Verb + Gerund
Expressing attitudes about activities
Opening Day at the Giant's Ball Park
The Giants deny feeling any added pressure to perform well on their first day in the new ballpark. The fans anticipate seeing a lot of good games in the park. The fans will enjoy seeing the first ball fly over the brick wall and into the McCovery Cove (the bay water behind the outfield).
Some fans say they will miss being in Candlestick Park. Many came by bus, by train, by boat and by taxi. The fans don't mind taking public transportation. Visitors enjoy exploring the multi-storied ballpark and look forward to trying out the new "gourmet hotdogs".
Full clause vs. Gerund clause
| FULL CLAUSE | GERUND CLAUSE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
After a number of verbs, often with a meaning that expresses attitude or opinion, a noun phrase or a clause is used. *(A full clause is part of the underlying sentence structure not actually used in speech or writing.) |
The information in a clause can be reduced to a gerund clause. In current linguistic terms, this is a nonfinite clause with a gerund-participle. Note the reduced verb form (-ing) no longer is marked for tense or person (agreement). |
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SNOUN He |
VERB enjoys |
NOUN PHRASE / FULL CLAUSE the game. |
NOUN He |
VERB enjoys |
REDUCED GERUND CLAUSE watching the game. |
He |
prefers |
that seat. |
He |
prefers |
sitting near first base. |
They |
don't mind |
the night air. |
They |
don't mind |
sitting in the night air. |
Eric |
disliked |
poor sportsmanship. |
Eric |
disliked |
seeing poor sportsmanship. |
gerund-participle – present linguistic analysis does not support the traditional distinction between a gerund and a participle (CaGEL 82, 1220)
Also see Nonfinite Clause Diagrams
Verbs expressing opinions about activities
| VERBS | SYNONYMS |
|---|---|
These verbs, often with a meaning that expresses attitude or opinion, are followed by a gerund or gerund clause. |
Verbs with similar meanings (synonyms) tend to also be followed by a gerund or gerund clause. |
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He detests / dislikes practicing his guitar.
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I love / like being a disk jockey. |
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I can't stand / hate seeing bad results. |
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I can't avoid rushing all the time. |
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I delayed / put off hiring an assistant. |
He 
He 
He 
He 
He
Verbs followed by a gerund (gerund-participle) verb form
admit He admitted smoking marijuana. |
delay They delayed leaving. |
like *I like learning languages. |
reccommend I recommend staying. |
advise †He advised going to college. |
deny He denied stealing it. |
love *We love going on vacation. |
regret *I regret not being there. |
allow †They allowed smoking outside. |
deserve He deserves being in jail. |
mention He mentioned having dogs. |
remember **I remember hearing it. |
anticipate I anticipate having fun. |
detest She detests exercising. |
mind Do you mind smoking there? |
resent ††I resent being left alone. |
appreciate She appreciates having help. |
discuss We discussed going out. |
miss I miss being home. |
resist I resist eating too much. |
avoid We avoid asking for help. |
dislike He dislikes dressing up. |
neglect *I neglected doing my work. |
risk He risked losing everything. |
begin *I begin working tomorrow. |
enjoy She enjoys dressing up. |
postpone I postponed having kids. |
start *We started taking walks. |
can't bear I can't bear hearing lies. |
escape He escaped getting married. |
practice I practice playing the piano. |
stop **He stopped smoking. |
can't help I can't help sneezing. |
finish We finished watching TV. |
prefer *We prefer eating early. |
suggest He suggested chewing gum. |
can't stand I can't stand waiting. |
forget **I forgot turning the light off. |
prevent Vaccinations prevent getting ill. |
support He supported going to war. |
celebrate He celebrated getting a job. |
imagine He imagined being free. |
prohibit †They prohibit parking here. |
tolerate We don't tolerate cheating. |
complete He completed reading it. |
hate *She hates being alone. |
quit I quit smoking. |
try We tried eating snails. |
consider He won't consider helping. |
keep We keep trusting him. |
recall She recalls being young. |
understand I understand getting mad. |
May be followed by a gerund or an infinitive: * without a change in meaning. / ** with a change in meaning.
May be followed by an object: † and an infinitive. (He advised us to go to college.) / †† and a gerund. (She appreciates you for helping.)
May be followed by a that-clause. Subjunctifve Verbs
Gerund or Infinitive
No change in meaning
Same meaning—gerund & infinitive
| VERB + GERUND | VERB + INFINITIVE |
|---|---|
Some verbs are followed by a gerund or an infinitive verb form without a change in meaning. |
Using a gerund or infinitive verb from after these verbs does not change the meaning. |
|
I love to travel. (But not – I would love to travel. – which expresses a wish.) |
|
I prefer to dunk my doughnuts. |
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He deserves to be in jail. |
|
I continue to work out everyday.
|
I 
I 
He 
I
Verbs that do not change meaning when followed by a gerund or infinitive object
attempt I attempted to build / building a house. |
continue We continued to work / working all day. |
love I love to travel / traveling |
begin We began to work / working. |
deserve He deserves to be / being in jail. |
prefer I prefer to walk / walking. |
can't bear I can't bear to leave / leaving you. |
hate I hate to miss / missing my bus. |
start She started to cry / crying |
can't stand I can't stand to see / seeing waste. |
like I like to smim / swimming. |
|
Gerund or Infinitive
Change in meaning
Meaning—gerund vs. infinitive
| VERB BEFORE GERUND | VERB BEFORE INFINITIVE (different meaning) |
|---|---|
Sometimes a verb has one meaning when followed by a gerund clause … |
and has another meaning when followed by an infinitive. |
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I 
I 
I 
I 
That failed, so I 
I 
We 
We
Advanced Note 1
Passive Gerunds
| ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
|---|---|
A sentence with a gerund can be restated in the passive voice, which focuses on the receiver of the action rather than the agent (cause or source). |
Use being + participle form when forming a passive sentence, shifting the focus and moving the object to the subject position. |
The players avoided hitting balls towards the fans. |
The fans avoided being hit by the players' foul balls. |
The fans kept on cheering for the players. |
The players kept on being cheered by the fans. |
Also see Passive Verb Forms
Advanced Note 2
Double -ing Phrasing
Gerund/ Infinitive Switching in Progressive Sentences
| NONPROGRESSIVE VERB | PROGRESSIVE VERB | SWITCH STRATEGY |
|---|---|---|
A nonprogressive verb followed by a gerund phrase sounds acceptable to a native speaker … |
However, a progressive verb followed by a gerund form tends to sound awkward to a native speaker. (two -ing forms togther) (CaGEL 14.5.6.1) |
When possible, a native speaker will switch to an infinitive verb, a that-clause or a rephrasing after a progressive verb form. |
Parents start teaching their children to swim early. |
*Parents are starting teaching their children to swim early. |
Parents are starting to teach their children to swim early. |
Doctors suggest teaching children to swim early. |
*Doctors are suggesting teaching children to swim early. |
Doctors are suggesting that parents teach their children to swim early. |
Doctors suggest teaching children to swim early. |
*Doctors are suggesting teaching children to swim early. |
Doctors are suggesting the method of teaching children to swim early. |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
Pop Questions – "Suggest" / "Try"
Practice 1
Gerund or Infinitive?
Select the gerund or infinitive object that best completes the sentence. Only one form can logically complete the sentence.
Related practice pages: Verb + Prep Phrase Prac 1 | Verb + Prep Phrase Prac 2 | Verb + Prep Phrase Prac 3 | Verbs followed by infinitives