Some basic information about English non finite verbs forms

1. Non-finite verb
forms in English
José A. Alcalde
NOTE: Most of the information presented here w as taken from http://w w w.english-at-home.com.
http://w w w.englishgrammar.org, https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar,
In English we have four
non-finite or non-
personal verb forms:
Bare Infinitive
Think
To Infinitive
To think
Gerund
Thinking
Past Participle
Thought
To begin with, it is important to remember that when we have two verbs together in a sentence, the form of the
second verb will be influenced by the first verb. Here are the four forms mentioned above:
BARE INFINITIVE: The infinitive without the marker TO is used:
 After the auxiliaries shall, should, will, would, may, might, do, did, can, could, must, need and dare. The
last two, when used as main verbs, are followed by TO infinitive. (f. ex. We mustn't make more noise but I
need to go right now) * Exception: Ought to.
 After some principal verbs like bid, watch, see, let, make, help and hear, followed by an object. (f. ex. I
hear you run upstairs every night)
 After expressions with rather, better and had better. (f. ex. You'd better tell me the truth right now)
 After some prepositions like except, but, save and than (f. ex. You should do something with your car but
sell it)
 In the expression Why...? (f. ex. Why go to the cinema if we can rent a film at home?)
PAST PARTICIPLE: Past participles are used for all perfect tense forms of a verb, in the passive voice and in the
causative form. (f. ex. They had visited London several times before they finally moved there, The ceremony is
being taken care of by a very prestigious company or We had our office refurbished in less than one month)
TO INFINITIVE: We use TO infinitive:
 To express purpose (f. ex. I came here to see the wonderful scenery). In this case it is synonym to “in order
to” and “so as to”.
 After certain verbs of thinking and feeling (choose, decide, expect, forget, hate, hope, intend, learn,
like, love, mean, plan, prefer, remember, want...) and verbs of saying (agree, promise, refuse) (f. ex.
Scientists expect to find a cure for cancer in the next few years)
 After some verbs followed by a direct object (advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind,
tell, warn, expect, intend...) (f. ex. She ordered her sister to tidy her room as soon as possible)
 After certain adjectives (disappointed, glad, sad, un/happy, anxious, pleased, surprised, proud,
un/able, due, eager, keen, un/likely, ready, prepared, un/willing...) (f. ex. We were really surprised to see
the harsh conditions of the factory workers)
 After some adjectives to give opinions (difficult, easy, im/possible, hard, right, wrong, kind, nice,
clever, silly, foolish...) (f. ex. It was so silly of you to forget your camera on the park bench!)
 As a postmodifier after abstract nouns like ability, desire, need, wish, attempt, failure, opportunity,

2. chance, intention... (f. ex. It was our last attempt to recover our money)
GERUND (-ING): We use the gerund in these situations:
 After prepositions (f. ex. We are thinking about buying a new dishwasher)
 As subjects of sentences (f. ex. Smoking is really addictive and you know it)
 After certain verbs (enjoy, admit, appreciate, avoid, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike,
endure, escape, excuse, face, finish, forgive, imagine, involve, mention, mind, miss, postpone,
practise, report, resent, risk, suggest, understand...) (f. ex. He delayed going to the dentist too much)
 After certain nouns (problem, trouble...) (f. ex. She will have trouble understanding this activity)
 After certain expressions (can't help, can't stand, don't mind, no use, be worth, feel like, no good...) (f.
ex. It's no use telling him again and again as he wont´listen to you)
However, there are some occasions when using Gerund or TO Infinitive after certain verbs can mean different
things. Here are some examples:
 Remember / Regret / Forget: using -ING implies talking about something that happened in the past while
using TO implies reference to the future (f. ex. I remember going to this swimming pool when I was six
vs. Remember to go to the supermarket on your way home)
 Stop: using -ING implies ceasing an action while using TO implies stopping to do something else (f. ex.
She stopped smoking just a week ago vs. She stopped to smoke a cigarrette)
 Go on: using -ING implies continuing with the same action while using TO implies change of activity (f. ex.
Please, go on reading for a bit more vs. Please, go on to read page nine)
 Try: using -ING implies to experiment something just in case it works while using TO implies a hard effort
(f. ex. If you suffer from backache try sitting properly on the coach vs. Try to sit still and do your
homework)
 Mean: using -ING means something has to be done to get a result while using TO implies some intention
(f. ex. These low results mean calling your parents vs. I don't mean to hurt you but you are so stubborn
many times)
Now it is time to practise all said above with a couple of exercises.
Exercise 1 – Gerund and Infinitive
Choose the correct gerund or infinitive from the parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
1. Alan can’t stand _________ on trains. (riding/ to ride)
2. Mr. Harris decided _________ his guests to dinner. (inviting / to invite)
3. In the old days, gentlemen challenged their rivals _______. (fighting / to fight)
4. As the famous saying goes, there’s no use __________ over spilt milk. (crying / to cry)
5. Jim stopped _________ his shoelace. Wait for him. (tying / to tie)
6. My wife always volunteers ___________ cakes for school meetings. (baking / to bake)
7. Don’t waste my time ___________ about your salary. (complaining/ to complain)
8. Eva is having trouble _________ on the exam. (concentrating / to concentrate)
9. Please allow me ____________ your Facebook page. (joining / to join)
10. You won’t forget _________milk on your way home, will you? (picking up /to pick up)
Exercise 2 – Gerund, Bare or To Infinitive
Decide whether to use Infinitive (with/without TO) or Gerund.
1. What can we do ____ (live) a healthy life?
2. In our society, people spend more and more time ____(work).

3. 3. So we often don't bother ______ (prepare) healthy meals.
4. In order _______ (save) time, we tend ______ (buy) fast food.
5. At fast food restaurants, we can ______ (eat) quite a lot without _____ (pay) a fortune. And children enjoy
________ (eat) chips and burgers and ______ (drink) lemonade and cola.
6. That's a problem because eating habits are hard ______ (shake)
7. The high amount of carbohydrates in fast food and sugary drinks is blamed for ______ (destabilise) the
body's regulation of appetite.
8. So we keep on ______ (want) more.
9. Bad eating habits result in people _______ (become) obese.
10. Obese people risk _______ (suffer) from heart diseases.
11. We can ______ (avoid) ______ (risk) such diseases by ______ (choose) _______ (eat) healthy food.
12. Be careful though. Some people are convinced _______ (do) something for their health by ______ (live)
on energy bars or cornflakes.
13. And this is what the advertising for these products wants _______ (make) us _____ (think).
14. In reality, however, these foods are often heavily sugared _______ (give) them flavour.
15. But sugar is not mentioned as clearly as the low fat - that's why experts warn against _____ (rely) on
the ads.
16. To live a healthy life, we ought _____ (choose) our food wisely.
17. We should ______ (eat) regular meals and ____ (try) _____ (find) ways of _______ (exercise) more.