The Non-finite Verb - Gerunds and Infinitives

Question 1

What is the role of the verb in a sentence?

Answer 1

• central element
• it decides the sentence pattern and the types of complements needed

Question 2

Common clause patterns

Answer 2

• Intransitive: S + V (Julia laughed.)
• Monotransitive: S + V + O (Julia locked the door.)
• Copular: S + V + C (Julia is pretty.)
• Copular with adverbial: S + V + A (Julia is in the kitchen.)
• Ditransitive: S + V + O + O (Julia gave me a cake.)
• Complex transitive: S + V + O + C (Julia got her apron dirty.)
• Complex transitive: S + V + O + A (Julia put the cake on the table.)

Question 3

What are common verb complements?

Answer 3

• Adjective phrase (He seemed very nice.)
• Noun phrase (She became a treasurer.)
• Nominative pronoun (It was he who said it.)
• That-clause (He thought that the moon was made of cheese.)
• Non-finite verb form (He wants to write a novel.)

Question 4

Finite vs. non-finite verbs

Answer 4

• -ing form (Gerund): (Swimming makes you fit.)
• To-infinitive: (David loves to play.)
• -en/-ed participle: (Written in 1864, it became a classic.)
• Bare infinitive: (We made David play the piano.)

Question 5

Gerund vs. Infinitive Forms:

Answer 5

• Gerund = Verb + -ing (reading)
• Infinitive = to + Verb (to read)

Question 6

Verbs and their complements

Answer 6

• Verbs followed by gerund or infinitive (little meaning change): Garfield loves eating/Garfield loves to eat
• Verbs followed by gerund or infinitive (big meaning change): Garfield stopped eating (stopped eating itself) vs. stopped to eat (stopped doing something else in order to eat)

Question 7

Gerund vs. Infinitive - Meaning differences (summary)

Answer 7

Question 8

Examples of meaning shifts

Answer 8

• He stopped buying magazines (stopped buying forever)
• He stopped to buy magazines (stopped doing something else to buy magazines)
• Remember to pay the bills vs. Remember paying the bills