbs(often as a consequence): enjoyment follows surfing resentment follows cooking finish follows working Reverse Time Sequence Gerund

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net He stopped to buy a magazine yesterday. first stop then buy She stopped buying magazines last year. stop follows (and concludes) buying You must remember to pay the bills. first remember then pay You must remember paying the bills. remember follows pay Contrasting Time Sequences

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net This rule of thumb overlaps with ‘reverse time’ and also covers sensory verbs. I enjoy surfing. (enjoyment happens whilst surfing) He resented cooking. (resentment during cooking) He finished working at 4pm. (may refer to packing up) I saw him going up the stairs. (see/go concurrent) We heard her singing. (hear/sing concurrent) Let’s go shopping. (go/shop concurrent) Seeing is believing. (see/is/believe concurrent) Same Time Gerund/Pres Participle

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Sensory verbs can refer to completed actions or actions that are felt to be repetitive or ongoing. I saw him go/going up the stairs. We heard her sing/singing. I felt her touch/touching my hand. I heard him knock/knocking.He was talking*.Completed – second verb is so close to the first verb that it is part of it and becomes tenseless (non-finite)Ongoing – action is continuous, progressive (*) Sensory Contrasts

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Gerunds can name an activity. (take articles, possessives, determiners like nouns) The surfing is better at Bondi today. I like her singing. Gerunds can also name an event / course of action (focus not on event / course of action, and the performer / agent can be a different person) He considered walking to the city. She suggested driving.(conveys a sense of time duration) Noun-ness of Gerunds

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Infinitives cannot name an activity (cannot work with determiners and possessives). The *to surf is better at Bondi today. I like her/his *to sing. Infinitives focus on action and actor/agent. He wanted to eat. (never to be completed) She told him to cook. (completed)(no sense of time duration) Verb-ness of Infinitives

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Gerunds convey a sense of fact and reality He denied shooting the bank teller. a statement of fact meaning “I did not shoot the teller.” although the teller had been shot (fact – something happened) Infinitives convey a sense of action or inaction . He refused to talk further. a statement of action or lack of action cannot be true/false (action – something was done or not done) Factuality and Reality

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net AspectualPoint Time – infinitivePeriod time - gerund begin, commence, finish, remain, start, continue, cease, carry on, quit, stay, stop, Verb Types and Distance CommitmentSelf-directed NP V infdemand, agree, decide, apply, ask, consent, aim, attempt, beg Other-directed NP V NP inforder, command, tell, convince, persuade, urge, advise, ask, permit Linguistic Distancereflects Conceptual Distance(reality, factuality, future, formality)I told her to leave (separate)I saw her leave (concurrent)I saw her leaving (concurrent, incomplete) Sensoryfeel, look at, hear, see, smell,watch, sense, observe, noticetime limited, completed, single act-> bare inftime unlimited, incomplete, series of acts -> gerund

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Discussion 1 • Complements following adjectivesIt’s hard (find) a parking place here. (time sequence)I was sorry (miss) you. (‘miss’ is a point-in-time verb)It’s awful (work) here. (conceptual distance = formality)It was good (see) you again. (conceptual distance = formality) • Try these adjectivesafraid, curious, first, kind, slow, annoying, delighted, free, quick, stupid, careful, difficult, glad, reluctant, unkind, certain, eager, impossible, ridiculous, unlikely, crazy, easy, keen, rude, willing • Can you apply any of the rules-of-thumb?time sequencing, 'noun-ness‘, factuality and reality • Who is helping whom? He is quick to help. vs He is hard to help. Categorise the adjective set accordingly

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Discussion 2 • Complements following prepositionsHe left without …I thought about …He stopped me from …I dream of …We decided against … • Complements following nounsIt’s a nice change (go) somewhere different.He regrets his decision (sell) the land.Do you have enough money (pay) for all this?She never has a kind word (say) about him. hint: duration, course of action hint: time sequence

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Teaching Ideas 1 • Simple Sequences -> Infinitives(Choose verbs carefully)encourage / staywarn / be carefultell / keep quietconvince / stay • Clause elements -> Infinitives We tell / they come early -> We told them to come early.We ask / we leave -> We asked to leave.You promise / you helpHe order / we stand upShe pretended / she is illThey permit / we enterWe agree / we work harder • Plans and Goals -> Infinitives

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Teaching Ideas 2 • Turning over a new leaf. -> gerundsI should start/stop … begin, start, stop, quit, give up • Rules prohibiting and encouraging The following are prohibited: running, smoking, eating, chewing gumThe following are encouraged:doing your homework, coming early, talking to native speakers, drinking • Personal adsBlonde, enjoys running and dancing

Mike Smith www.mjcsmith.net Real teaching ideas... ** leads into non-finite relative clauses *** point-in-time verbs (like stative verbs they change in meaning in the v-ing form) It (was / is / will be) a nice change (go) somewhere different. I should stop (smoke cigarettes). I really want (stop). We decided against (see a movie). We decided (not see a movie). We decided (go walk in the park.) ** He denied (rob the bank). Really? I thought he (suggest rob the bank) in the first place. I’m afraid (of) (ask for a raise). I’ve always been (too) nervous (about) (ask for raises). I’ve always been curious (try yoga / about try yoga). Nah, I’m reluctant (try). I propose/suggest (try it). ** I was sorry (miss you) yesterday. Yes, I regret (miss my train). *** I loved (hear you / your sing) yesterday. Oh yes, I (see you leave) afterwards. It was kind of you (come). I (feel her brush past me) as I stood on the crowded platform. Later, I (notice her brush her hair). *** Identify Verb 1 and 2 Verb 1: sensory AND Verb 2: complete? (verbs are joined as one) Yes => bare infinitive Verb 2: course of action, activity OR time duration OR V2 before OR concurrent with V1? Yes => gerund Verb 2: after Verb 1? point-in-time-verb? Yes =>infinitive

Infinitives and Gerunds