English Grammar Drills

6
Gerunds and Infinitives
Gerunds and infinitives are verb forms used as nouns. (Infinitives can also be used as other
parts of speech, but in this chapter we will deal only with infinitives used as nouns.) Here are
some examples of gerunds and infinitives used as subjects (in italics).
Gerunds
Breathing is difficult when you are at high altitudes.
Eating was the last thing on my mind.
Driving is a privilege, not a right.
Swimming is my only real form of exercise.
Infinitives
To live is the goal of every creature.
To doubt is to hesitate.
To lose would be unthinkable.
To refuse would be dishonorable.
Gerunds and gerund phrases
Gerunds are the present participle forms of verbs. Present participles are formed by adding
-ing to the base (or dictionary) forms of verbs. Present participles are mostly regular. The most
common variation is the result of normal spelling rules for final silent e and doubled consonant
spellings. For example, the final e of hope is dropped when we add a suffix beginning with
a vowel: hope-hoping; and the final consonant of hop doubles when we add a suffix beginning
with a vowel: hop-hopping. The double consonant rule does not apply to words that do not have
the stress on the last syllable (budget-budgeting) or when the final consonant is preceded by two
vowels (sleep-sleeping).
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