Non finite forms

Here is some information about non-finite verb forms in English, including some exercises at the end.

1. Non-finite verb
forms in English
José A. Alcalde
NOTE: Most of the information presented here was taken from http://www.englishgrammar.org,
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar, http://www.english-at-home.com.
In English we have four
non-finite or non-
personal verb forms:
Bare Infinitive
Think
To Infinitive
To think
Gerund
Thinking
Past Participle
Thought
To begin with, it is important to remember that when we have two verbs together in a sentence, the form of the
second verb is influenced by the first verb.
BARE INFINITIVE: The infinitive without the marker to is used:
After the auxiliaries shall, should, will, would, may, might, do, did, can, could, must, need and dare.
The last two, when used as main verbs, are followed by to infinitive. (f. ex. We mustn't make more noise or
we will have trouble with the neighbours) * Exception: Ought to.
After some principal verbs like bid, watch, see, let, make, help and hear, followed by an object. (f. ex. I
hear you run upstairs every night)
After expresions with rather, better and had better. (f. ex. You'd better tell me the truth right now)
After some prepositions like except, but, save and than (f. ex. You should you do something with your car
but sell it)
After the expression Why...? (f. ex. Why go to the cinema if we can rent a film at home?)
PAST PARTICIPLE: Past participles are used for all perfect tense forms of a verb and in the passive voice in
English. (f. ex. They had visited London several times before they finally moved there or The ceremony is being
taken care of by a very prestigious catering company)
TO INFINITIVE: We use To infinitive:
To express purpose (f. ex. I came here to see the wonderful scenery). In this case it is synonym to “in order
to” and “so as to”.
After certain verbs of thinking and feeling (choose, decide, expect, forget, hate, hope, intend, learn,
like, love, mean, plan, prefer, remember, want...) and verbs of saying (agree, promise, refuse) (f. ex.
Scientists expect to find a cure for cancer in the next few years)
After some verbs followed by a direct object (advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind,
tell, warn, expect, intend...) (f. ex. She order her sister to tidy her room as soon as possible)
After certain adjectives (disappointed, glad, sad, un/happy, anxious, pleased, surprised, proud,
un/able, due, eager, keen, un/likely, ready, prepared, un/willing...) (f. ex. We were really surprised to see
the harsh conditions of the factory workers)
After some adjectives to give opinions (difficult, easy, mi/possible, hard, right, wrong, kind, nice,
clever, silly, foolish...) (f. ex. It was so silly of you to forget your camera on the park bench!)
As a postmodifier after abstract nouns like ability, desire, need, wish, attempt, failure, opportunity,
chance, intention... (f. ex. It was our last attemt to recover our money)
GERUND (-ING): We used the gerund:
After prepositions (f. ex. We are thinking about buying a new dishwasher)
As subjects of sentences (f. ex. Aiming high is normal for competitive people)
After certain verbs (enjoy, admit, appreciate, avoid, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike,

2. endure, escape, excuse, face, finish, forgive, imagine, involve, mention, mind, miss, postpone,
practise, report, resent, risk, suggest, understand...) (f. ex. He delayed going to the dentist too much)
After certain nouns (problem, trouble...) (f. ex. She is having trouble starting her new business)
After certain expressions (can't help, can't stand, don't mind, no use, be worth, feel like, no good...) (f.
ex. It's no use crying over spilt milk)
However, there are some occasions when using Gerund or To Infinitive after certain verbs can mean different
things. Here are some examples:
Remember / regret / forget: using ING implies talking about something that happened before while using
TO implies reference to the future (f. ex. I remember going to this swimmingpool when I was six vs
Remember to buy some bread on your way home)
Stop: using ING implies ceasing an action while using TO implies stopping to do something else (f. ex. She
stopped smoking just a week ago vs She stopped to tie her shoelaces)
Go on: using ING implies continuing with the same action while using TO implies change of activity (f. ex.
Please, go on reading for a bit more vs Please, go on to read page nine)
Try: using ING implies to experiment something just in case it works while usingTO implies a hard effort (f.
ex. If you suffer from headaches try lying still on the coach vs Try to sit still and do your homework)
Mean: using ING means someting has to be done to get a result while using TO implies some intention (f.
ex. These low results mean phoning your parents vs I don't mean to hurt you but you are so stubborn many
times)
Now it is time to practise all said above with a couple of excercises.
Exercise 1 – Gerund and Infinitive
Choose the correct gerund or infinitive from the parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
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)
Exercise 2 – Gerund, Bare or To Infinitive
Decide whether to use Infinitive (with/without to) or Gerund.
1. What can we do ____ (live) a healthy life?
2. In our society, people spend more and more time ____(work).
3. So we often don't bother ______ (prepare) healthy meals.
4. In order _______ (save) time, we tend ______ (buy) fast food.
5. At fast food restaurants, we can ______ (eat) quite a lot without _____ (pay) a fortune. And children enjoy
________ (eat) chips and burgers and ______ (drink) lemonade and cola.
6. That's a problem because eating habits are hard ______ (shake)
7. The high amount of carbonhydrates in fast food and sugary drinks is blamed for ______ (destabilise) the
body's regulation of appetite.
8. So we keep on ______ (want) more.
9. Bad eating habits result in people _______ (become) obese.
10.Obese people risk _______ (suffer) from heart diseases.
11.We can ______ (avoid) ______ (risk) such diseases by ______ (choose) _______ (eat) healthy food.
12.Be careful though. Some people are convinced _______ (do) something for their health by ______
(live) on energy bars or cornflakes.
13.And this is what the advertising for these products wants _______ (make) us _____ (think).
14.In reality, however, these foods are often heavily sugared _______ (give) them flavour.
15.But sugar is not mentioned as clearly as the low fat - that's why experts warn against _____ (rely) on
the ads.

3. 16.To live a healthy life, we ought _____ (choose) our food wisely.
17.We should ______ (eat) regular meals and ____ (try) _____ (find) ways of _______ (exercise) more.
Answers Exercise 1:
1. riding 2. inviting 3. to fight 4. crying 5. to tie 6. to bake
7.complaining 8. concentrating 9. to join 10. to pick up
Answers Exercise 2:
1. to live 2. working 3. to prepare 4. to save / to buy 5. eat / paying / eating / drinking 6. to
shake 7. destabilising 8. wanting 9. becoming 10. suffering 11. avoid / risking /
choosing / to eat 12. to do / living 13. to make / think 14. to give 15. relying 16. to
choose 17. eat / try / to find / exercising