2. DEFINITION
Verbs in the infinitive are those that express an action without
specifying tense, mood or person. For example: jumping, drinking,
sleeping. It is one of the three non-personal forms of the verb,
together with the gerund and the participle, and it is the
grammatical form that gives names to verbs.
3. FEATURES
It does not distinguish
person, number or time (I
am going to go, they are
going to go)
Has a progressive or
forward-looking aspect
Does not specify the
particular circumstances
of the action
It has an abstract
character
It is used as an auxiliary
verb
4. APPLICATIONS
• The infinitive can function as the subject of a sentence. Unlike the English
language, infinitive verbs in Spanish are commonly used at the beginning of
sentences instead of their gerund form. For example, it is correct to say
“Working hard pays off” (using the verb “to work” in the infinitive), but it is not
correct to say “Working hard pays off” (using “trabajar” in the gerund).
5. TYPES (bare and full) AND EXAMPLES
■ Present infinitive: It is the best known way. It is formed with the structure to + (root of the
verb) and works as a noun in a sentence. For example: To sleep was a pleasure.
■ Negative infinitive: It is formed with not + the infinitive. It may or may not include the to.
As its name implies, it is to deny an action. For example: Try not to be angry.
■ Progressive infinitive: It is structured as follows: (to) be… -ing (the to may or may not
appear). It is used to indicate an action that continued, continues, or will continue while
speaking. For example: It's nice to be talking to you.
■ Perfect infinitive Its structure is this: (to) have + past participle (the to may or may not
appear). It is usually common in the third conditional. For example: If I had known you
were coming I would have cooked your favorite meal.
■ Passive infinitive Its form is as follows: (to) be + past participle (the to may or may not
appear). It is useful in sentences with passive voice. For example: Your trainers need to
be washed.
7. DEFINITION
The gerund is a verb form that can fulfill functions in a sentence beyond those of a
verb, such as subject, object, complement or present participle. It is structured with the
infinitive form of the verb + the suffix –ing, for example, the gerund of walk is walking
8. FEATURES
The subject of the gerund is the same
as that of the main verb or has its own
subject.
It expresses action that is
simultaneous or prior to that
of the main verb, or in such
an immediate way that it is
perceived as simultaneous.
It must function as an adverb
or as a circumstantial
complement or as a verb.
When it is with verbs of physical
perception, the subject can be
the direct object of the main verb.
Function to form several verb
periphrases.
9. APPLICATIONS
In the same way that it happens with the infinitive and the participle, the gerund is an
unconjugated form that verbs can take. This means that gerund verbs are not conjugated, so
they do not change depending on the mode, tense, gender, or number.
In summary, the gerund verb is always of the same form (to eat: eating, to sing: singing, etc.)
and when it fulfills its function as a verb it usually does so within a verbal periphrasis
(remember that verbal periphrases are the result of of the fusion of two verbs that do the work
of only one).
In this case, the verb in the gerund, since it is not conjugated, is not considered the main
verb, but this role would be adopted by the verb that accompanies it (it was running, for
example).
■ Finish + gerund: It refers to a consequence that happens after a certain or indeterminate
period: "We always discuss where to have dinner for hours and in the end we always
end up going to the same place."
10. ■ Carry + gerund: An action that continues in the present from the past (seguir +
gerund has a somewhat similar meaning, but with some differentiating nuance):
"I've been cleaning the house all week."for hours.“
■ Present progressive, durative or continuous: An action that is happening in the
present and has not finished yet: “Wait a bit, he is finishing his homework”.
■ Seguir + gerund: In the same way that we saw with "carry", the verb "seguir" can
be used together with the gerund to emphasize the durability of an action in the
present or at a specific moment in the past: "I called him in the afternoon for still I
was still working.“
■ Stay + gerund: This form underlines the duration of the action for a considerable
time: "I wanted to see more works, but I stayed looking at his painting for hours."
11. TYPES AND EXAMPLES
Gerunds have two types that depend on whether or not they have a proper
subject: the conjoint gerund and the absolute gerund. The conjoint gerund has
the same subject as the verb in the personal form. It is written in the sentence
separated with commas, it can be placed before or inserted between the
subject and the main verb. Although the use of the comma is always
recommended, on some occasions, when the gerund is at the end, it is
possible to do without the comma. For example: Reading so many novels, Don
Quixote went crazy.Don Quixote, reading so many novels, went crazy. The
absolute or non-arranged gerund is the one that has its own subject, different
from the subject of the main clause and does not coincide with the direct
object. This type is separated by commas from the rest of the sentence. For
example: While the child is sleeping, the mother also rests. The mother, while
the child is sleeping, also rests.
12. Verbs that can be followed by
infinitives and gerunds at the same
time. examples
Verbs followed by infinitive
■ Afford
I can’t afford to go on holiday.
■ Agree
I don’t agree to go out in this weather.
■ Ask
I asked Mary to come with us.
■ Choose
■ I chose not to accept the job offer.
■ Decide
■ Expect
■ Hope
■ Learn
■ Offer
■ Prepare
■ Promise
■ Pretend
■ Want
Verbs followed by a gerund
• Admit
He admitted to smoking
• Avoid
I avoid using the car when I can walk instead.
• Consider
• Dislike
• Enjoy
I enjoy travelling
• Finish
• Give up
• Mind
• Practice
• Suggest
13. Verbs followed by infinitive or gerund
■ Start
I started studying English when I was at nursery school. I started to study English when I
was at nursery school.
■ Begin
She began to cry as soon as she reached home. She began crying as soon as she
reached home
Continue
Verbs followed by infinitive or gerund
■
Forget
■ Forget + gerundio
I can’t forget meeting you for the first time.
■ Forget + infinitivo
Please don’t forget to take this letter to the post office.
■ Like
■ Like + gerundio
I like watching old films.
