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Both gerunds and infinitives can be nouns, which means they behave as regular nouns. Although they name things, like regular nouns, they normally name activities rather than people or objects. Five noun-uses of gerunds and infinitives are as follows:
Gerunds and infintives can both function as the subject of a sentence:
Playing basketball takes up too much of her time.
To play basketball for UConn is her favorite fantasy.
An infinitive can appear at the beginning of a sentence as the subject or more often as a Subject Complement:
Her favorite fantasy is to play basketball for UConn.
The gerund can also play this role:
Her favorite fantasy is playing basketball for UConn.
Both of these verbal forms can further identify a noun when they play the role of Noun Complement and Appositive:
Her desire to play basketball for UConn became an obsession.
I could never understand her desire to play basketball for UConn.
Her one burning desire in life, playing basketball for UConn, seemed a goal within reach.
The infinitive is often a complement used to help define an abstract noun. Here is a very partial list of abstract nouns, enough to suggest their nature. Try following these adjectives with an infinitive phrase to see how the phrase modifies and focuses the noun:
their desire to play in the championship game
a motivation to pass all their courses
her permission to stay up late
a gentle reminder to do your work
.
Infinitive phrases often follow certain adjectives. When this happens, the infinitive is said to play the role of Adjective Complement. This is not a noun function, known as an adjective complement
She was hesitant to tell the coach of her plan.
She was reluctant to tell her parents, also.
But she would not have been content to play high school ball forever.
Here is a list of adjectives that you will often find in such constructions.
ahead, amazed, anxious, apt, ashamed, bound, careful, certain, content, delighted, determined, disappointed, eager, eligible, fortunate, glad, happy, hesitant, liable, likely, lucky, pleased, proud, ready, reluctant, sad, shocked, sorry, surprised, upset
Although we do not find many infinitives in this next category, it is not uncommon to find gerunds taking on the role of Object of a Preposition:
She wrote a newspaper article about dealing with college recruiters.
She thanked her coach for helping her to deal with the pressure.
Two prepositions, except and but, will sometimes take an infinitive.
The committee had no choice except to elect Frogbellow chairperson.
What is left for us but to pack up our belongings and leave?
And, finally, both gerunds and infinitives can act as a Direct Object:
Here, however, all kinds of decisions have to be made, and some of these decisions will seem quite arbitrary.
Making the choice between gerund and infinitive forms as direct object.
Verbs that take other verb forms as objects are know as catenatives. Catenatives can be found at the head of a series of linked constructions, as in
We agreed to try to decide to stop eating between meals.
Catenatives are also characterized by their tendency to describe mental processes and resolutions.
Deciding whether to use a gerund or an infinitive
The verbs in the table below will be followed by an infinitive. We decided to leave. He manages, somehow, to win. It is threatening to rain. Notice that many, but not all, of these verbs suggest a potential event. Some of the verbs in the following table may be followed by a gerund if they are describing an "actual, vivid or fulfilled action" (Frodesen). We love running. They began farming the land. These are described, also, below.
Emotion - care, desire, hate, like, loathe, love, regret, yearn,
Choice or Intent - agree, choose, decide, decide, expect, hope, intend, need, plan, prefer, prepare, propose, refuse, want, wish
Initiation, Completion, Incompletion - begin, cease, commence, fail, get, hesitate, manage, neglect, start, try, undertake
Mental Process - forget, know how, learn, remember
Request and Promise - demand, offer, promise, swear, threaten, vow
Intransitives - appear, happen, seem, tend
Miscellaneous - afford, arrange, claim, continue, pretend, wait
The verbs in the next table will often be followed by an infinitive, but they will also be accompanied by a second object. We asked the intruders to leave quietly. They taught the children to swim. The teacher convinced his students to try harder.
Communication - advise, ask, beg, challenge, command, convince, forbid, invite, order, permit, persuade, promise, remind, require, tell, warn, urge
Instruction - encourage, help, instruct, teach, train
Causing - allow, cause, choose, force, get, hire, need, would like
Miscellaneous - dare, expect, trust, prepare, want
Gerunds accompany a form of the verb to go in many idiomatic expressions: Let's go shopping. We went jogging yesterday. She goes bowling every Friday night.
The following verbs will be followed by a gerund. Did I mention reading that novel last summer? I recommend leaving while we can. I have quit smoking These verbs tend to describe actual events.
Initiation, Completion and Incompletion - anticipate, avoid, begin, cease, complete, delay, finish, get through, give up, postpone, quit, risk, start, stop, try
Communication - admit, advise, deny, discuss, encourage, mention, recommend, report, suggest, urge
Continuing Action - continue, can't help, practice, involve, keep, keep on
Emotion - appreciate, dislike, enjoy, hate, like, love, mind, don't mind, miss, prefer, regret, can't stand, resent, resist, tolerate
Mental Process - anticipate, consider, forget, imagine, recall, remember, see, can't see, understand
The following verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund, and there will be virtually no difference in the meaning of the two sentences.
I like to play basketball in the park. I like playing basketball in the park.
attempt, begin, continue, hate, like, love, neglect, prefer, regret, can't stand, stand, start
The verbs in this next, very small table can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund, but there will be a difference in meaning. I stopped smoking means something quite different, for instance, from I stopped to smoke. The infinitive form will usually describe a potential action.
forget, remember, stop
Finally, the verbs below will be followed by either a gerund or a simple verb and a second subject will be required. I saw the team losing its composure. I overheard my landlord discussing a rent increase. (I heard Bill sing/singing.) These verbs involve the senses.
Verbs Involving Senses - feel, hear, listen to, look at, notice, observe, overhear, see, watch
Verbs of perception — hear, see, watch — and a handful of other verbs — help, let, and make — will take what is called the bare infinitive, an infinitive without the particle "to." This is true of these verbs only in the active voice.
We watched him clear the table.
They heard the thief crash through the door.
She made me do it.
We helped her finish the homework.
Using Possessives with Gerunds
Do we say "I can't stand him singing in the shower," or do we say "I can't stand his singing in the shower"? Well, you have to decide what you find objectionable: is it him, the fact that he is singing in the shower, or is it the singing that is being done by him that you can't stand? Chances are, it's the latter, it's the singing that belongs to him that bugs you. So we would say, "I can't stand his singing in the shower."
On the other hand, do we say "I noticed your standing in the alley last night"? Probably not, because it's not the action that we noticed; it's the person. So we'd say and write, instead, "I noticed you standing in the alley last night." Usually, however, when a noun or pronoun precedes a gerund, that noun or pronoun takes a possessive form. This is especially true of formal, academic writing.
There are exceptions to this. (What would the study of language be without exceptions?)
When the noun preceding the gerund is modified by other words, use the common form of that noun, not the possessive.
Federico was pleased by Carlos's making the Dean's List for the first time.
but
Federico was pleased by Carlos, his oldest son, making the Dean's List for the first time.
When the noun preceding the gerund is plural, collective, or abstract, use the common form of that noun, not the possessive.
Professor Villa was amazed by her students working as hard as they did.
The class working collaboratively was somebody else's idea.
It was a case of old age getting the better of them.
There are certain situations in which the possessive and the gerund create an awkward combination. This seems to be particularly true when indefinite pronouns are involved.
I was shocked by somebody's making that remark.
This would be greatly improved by saying, instead . . .
I was shocked that somebody would make that remark.
This is also true when the "owner" of the gerund comes wrapped in a noun phrase:
I was thankful for the guy next door shoveling snow from my driveway.
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