In Thursday's lesson, we continued to talk about gerunds and infinitives. If you need a review of those, please see the lessons from earlier in the week.
We focused on the relationship between verb and gerunds/infinitives. We used a table to help us create good sentences. Here's the table.
Gerund Only
can't help, give up, spend time, waste time, consider, finish, keep, recommend, postpone, imagine, avoid, dislike, put off, practice, enjoy, suggest, believe, don't mind, can't stand, mind, detest
Infinitive Only
would like, want, ask, volunteer, fail, hope, choose, expect, wait, intend, agree, afford, refuse, manage, appear, attempt*, need, decide, seem, learn
Gerund OR Infinitive - No change in sentence meaning
begin, prefer, continue, start, feel, like, hate, love
These are not complete lists. As you learn English, you will be able to put more words in these categories.
We focused on a 4th category.
Gerund OR Infinitive - Change in sentence meaning
These are verbs that you can use either a gerund or infinitive after, but they change the meaning of the sentence. Here are the examples we reviewed.
Stop
stop + gerund = the person (either temporarily or permanently quit something)
ex. He stopped smoking. (in the past, he smoked. Now, he doesn't.)
They stopped talking. (in the past, they were talking. Now, they are not.)
She stopped taking the class. (in the past, she took the class. Now, she doesn't.)
stop + infinitive = the person stopped doing something else and started doing the stated action.
ex. He stopped to smoke. (He was doing something else. He stopped that, then he smoked.)
They stopped to talk. (They stopped doing something. Then they started talking.)
She stopped to take a class. (She stopped doing something. Then she began taking a class.)
Remember
remember + gerund = when someone remembers something that happened in the past.
ex. I remember living in Boston. (in the past, I lived in Boston. I remember that time.)
She remembers graduating university. (in the past, she graduated university. She remembers that time)
remember + infinitive = when you are supposed to do something
ex. I remembered to lock the door. (I was supposed to lock the door. I did lock the door.)
ex. She remembered to buy milk. (She was supposed to buy milk. She did buy milk.
Forget
forget + gerund = when someone forgets something that happened in the past.
ex. I forgot going to the museum. (I went to the museum. I don't remember the event.)
We forgot seeing the play. (They saw the play. They do not remember it happening.)
forget + infinitive = when someone is supposed to do something but doesn't do it.
ex. I forgot to do my homework. (I was supposed to do my homework. I did not do it.)
ex. we forgot to see the play. (They were supposed to see the play. They did not see it.)
Regret
regret + gerund = when someone feels bad about something that happened in the past
ex. I regret taking that job. (I took the job. I feel bad about taking it. I wish I hadn't)
ex. Tim regrets buying that computer. (Tim bought the computer. He wishes he hadn't)
regret + infinitive = used before "to tell" or "to inform" to mean that you feel bad about what you are going to say.
ex. I regret to inform you that your dog is dead. (I don't want to tell you, but I have to.)
ex. We regret to tell you that you have failed. (We don't want to tell you, but we must.)
Try
try + gerund = used when you are listing possible options or solutions.
ex. You should try buying her flowers. (your girlfriend is mad at you. Here's an idea.)
ex. You should trying talking to your professor. (You failed a test. Here's a possible solution.)
try + infinitive = used when someone does something, but fails or is not successful.
ex. Mr. Ian, I tried to do my homework. (You attempted it, but you did not finish your homework.)
ex. She tried to learn Chinese. (She attempted to learn Chinese, but she failed. She cannot speak Chinese now.)
Main Learning Point
You should be able to identify gerunds and infinitives. You should also be able to use them with increasing accuracy. You will still need to study them and practice them. You should also be familiar with the relationship between verbs and gerunds/infinitives. You will not be a master of these yet. This will take a long time. Choose one or two a week and try to use them in conversation. Keep your ears open to native speakers, so that you are aware of what is natural.
We focused on the relationship between verb and gerunds/infinitives. We used a table to help us create good sentences. Here's the table.
Gerund Only
can't help, give up, spend time, waste time, consider, finish, keep, recommend, postpone, imagine, avoid, dislike, put off, practice, enjoy, suggest, believe, don't mind, can't stand, mind, detest
Infinitive Only
would like, want, ask, volunteer, fail, hope, choose, expect, wait, intend, agree, afford, refuse, manage, appear, attempt*, need, decide, seem, learn
Gerund OR Infinitive - No change in sentence meaning
begin, prefer, continue, start, feel, like, hate, love
These are not complete lists. As you learn English, you will be able to put more words in these categories.
We focused on a 4th category.
Gerund OR Infinitive - Change in sentence meaning
These are verbs that you can use either a gerund or infinitive after, but they change the meaning of the sentence. Here are the examples we reviewed.
Stop
stop + gerund = the person (either temporarily or permanently quit something)
ex. He stopped smoking. (in the past, he smoked. Now, he doesn't.)
They stopped talking. (in the past, they were talking. Now, they are not.)
She stopped taking the class. (in the past, she took the class. Now, she doesn't.)
stop + infinitive = the person stopped doing something else and started doing the stated action.
ex. He stopped to smoke. (He was doing something else. He stopped that, then he smoked.)
They stopped to talk. (They stopped doing something. Then they started talking.)
She stopped to take a class. (She stopped doing something. Then she began taking a class.)
Remember
remember + gerund = when someone remembers something that happened in the past.
ex. I remember living in Boston. (in the past, I lived in Boston. I remember that time.)
She remembers graduating university. (in the past, she graduated university. She remembers that time)
remember + infinitive = when you are supposed to do something
ex. I remembered to lock the door. (I was supposed to lock the door. I did lock the door.)
ex. She remembered to buy milk. (She was supposed to buy milk. She did buy milk.
Forget
forget + gerund = when someone forgets something that happened in the past.
ex. I forgot going to the museum. (I went to the museum. I don't remember the event.)
We forgot seeing the play. (They saw the play. They do not remember it happening.)
forget + infinitive = when someone is supposed to do something but doesn't do it.
ex. I forgot to do my homework. (I was supposed to do my homework. I did not do it.)
ex. we forgot to see the play. (They were supposed to see the play. They did not see it.)
Regret
regret + gerund = when someone feels bad about something that happened in the past
ex. I regret taking that job. (I took the job. I feel bad about taking it. I wish I hadn't)
ex. Tim regrets buying that computer. (Tim bought the computer. He wishes he hadn't)
regret + infinitive = used before "to tell" or "to inform" to mean that you feel bad about what you are going to say.
ex. I regret to inform you that your dog is dead. (I don't want to tell you, but I have to.)
ex. We regret to tell you that you have failed. (We don't want to tell you, but we must.)
Try
try + gerund = used when you are listing possible options or solutions.
ex. You should try buying her flowers. (your girlfriend is mad at you. Here's an idea.)
ex. You should trying talking to your professor. (You failed a test. Here's a possible solution.)
try + infinitive = used when someone does something, but fails or is not successful.
ex. Mr. Ian, I tried to do my homework. (You attempted it, but you did not finish your homework.)
ex. She tried to learn Chinese. (She attempted to learn Chinese, but she failed. She cannot speak Chinese now.)
Main Learning Point
You should be able to identify gerunds and infinitives. You should also be able to use them with increasing accuracy. You will still need to study them and practice them. You should also be familiar with the relationship between verbs and gerunds/infinitives. You will not be a master of these yet. This will take a long time. Choose one or two a week and try to use them in conversation. Keep your ears open to native speakers, so that you are aware of what is natural.
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