How to Teach Gerunds and Infinitives

Hi, my name is James Heywood and I’ve been teaching ESL as an independent online tutor since 2012.

Today I would like to walk you through my strategy for teaching Gerunds, Infinitives, Bare Infinitives and That-Clauses to your private ESL student.

Verbs are limited as to the kinds of complements they can take, so teaching the use of gerunds, infinitives, bare infinitives and that-clauses is vital for students to gain confidence using English.

Exposing a student to the correct complements that English verbs can take allows them to recognize these more quickly during self-study, and permits them to gain greater proficiency when speaking and writing.
I’ve released a 12-part series to teach the form and function of complements used after verbs, with a follow-on homework activity for each lesson.
And remember, if you are a subscriber to our site, you can contact me here for a free one-to-one videoconference about How to Teach Gerunds & Infinitives. I’ll take you personally through the lessons, answer your questions, and ensure you’re confident and ready to teach your student about this part of the English language.
We hope you enjoy the Gerunds & Infinitives category!

The following are summaries of what you will find in Gerunds and Infinitives category:

Introduction to Gerunds and Infinitives (G1.1 and G1.2)

• The form of the gerund and its use as a subject or object in a sentence:

Dancing is an excellent form of exercise.
I really don’t like running.

• The form of the infinitive and its use as a subject or object in a sentence:

                  To graduate next year is my goal.
                  I can’t afford to buy those shoes.

Verbs followed by Infinitives and Gerunds (G1.3 to G1.5)

• Verbs that take an infinitive:

She agreed to write that letter.
He claimed not to have any money.

• Verbs that take a gerund:

They admitted stealing the books.
You denied sending that email.

• Verbs can take an infinitive or a gerund:

I prefer reading to writing.
I prefer to read than to write.

Verbs followed by an Object plus an Infinitive, Gerund or Bare Infinitive (G1.6 and G1.7)

• Verbs that can take an object:

I want to learn English versus I want you to learn English.
I advise you to contact your doctor.

• The infinitive of purpose:

He’s bought milk to make pancakes for breakfast.

• Verbs followed by an object and a gerund:

She saw him fishing at the lake.

• Verbs followed by an optional object and a gerund:

We appreciated receiving the presents.
I remember my mother cooking a lot when I was young.

• Verbs followed by a bare infinitive:

We saw him throw the paper out of the window.

Verbs followed by either an Infinitive or a Gerund with a change in meaning (G1.8)

• Verbs that have a change in meaning:

He stopped speaking versus He stopped to speak
I remembered to tell her versus I remembered telling her.
He regrets doing that versus He regrets to inform you about the bad news
Expressions followed by Gerunds (G1.9)

• Common expression that take a gerund:

I’m having lots of difficulty completing this report
She had fun speaking time with her family.
Verbs followed by a That-Clause (G1.10)

• After verbs of saying:

He admitted that she wasn’t the best candidate.

• After verbs of thinking:

We decided that it was too late to continue working.

• Verbs requiring an object before a that-clause:

She told me that I had failed the test.

Lesson G.11 provides practice with the forms and functions learned in the previous lessons.
Causative verbs (G2.1)

• have, let, make + bare infinitive

I had the painter decorate my new apartment.
He wouldn’t let us leave the house.
They made us stand outside in the rain.

• got + infinitive

The police got him to confess to the crime. 

And as always, we welcome your feedback if you’ve taught using our Gerunds & Infinitives category.

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