SECTION 11 — NON-FINITE VERBS: GERUNDS, INFINITIVES & PARTICIPLES (Concepts 135–151)

Non-finite verb forms (gerunds "-ing," infinitives "to + verb," and participles) don't show tense by themselves, and exams frequently test which one a particular main verb requires as its object.

135. Certain verbs are always followed by a gerund, never an infinitive: "enjoy, avoid, finish, consider, suggest, admit, deny, postpone, risk, mind"

• Wrong: She enjoys to read mystery novels on weekends.
• Fix: She enjoys reading mystery novels on weekends.
• Wrong: He suggested to postpone the meeting until Friday.
• Fix: He suggested postponing the meeting until Friday.
• Wrong: The clerk admitted to lose the original file.
• Fix: The clerk admitted losing the original file.

136. Certain verbs are always followed by an infinitive, never a gerund: "want, decide, hope, plan, agree, refuse, promise, manage, afford, fail"

• Wrong: He decided joining the new training programme.
• Fix: He decided to join the new training programme.
• Wrong: She refused signing the revised contract.
• Fix: She refused to sign the revised contract.
• Wrong: They failed submitting the report before the deadline.
• Fix: They failed to submit the report before the deadline. Why this happens: there's no logical reason "enjoy" takes "-ing" while "want" takes "to" — this is a lexical quirk of each individual verb rather than a rule with a clean cause, so these verb groups are usually best learned as memorised lists rather than derived from a pattern.

137. Some verbs can take either form with a real difference in meaning: "remember, forget, stop, try, regret"

• Wrong: He stopped to smoke five years ago for health reasons. (implies he paused an activity in order to smoke)
• Fix: He stopped smoking five years ago for health reasons. (means he quit smoking)
• Wrong: I remember to submit the form last week. (should describe a memory of a past action)
• Fix: I remember submitting the form last week.
• Wrong: She forgot meeting the client at the last conference. (means she forgot to do something, not the meeting itself)
• Fix: She forgot to meet the client at the last conference.

138. Prepositions are always followed by a gerund, never a base verb or infinitive

• Wrong: She is interested in learn new software applications.
• Fix: She is interested in learning new software applications.
• Wrong: He apologised for be late to the client meeting.
• Fix: He apologised for being late to the client meeting.
• Wrong: They succeeded in complete the project ahead of schedule.
• Fix: They succeeded in completing the project ahead of schedule.

139. A gerund, not an infinitive, functions as the subject of a sentence when describing a general activity

• Wrong: To swim regularly improve stamina and overall fitness.
• Fix: Swimming regularly improves stamina and overall fitness.
• Wrong: To smoke in public places is prohibited under the new law.
• Fix: Smoking in public places is prohibited under the new law.
• Wrong: To save early is the key to a comfortable retirement.
• Fix: Saving early is the key to a comfortable retirement.

140. Infinitives (not gerunds) express purpose — "in order to" is often shortened to plain "to"

• Wrong: He went to the bank for depositing the cheque.
• Fix: He went to the bank to deposit the cheque.
• Wrong: She woke up early for catching the first train.
• Fix: She woke up early to catch the first train.
• Wrong: He called the office for confirming his appointment.
• Fix: He called the office to confirm his appointment.

141. "Verb + object + infinitive" pattern with verbs like "want, ask, expect, allow, advise, permit, tell, warn"

• Wrong: The officer advised him submitting the form again.
• Fix: The officer advised him to submit the form again.
• Wrong: The warden did not allow the students leaving the hostel after 8 p.m.
• Fix: The warden did not allow the students to leave the hostel after 8 p.m.
• Wrong: The doctor warned him avoiding oily food for a month.
• Fix: The doctor warned him to avoid oily food for a month.

142. "Make" and "let" (causative verbs) take a bare infinitive (no "to") in the active voice

• Wrong: The coach made the players to run extra laps as punishment.
• Fix: The coach made the players run extra laps as punishment.
• Wrong: Please let me to explain the situation before you decide.
• Fix: Please let me explain the situation before you decide.
• Wrong: The supervisor made the new intern to redo the entire spreadsheet.
• Fix: The supervisor made the new intern redo the entire spreadsheet.

143. A dangling infinitive/participle phrase must logically attach to the sentence's grammatical subject

• Wrong: To qualify for the scholarship, good academic records are required.
• Fix: To qualify for the scholarship, a candidate needs good academic records.
• Wrong: Reviewing the budget carefully, several errors were found by the auditor.
• Fix: Reviewing the budget carefully, the auditor found several errors.
• Wrong: To apply for this post, a valid ID proof must be attached.
• Fix: To apply for this post, an applicant must attach a valid ID proof.

144. Gerunds take a possessive form (not an objective pronoun) when the doer of the gerund's action needs to be specified in formal writing

• Wrong: The manager was not happy about him missing the deadline.
• Fix: The manager was not happy about his missing the deadline.
• Wrong: There is no chance of them winning the tender this year.
• Fix: There is no chance of their winning the tender this year.
• Wrong: She was annoyed at us arriving so late to the ceremony.
• Fix: She was annoyed at our arriving so late to the ceremony.

145. "Too...to" (excess, prevents the action) vs. "enough...to" (sufficiency, allows the action)

• Wrong: He is enough experienced to lead this project independently.
• Fix: He is experienced enough to lead this project independently.
• Wrong: The report is too long to understanding within the deadline.
• Fix: The report is too long to understand within the deadline.
• Wrong: She is not enough qualified to apply for this senior post.
• Fix: She is not qualified enough to apply for this senior post.

146. Verbs of the senses ("see, hear, watch, notice, feel") + object + bare infinitive (complete action) or present participle (ongoing action)

• Wrong: I saw him to cross the road quickly before the signal changed.
• Fix: I saw him cross the road quickly before the signal changed. (complete action, no "to")
• Wrong: I heard her to sing while she was working in the next room.
• Fix: I heard her singing while she was working in the next room. (ongoing action)
• Wrong: We noticed him to leave the office earlier than usual.
• Fix: We noticed him leave the office earlier than usual.

147. A gerund phrase can act as the object of certain verbs even when the infinitive form of the same idea would be ungrammatical

• Wrong: He resists to change his old habits despite repeated advice.
• Fix: He resists changing his old habits despite repeated advice.
• Wrong: The clerk delayed to inform the customer about the hold on the cheque.
• Fix: The clerk delayed informing the customer about the hold on the cheque. Why this happens: verbs like "resist" and "delay" describe holding back from an action, and English treats this "holding back" idea as attaching to the activity itself (a gerund, functioning almost like a noun) rather than to a forward-pointing infinitive.

148. "Look forward to," "object to," "be accustomed to," "in addition to" — "to" here is a preposition, so it must be followed by a gerund, not a base verb

• Wrong: We look forward to hear from you soon.
• Fix: We look forward to hearing from you soon.
• Wrong: She objects to work on Sundays without extra pay.
• Fix: She objects to working on Sundays without extra pay. Why this happens: every other "to" in English (as in "want to go") signals an infinitive, so writers default to a base verb after "to" out of habit — but in these fixed phrases, "to" is functioning as a preposition, not as the infinitive marker, and prepositions always take a gerund.

149. Perfect infinitive ("to have + past participle") shows an action completed before the time of the main verb, often to express regret or unrealised possibility

• Wrong: He seems to finish the assignment before the review, but no one has confirmed it.
• Fix: He seems to have finished the assignment before the review, but no one has confirmed it.
• Wrong: She claims to complete the course last year, though her certificate says otherwise.
• Fix: She claims to have completed the course last year, though her certificate says otherwise.

150. Participle phrases at the start of a sentence must share their tense logic with the main clause — a perfect participle ("having + past participle") signals an action completed before the main clause's action

• Wrong: Finishing the report, she submitted it to the director an hour later. (implies finishing and submitting were simultaneous, which is misleading)
• Fix: Having finished the report, she submitted it to the director an hour later.
• Wrong: Checking the figures twice, he still found an error the next morning.
• Fix: Having checked the figures twice, he still found an error the next morning.

151. Infinitive of purpose can be replaced by "so as to" or "in order to" for extra formality, but never by "for + gerund" when the subject of the two clauses is the same

• Wrong: She arrived early for securing a good seat at the seminar.
• Fix: She arrived early so as to secure a good seat at the seminar.
• Wrong: He saved money for buying a new laptop before the semester began.
• Fix: He saved money in order to buy a new laptop before the semester began.

Mini Practice — Section 11

1. He avoided to answer the tricky question during the interview.
2. She is planning joining the new fitness centre next month.
3. To succeed in this exam requires consistent daily practice.
4. The supervisor made the trainee to redo the entire report.
5. There was no possibility of him clearing the exam without coaching.
6. He resists to accept feedback from his juniors.
7. We look forward to receive your confirmation soon.
8. She claims to finish the project last month, though records suggest otherwise.
9. Checking the accounts twice, he still submitted them with an error the following day.
10. He saved money for buying a new bike before the festival season.

Answer Key

1. "to answer" → "answering" ("avoid" takes a gerund)
2. "planning joining" → "planning to join" ("plan" takes an infinitive)
3. Correct as written — gerund/infinitive subject is acceptable, though "Succeeding in this exam requires..." is the more standard exam-preferred form
4. "made the trainee to redo" → "made the trainee redo" (causative "make" + bare infinitive)
5. "of him clearing" → "of his clearing" (possessive before gerund in formal writing)
6. "resists to accept" → "resists accepting" ("resist" takes a gerund)
7. "to receive" → "to receiving" ("to" here is a preposition after "look forward")
8. "claims to finish" → "claims to have finished" (perfect infinitive for a completed past action)
9. "Checking" → "Having checked" (perfect participle for an action completed before the main clause)
10. "for buying" → "to buy" or "in order to buy" (infinitive of purpose, not "for + gerund")

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