English Grammar and Composition chapter 6: Infinitive, Gerund and Participle

UNIT 6 Infinitive, Gerund and Participle

Lesson 1: An Introduction

Read the text below and notice the underlined words.

Mr. Kamal is a reporter of a newly published English newspaper. His job is to collect news about various cultural events. Collecting news is sometimes very challenging that involves visiting spots and talking to people. Reporting also requires the skill of writing in a convincing style to give a realistic picture of the event covered.

While writing the report Mr. Kamal has to pay attention to three questions– what, when and how. Giving a complete but brief account of an event requires constant practise. It is also important to present the most important information in the introductory paragraph. This enables the reader to have the most important message at first while going through a piece of report.

Discuss the following questions in pairs:

• What functions do the underlined words play?
• Which of the underlined words function as adjectives?
• Which of the underlined words function as nouns?
• Which of the underlined words function as verbs?

Now, read the following explanations to check your understanding.

All the underlined words in the above text are formed from verbs. But they are not used alone as action words in the above sentences. Instead, they function as either nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

There are some underlined words which end in ing and function as noun. They are known as gerund. For example:

• Collecting news is very challenging.
• Reporting also requires the skill of writing.

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There are some other underlined words that end in ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n (past participle). These words may function as adjectives, describing or modifying nouns and are known as participles. For example:

• Mr. Kamal is a reporter of a newly published English newspaper.
• That involves visiting spots.

Again you will find examples of another type of underlined words having base forms of verbs with to. Usually they function as nouns, although they can also function as verbs. These verbs are called infinitives. For example:

• It is also important to present the most important information.
• This enables the reader to have the most important message.

Read the above text again, and make a list of examples of the gerunds, participles and infinitives in it.

Exercise

In each of the following sentences, identify the underlined word or words as a gerund, participle, or infinitive.

1. Zinia said the best place to go on Friday is the zoo.

2. The plan accepted by the committee involves a development goal.

3. Getting up early in the morning is sometimes a challenge.

4. One of my favourite hobbies is swimming.

5. Passing this test with good grades will make me happy.

6. Economics is an interesting field of study.

7. They have closed the library to repair all the broken shelves.

8. I am working hard to achieve good grades in English.

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Lesson 2: Participle

Bobby and his mother are at his sister's wedding. His mother seems worried and keeps asking him questions. Read the dialogue between Bobby and his mother and notice the underlined words:

Bobby: Isn't it wonderful, mother? Sima is getting married today.

Mother: Yes, it is.

Bobby: Aren't you excited?

Mother: Yes, this is a very exciting event indeed. But I'm also a bit worried. What if something goes wrong?

Bobby: Come on, mother! Why does such worrying thoughts come to your mind?

Mother: I don't know. Well, where is your father?

Bobby: He's standing at the gate to welcome the invited guests.

Mother: And where is your uncle?

Bobby: I don't know actually. He is supposed to receive the bridegroom.

Mother: But where is he now? It so annoying!

Bobby: Don't worry mom. He'll be here soon. Relax, why do you look so confused?

Mother: Look, I want to be sure that everything is okay. Have you seen your sister?

Bobby: She is just here from the parlour. She looks stunning in that bridal dress.

Mother: She is lonely there and might feel bored! Why don't you go and take some photos of her. That will be quite interesting!

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Bobby: Mother, you know, I have asked a wedding photographer to take her pictures. He can take amazing photos.

Mother: That's good. Let's see how fascinating they look!

Discuss the following questions:

1. What kind of words are the underlined words made from?
2. What function does each underlined word play in the sentence (verb/adjectives)?
3. What are these words known as?

Notes: In the above dialogue, the underlined words are examples of participle. Do you remember what a participle is, how it is formed and when you use it? If you have noticed the underlined words in the above dialogue, you will see that all these words are formed from a verb and these words are used as adjectives. These are called participles.

The above dialogue contains examples of two types of participles- the present participle (ending ing) and the past participle (usually ending -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n).

In pairs talk about the examples of past and present participles functioning as adjectives. Remember, adjectives are words that describe nouns.

Look at the following examples of present and past participles used as adjectives.

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Now, let's look at some example sentences with the present and past participles.

Practise using present/past participles in the following sentences. Choose the right participle from the bracket to complete each sentence below.

1. Kamal was ____________ (annoying/annoyed) by the news.
2. We found that the instructions were __________ (confusing/confused).
3. It's an ____________ (amusing/amused) story. You should read this.
4. I'm not really ____________ (interesting/interested) in basketball.
5. Do you feel ____________ (worrying/worried) about exams?
6. Young children are often ____________ (scaring/scared) of ghosts.
7. The stranger gave a ________ (surprising/surprised) news to all of us.
8. The defeat in the football match was so ____________ (shocking/shocked) that we could not say a word for hours.

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Exercise

Complete each pair of sentences with the correct form of the same verb, once as a present participle and once as a past participle. The verbs are given in the box. The first one is done for you.

1. I hurt my leg playing football. (Use play)

   Bridge is a card game played by four people.

2. I've spent the whole morning ____________ an essay. (use write)

   On the wall was some slogans______________ in big letters.

3. The police caught the burglar _____________ into a house. (use break)

   Careful! There's a lot of ___________ glass on the floor.

Lesson 3: Gerund

Read the following sentences and see what roles are played by the words ending in -ing.

Coughing exhausts Shakila. (coughing = the subject of the verb exhausts.)

Bina hates cooking. (Cooking = the direct object of the verb hates.)

In the above examples cooking and coughing are used as nouns and are called gerund. Although both the present participle and the gerund are formed by adding -ing to a verb, note that the participle does the job of an adjective while the gerund does the job of a noun.

Now, look at some more examples of gerund functioning as noun.

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Gerund as the subject of the sentence

Examples:

Eating uncooked food is not good.

Hunting tigers is dangerous.

Flying makes me nervous.

Brushing your teeth is important.

Gerund after prepositions

The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition. This is also true for certain expressions ending in a preposition.

Examples

Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?

She is good at painting.

We arrived in Khulna after driving all night.

Gerund after phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are composed of a verb + preposition or adverb.

Examples:

When will you give up smoking?

She always puts off going to the dentist.

He kept on asking for money.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I am used to waiting for buses.

Gerund after some expressions

The gerund is necessary after the expressions like can't help, can't stand, to be worth, and it's no use.

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Examples:

I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.

It's no good wasting your time.

Remember: In English, the present participle has the same form as the gerund, and the difference is in how they are used.