INFINITIVES

Both gerunds and infinitives can be nouns, which means they can do just about anything that a noun can do. Although they name things, like other nouns, they normally name activities rather than people or objects. Here are five noun-uses of gerunds and infinitives (and one additional non-noun use, the adjective complement, that we throw in here, free of charge).

Gerunds and infintives can both function as the subject of a sentence:

a.       Playing basketball takes up too much of her time.

b.      To play basketball for UConn is her favorite fantasy.

It is not impossible for an infinitive to appear at the beginning of a sentence as the subject (as in Ib), but it is more common for an infinitive to appear as a Subject Complement:

a.       Her favorite fantasy is to play basketball for UConn.

The gerund can also play this role:

b.      Her favorite fantasy is playing basketball for UConn.

Both of these verbal forms can further identify a noun when they play the role of Noun Complement and Appositive:

a.       Her desire to play basketball for UConn became an obsession.

b.      I could never understand her desire to play basketball for UConn.

c.       Her one burning desire in life, playing basketball for UConn, seemed a goal within reach.

The infinitive is often a complement used to help define an abstract noun. Here is a very partial list of abstract nouns, enough to suggest their nature. Try following these adjectives with an infinitive phrase (their desire to play in the championship game, a motivation to pass all their courses, her permission to stay up late, a gentle reminder to do your work) to see how the phrase modifies and focuses the noun.

advice appeal command decision desire fact instruction motivation	opportunity order permission plan possibility preparation proposal recommendation	refusal reminder request requirement suggestion tendency wish

Infinitive phrases often follow certain adjectives. When this happens, the infinitive is said to play the role of Adjective Complement. (This is not a noun function, but we will include it here nonetheless.)

a.       She was hesitant to tell the coach of her plan.

b.      She was reluctant to tell her parents, also.

c.       But she would not have been content to play high school ball forever.

Here is a list of adjectives that you will often find in such constructions.

ahead amazed anxious apt ashamed bound careful certain content delighted

determined disappointed eager eligible fortunate glad happy hesitant liable likely

lucky pleased proud ready reluctant sad shocked sorry surprised upset

Although we do not find many infinitives in this next category, it is not uncommon to find gerunds taking on the role of Object of a Preposition:

a.       She wrote a newspaper article about dealing with college recruiters.

b.      She thanked her coach for helping her to deal with the pressure.

Two prepositions, except and but, will sometimes take an infinitive.

a.       The committee had no choice except to elect Frogbellow chairperson.

b.      What is left for us but to pack up our belongings and leave?

And, finally, both gerunds and infinitives can act as a Direct Object:

Here, however, all kinds of decisions have to be made, and some of these decisions will seem quite arbitrary. The next section is about making the choice between gerund and infinitive forms as direct object.

Verbs that take other verb forms as objects are called catenatives (from a word that means to link, as in a chain). Catenatives can be found at the head of a series of linked constructions, as in "We agreed to try to decide to stop eating between meals." Catenatives are also characterized by their tendency to describe mental processes and resolutions. (Kolln)

Although it is seldom a serious problem for native English speakers, deciding whether to use a gerund or an infinitive after a verb can be perplexing among students for whom English is a second language. Why do we decide to run, but we would never decide running? On the other hand, we might avoid running, but we would not avoid to run. And finally, we might like runningand would also like to run. It is clear that some verbs take gerunds, some verbs take infinitives, and some verbs take either. The following tables of verbs should help you understand the various options that regulate our choice of infinitive or gerund.