Gerunds and Infi nitives 83
it
Don’t you just love taking a couple of days off work?
it
I enjoy working with my hands.
Object of a preposition
it
I got my job by working as an intern for six months.
it
Before doing anything, you have to strip all the old paint off the wall.
it
We fi nally quit around seven after finishing the proposal.
it
My main concern was getting started so late.
it
The problem with the job is having to commute so far to work.
it
Right now our goal is finishing the job on time within the budget.
Since gerunds are derived from verbs, adverbs that originally modifi ed the verb underlying
the gerund can also modify the gerund derived from that verb. For example, consider the follow-
ing sentence:
She stressed the importance of always meeting our commitments on time.
The adverb always modifi es the gerund meeting.
Exercise 6.2
Underline the gerund phrases in the following sentences. Confi rm your answers by replacing the
gerund phrase with it.
it
They feared taking on such a big task.
1. Putting the schedule on the website really made it much easier to plan our meetings.
2. I vaguely recall hearing some discussion about that.
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Gerunds and Infi nitives 85
main object
verb gerund of verb
Gerund: My big concern was getting enough sleep.
Fortunately, there are two reliable ways of telling them apart. We can always change a progressive
verb into a simple form. In the case of our example, we can change the past progressive was get-
ting to the simple past tense got:
Progressive tense: The cat was getting ready to pounce.
Simple past: The cat got ready to pounce.
When we try to do the same thing with the gerund, the result is nonsensical:
Gerund: My big concern was getting enough sleep.
Simple past: X My big concern got enough sleep.
The other test is the third-person substitution test for gerund phrases. Here is the test applied
to both sentences:
it
Progressive tense: The cat was getting ready to pounce.
Third-person pronoun test: The cat was getting ready to pounce.
Clearly, it does not equal getting ready to pounce. When we apply the same test to the gerund
phrase, it makes perfect sense:
it
Gerund: My big concern was getting enough sleep.
Third-person pronoun test: My big concern was getting enough sleep.
In this case, it does indeed make sense as a substitute for getting enough sleep.
Exercise 6.3
Each of the following sentences contains a sequence of some form of the verb be followed by a
present participle. Underline each progressive verb or gerund phrase and write progressive or
gerund above it, and then confi rm your answer by applying one of the tests discussed previously:
paraphrasing a progressive as a simple tense or replacing a gerund phrase with it.
progressive

to have
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Gerunds and Infi nitives 87
Infi nitives can be used in many ways, but in this chapter we are only concerned with infi nitives
used as nouns.
An infi nitive phrase is an infi nitive together with all of its modifi ers and/or complements.
The difference between an infi nitive and an infi nitive phrase is exactly the same as the difference
between a noun and a noun phrase. For example, compare the following pairs of infi nitives and
infi nitive phrases used as objects. The infi nitives are in italics, and the entire infi nitive phrase is
underlined.
We all need to sleep.
We all need to sleep for a few hours.
We want to fi nish.
We want to finish this job as soon as we can.
They expected to win.
They expected to win the game easily.
From now on we will use the term infi nitive phrase for infi nitives with or without modi-
fi ers and/or complements. Infi nitive phrases can play three of the basic four noun roles: subjects,
objects of verbs, and predicate nominatives. Unlike gerund phrases, infi nitive phrases cannot be
objects of prepositions. Here are some examples of infi nitive phrases as subject, object of a verb,
and predicate nominative:
Subject
To give up so easily would be a terrible thing to do.
To do our very best is all that anybody could ask of us.
To learn Chinese characters takes years.
Object of verb
We need to get some more help.
They expected to be in Dallas by noon today.
The offi ce tried to reach him by voice mail.
Predicate nominative (complement of a linking verb)

10. To permit such dangerous behavior is really asking for trouble.
11. I didn’t want to stop for lunch because I had so much work.
12. To give up so easily would be a sure sign of weakness.
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Gerunds and Infi nitives 89
13. The plan was to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
14. After the long fl ight, we really needed to stretch our legs.
15. We didn’t want to think about all the awful things that could happen.
16. To receive this award from you is a great honor and privilege.
17. After much debate, the fi nal decision was to add three new positions.
18. You will need to take a full load next semester.
19. I wanted to believe that they were telling us the truth.
20. To err is human, to forgive is divine.
Infi nitive phrases differ from gerund phrases in one respect. English speakers often prefer to
move longer infi nitive phrases to the end of the sentence, putting an it in the subject position to
act as a placeholder or marker. This use of it is called a “dummy” or “empty” it because it does
not actually refer to anything outside the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence
with an infi nitive phrase in the subject position:
To turn down such a good opportunity didn’t make economic sense.
We could shift the infi nitive phrase to the end of the sentence and put a dummy it in the position
vacated by the infi nitive phrase:
It didn’t make economic sense to turn down such a good opportunity.
Here are some examples of subject infi nitive phrases shifted to the end of the sentence and
replaced by dummy it.
Original: To drive on the left side of the road was a strange experience.
Shifted: It was a strange experience to drive on the left side of the road.
Original: To do it the right way would cost more than we could afford.
Shifted: It would cost more than we could afford to do it the right way.
Original: To insist on a down payment seemed perfectly fair to me.
Shifted: It seemed perfectly fair to me to insist on a down payment.