Ángela Ruiz Extra Material

Gerunds and infinitives

We use gerunds after prepositions (e.g. without, before) and after certain verbs (e.g. enjoy, can’t stand, afraid of). She left without saying goodbye. He enjoys going rollerblading at the weekend. We use infinitives after certain verbs (e.g. want, hope, offer). Paul offered to repair Sue’s bike. After some verbs (e.g. like, love, hate, prefer, start, continue) we can use either the gerund or infinitive with no change in meaning. I like playing tennis. I like to play tennis.

1 Rewrite the sentences using gerunds. Tim cycled into town. He didn’t stop. Tim cycled into town without stopping. 1 Rachel lost the race. She was very angry. Rachel was angry about ____________________________________________________________ 2 We didn’t go to the cinema, we watched a video at home. Instead of ____________________________________________________________ 3 Ivan passed his driving test because he practised every weekend. By ____________________________________________________________ 4 Gillian read the newspaper then she phoned her friend. Before ____________________________________________________________ 5 They left the disco and went for a coffee. After ____________________________________________________________ 6 Jake has split up with his girlfriend. He’s upset. Jake is upset about ____________________________________________________________ 2 Choose the correct forms. 1 Tony wants to go / going travelling before he goes to university. 2 He promised to buy / buying her a diamond ring for their anniversary. 3 Have you ever considered studying / to study abroad? 4 He agreed to buy / buying the motorbike for £2,000. 5 John has been a farmer for twenty years. He’s used to getting up / get up early. 6 It’s cold today. You shouldn’t go out without wearing / to wear your coat.

3 Complete the story with gerunds or infinitives. 4 Fill in the blanks with a suitable gerund.

1. Be careful! That dog is capable of ____________________ you if you make it angry.

2. Ian finally succeeded in ____________________ the job he wanted.

3. When he lived abroad, we often missed ____________________ our friends and family.

4. The dentist told Joe he must give up ____________________ sweets.

5. The judge found the man guilty of ____________________ more than 20 cars.

6. I am looking forward to ____________________ him tomorrow.

7. They’ve been talking about ____________________ a new house.

8. Mike isn’t used to ____________________ in public.

9. What is the use of ____________________ the police?

10. Anna is not at all frightened of ____________________ to the dentist.

11. He’s thinking of ____________________ his motorbike and ____________________ a car.

12. She doesn’t remember ____________________ anything about the wedding.

13. Has he finished ____________________ yet?

14. Jeff never talks about ____________________ his family.

15. Do you have any objection to ____________________ late for the next few days?

A haunted house When I was a child I used to spend my holidays at my aunt and uncle’s old country house. One summer I remember 1_________________ (have) a strange experience. It was a hot afternoon, and my cousins suggested 2_________________ (play) hide-and-seek. But instead of 3_________________ (go) outside, we decided that we 4_________________ (play) in the attic. After we 5_________________ (turn off) all the lights, we all hid in different places. I managed 6_________________ (hide) behind an old sofa. Then something odd happened. In the darkness we heard footsteps come into the room. The footsteps seemed 7_________________ (walk) towards the sofa. I wanted 8_________________ (move), but I couldn’t. I expected something terrible 9_________________ (happen). Then suddenly the footsteps stopped and the door slammed shut. After 10_________________ (wait) for a few seconds, we jumped up and ran downstairs without 11_________________ (stop). We told my aunt and uncle, but they refused 12_________________ (believe) us. Mysteriously the house burned down a year later. The fire started in the attic.