Grmmar Syllabus VI

Syllabus

Exercises – Gerunds and Infinitives

Choose the correct gerund or infinitive from the parenthesis at the end of the sentence.

1. She likes to get up early in the morning. (likes / dislikes)

1. . Alan can’t stand _________ on trains. (riding/ to ride)
2. Mr. Harris enjoys _________ people out 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 PTA 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)

Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and Infinitives

We use gerunds (verb + ing):

• After certain verbs - I enjoy singing
• After prepositions - I drank a cup of coffee before leaving
• As the subject or object of a sentence - Swimming is good exercise

We use 'to' + infinitive:

• After certain verbs - We decided to leave
• After many adjectives - It's difficult to get up early
• To show purpose - I came to London to study English

We use the bare infinitive (the infinitive without 'to'):

• After modal verbs - I can meet you at six o'clock
• After 'let', 'make' and (sometimes) 'help' - The teacher let us leave early
• After some verbs of perception (see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense) - I watched her walk away
• After expressions with 'why' - why go out the night before an exam

EXERCISES ABOUT INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

1. I can’t find my mobile phone ........................................ .
   • anybody
   • anywhere
   • somewhere
   • nowhere
2. The glass is empty. ........................................ drank my orange juice.
   • Somewhere
   • Nobody
   • Somebody
   • Anybody
3. Do you know ........................................ who has got red hair?
   • anybody
   • somebody
   • nobody
   • something
4. ........................................ is wrong with my mobile because I can ’t hear you.
   • Something
   • Anything
   • Nothing
   • Somebody
5. All my friends are ill. ........................................ is healthy.
   • Anybody
   • Somebody
   • Nothing
   • Nobody
6. The music is too loud. I can’t hear ........................................ .
   • somewhere
   • something
   • anything
   • nothing
7. ........................................ is looking at us. It’s Sarah.
   • Nobody
   • No one
   • Anybody
   • Somebody
8. This room is empty. ........................................ is left.
   • Anything
   • Nothing
   • Something
   • Nowhere
9. Rolling Stones is a very popular band. ........................................ knows it.
   • Everyone
   • Everything
   • Someone
   • Anyone
10. I didn’t do ........................................ wrong.
    • anything
    • anyone
    • something
    • nothing
11. Pat and Tim are in the middle of the desert and they have ........................................ to hide.
    • nowhere
    • anywhere
    • somwone
    • anybody
12. A rubber is ........................................ in that drawer.
    • anywhere
    • nowhere
    • somewhere
    • something
13. Don’t worry. ........................................ will be fine.
    • Anybody
    • No one
    • Everything
    • Nobody
14. We don’t know where is our favourite book. We’ve searched ........................................ .
    • anywhere
    • everywhere
    • nowhere
    • anybody
15. The fridge is empty. Mary has eaten ........................................ .
    • something
    • everywhere
    • everyone
    • everything
16. You can’t go ........................................ . You’re grounded.
    • anybody
    • somewhere
    • nowhere
    • anywhere
17. Kate was born ........................................ in Africa.
    • someone
    • anyone
    • anywhere
    • somewhere
18. It was pitch-dark in the attic. I could see ........................................ .
    • nothing
    • anything
    • anybody
    • somebody
19. We are alone. ........................................ is here.
    • Anyone
    • No one
    • Anybody
    • Someone
20. Fast food can be bought almost ........................................ .
    • nowhere
    • everything
    • everywhere
    • anywhere

Negative Contractions

We can use two forms of contractions with negative verb to be.

Short Form 1	Short Form 2
you aren't	you're not
he isn't	he's not
she isn't	she's not
it isn't	it's not
we aren't	we're not
they aren't	they're not

Note:

You can't contract I am not as I amn't!

Don't forget: I am too tall to ride this ride, aren’t I?

Also see English Contractions main page.

Other Negative Contractions

Short Form	Long Form
aren't can't couldn't daren't didn't doesn't don't hasn't haven't hadn't isn't mayn't mightn't mustn't needn't oughtn't shan't shouldn't wasn't weren't won't wouldn't	are not cannot / can not could not dare not did not does not do not has not have not had not is not may not might not must not need not ought not shall not should not was not were not will not would not