CORRECT YOUR ENGLISH: Top 10 Mistakes with Gerunds & Infinitives

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on the top ten

mistakes that some English learners make with gerunds and infinitives. So, I assume that

you know what gerunds and infinitives are if you are watching this video. A gerund,

verb plus -ing. I like playing volleyball, for example. A to infinitive, such as I want to go

to the movies. So, in this video, we are going to look at ten mistakes that some beginners make,

intermediate learners make, and some advanced learners make as we get deeper into the examples.

And if you enjoy this video, make sure to like it, to share it, and to subscribe to the channel.

Thanks very much. Let's begin.

"I need study more." So, the issue here, and I think this is what's happening, is some learners

associate "need" as a modal verb. They think of it in the same way as "should" or "must" or

"will," that there's some modality associated to it. It's actually much better if you think of it,

if you need to think of it as a modal verb or a modal phrase, if you associate it with like "have

to" or "ought to." So, "I need to study more" is the correct form. So, "need" plus "to" plus the

I need to go. I need to see. I need to play. And I want you to repeat this after me.

"I need to go."

"I need to study more."

And answer this question for me. What do you need to do today?

Okay, good luck with that. Let's move on to number two. So, next we have "he wanted, call you." We

have the verb "want," and again, the general principle with gerunds and infinitives is you

can't usually put a verb next to another verb. So, you can't say, "I want go." "I want do."

You have to do with "want" a "to" plus the verb, an infinitive.

"To call." "He wanted to call you." And if you are wondering, "Alex, you have said the word

infinitive and to infinitive in this video." The reason for that is depending on the grammar book

you're reading, some will call an infinitive the "to" plus infinitive, and some will call it and

demand that you call it a "to" infinitive. So, it just depends which grammar book you read.

In this video, I will use the term interchangeably, and let's move on to the next one.

So, on the board, we have "my mom stopped to smoke" or "my mom quit to smoke." The verbs "stopped"

and "quit" are both special because they can be followed by both a gerund or a "to" infinitive,

but the meaning is different. So, in this situation, it's clear that you probably mean to say

that your mom smoked before, but your mom doesn't smoke now. And if you would like to do that,

you need to use a gerund. So, "My mom stopped smoking."

S-M-O-K-I-N-G. And you can also say, "My mom quit smoking." "My mom stopped smoking."

If you say, "My mom stopped to smoke," this means your mom interrupted another activity. So,

for example, your mom is walking. "She stopped to smoke." And I don't think that's what you

want to say in this case. So, repeat after me. "My mom stopped smoking."

One more time. "My mom stopped smoking."

Well done. Let's continue to the next one. So, this one is very similar to "want" and "need"

where some learners try to smash the verbs together. I know you can do this in other

languages, but you can't do it in English, as I mentioned. So, you can't say, "I like read."

You can say, "I like to read." And "like" is one of those rare verbs that can take both

a gerund or an infinitive. So, you can also say, "I like reading."

So, repeat after me. "I like to read."

Now, repeat after me. "I like reading."

Good. And one more conversation practice for you. What kinds of books do you like to read?

Hmm, okay. I like to read science fiction and fantasy. I have also been reading a lot

of philosophy books lately, so that has been interesting for me. Let's continue with the

next one. So, the fifth common mistake that people sometimes make with gerunds and infinitives

is with the phrase, "look forward to." So, if you look forward to something, you anticipate it,

you are excited about it, it's something in the future that you can't wait for, like,

"I'm looking forward to my vacation," for example. A common sentence in an email will be,

"I am looking forward to hear from you." Hmm, it's actually, "to hearing from you,"

and I'll explain why in a moment. So, "look forward to" is a three-part phrasal verb.

It ends with a preposition. So, you have to think of "look forward to" as its own complete

linguistic unit. So, it's not "look forward" by itself. It's "look forward to" by itself,

or together. You know what I mean. And because it ends with a preposition,

you need to use a verb plus -ing. After prepositions, if you want to include an activity,

you need to use a gerund. Let's move on to number six. We have, "We finished to eat."

This is the same case as "quit" and "stop." So, I often hear, like, "Oh, I finished to go. I

finished to play. I finished to eat." When you use "finish" and you want to say that you completed

an activity or a period of activity, you need to use a gerund. So, "We finished eating."

"Eating." Okay. Repeat that after me. "Eating." "Eating."

And now the sentence together, "We finished eating."

Good. And we are not done with this video yet, so let's move on to number seven.

Okay. "Play badminton is fun." Now, when you start a sentence with an action,

unless it's a command, you know, like, "Do this," "Stop talking," "Write your name on the paper,"

it's okay to start a sentence with a verb. But in this case, you need to use verb plus -ing.

"Playing." "Playing badminton." So, "Playing badminton" is the subject of this sentence.

You know what I mean. I know it looks a little funny here.

Could you say, "To play badminton is fun?" Yes. Technically, yes. But it's much more common

to start a sentence with a verb plus -ing in cases like this. The only time where you really

start sentences with a to infinitive is when "to" replaces "in order to." So, for example,

"To improve your English, you should listen to audio every day," or "You should practice

every day." So, "To do something." "In order to do something." Then it's okay. But if you just

want to start a sentence with an activity like "playing badminton," "doing your homework,"

"washing the dishes," you should use verb plus -ing. Repeat after me just to,

you know, practice this one more time. "Playing badminton is fun."

Okay, that was fun. Let's move on to number eight. "We went downtown for watch a movie."

So, in this case, we don't say "for" plus the verb, right? You have to use "to" plus the verb.

So, we never say "for play," "for go," "for do," "for make" when you're referring to an action

after. This is called an infinitive of purpose. You can watch my other video on infinitives of

purpose for a longer explanation of this. But basically, if you want to ask the question,

"Why?" Like, "We went downtown. Why?" Oh, "to watch a movie," not "for watch a movie." So,

repeat after me. This is a longer sentence. "We went downtown to watch a movie."

Okay, let's do the first part. Just, it's a long sentence. Try, "We went downtown

to watch a movie."

Okay, nice and fast. "To watch a movie." Good. "To watch a movie." "To watch a movie." "To watch

a movie." "To watch a movie." If you say it enough times, it sounds like one funny word. "To watch a

movie." Sounds like a spell, like in a fantasy movie. Like, "To watch a movie." Something like

that. Okay, let's go. Number nine. This mistake has to do with causative verbs. Three causative

verbs specifically. So, "He made me to leave," "He let me to leave," or "He had me to leave."

I have a video on causative verbs. It's many years old, but the content, the content is still good,

and my hair is a little wild in that video, but check it out. Alex English causative verbs.

Google it. Check it out on engVid. You'll be okay, and there's a bigger explanation of causative

verbs there. Anyway, when you use the causative verb, "He made me," this means he forced me or

caused me. "He made me leave." When you say, "He let me leave." If someone lets you do something,

they give you permission to do it. They allow you to do it, or "He had me leave." So,

if someone has you do something, they instruct you to do it or they cause you to do it.

So, just remember, if you use "He made me," "He let me," "He had me," you have to just use...

There's no infinitive. There's no gerund here. You just use the base verb. Okay? That's it.

Number 10. Last one. Finally, number 10. I'm interested in subscribe to your channel.

This is the same situation as "look forward to" where we had a phrasal verb that ended in

a preposition. When you have a preposition... Oh, we have a preposition here. Where is it?

In. Yes. Very good. What do you follow a preposition with if you want to use an activity

or an action? A gerund. You got it. So, it is "subscribe." I'm interested in subscribing to

your channel. So, we have adjective and preposition combinations, verb and preposition

combinations. Anytime you have a preposition, verb plus -ing if you want to follow it with

an action or an activity, basically. Whew. This was a long video, and I'm a little tired,

so I'm going to throw this down here. I'm going to thank you for watching this video,

and next, I am going to encourage you to do the quiz on www.engvid.com. When you do the quiz,

you make sure that you solidify the knowledge that, you know, you have been acquiring by watching

this video, by listening to me, by practicing your speaking with me, and it's a great way for you to,

again, solidify your knowledge and do it again after three days, after a week, come back,

watch this video, watch other videos, as long as you keep moving forward and you keep practicing

and just don't give up, basically. Because even when you make mistakes, hey, if you made some

of these mistakes and now you know, "Oh, that was incorrect." Yes, that was incorrect, but now you

can fix it, and isn't that awesome? I think that's pretty awesome. Okay, don't forget,

go to my YouTube channel, like the video, share the video, tell your friends, and subscribe to

my channel. Until next time, thanks for clicking. I wish you success in all of your English studies.