The Gerundive has the same form as the present participle (verb+ING). It’s a verb employed as a noun. It is used in the following situations :
· As subject of the sentence :
Ex. Smoking damages your health. (Fumer nuit à votre santé).
· As complement :
Ex. I like skiing. (J'aime faire du ski).
· After a preposition :
Ex. Tim's very good at building sand castles. (Tim est très doué pour construire des châteaux de sable.)
· With the following verbs : accuse, admit, avoid, consider, delay, deny, detest, dread, enjoy, envisage, fancy, feel like, finish, imagine, involve, keep, mind, miss, postpone, practise, recall, regret, resent, risk, stop, suggest.
Ex. It has stopped raining. (La pluie s'est arrêtée).
· To talk about past actions, we can use gerundive or perfect gerundive (having done, having eaten, etc).
Ex. Penny regretted having changed jobs. (Penny a regretté d'avoir changé de travail).
The Infinitive is used :
· After the following verbs : afford, agree, aim, appear, arrange, ask, choose, consent, dare, decide, decline, demand, expect, fail, forget, hope, learn , manage, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, swear, tend, threaten, want, wish.
Ex. The boss refused to give us a day off. (Le patron a refusé de nous donner un jour de congé).
· After the following verbs, we can use the “WH+Infinitive” form : ask, decide, explain, forget, know, remember, understand, show, tell.
Ex. He forgot what to say. (Il a oublié quoi dire).
Ex. Do you know how to play the piano? (Savez-vous jouer du piano ?)
· The perfect infinitive (to have + past participle) and the progressive infinitive (to be + present participle) are used after the following verbs : appear, pretend, seem.
Ex. Arnold seems to have enjoyed himself. (Arnold semble s'être amusé).
Ex. Arnold seems to be enjoying himself. (Arnold semble s'amuser).
· After would like.
Ex. I would like to be taller. (J'aimerais être plus grand).
After certain verbs, we can use either the infinitive or the gerundive :
· After begin, can't bear, continue, intend, love, start.
Ex. I can't bear getting up early. I can't bear to get up early. (Je ne supporte pas de me lever tôt).
· After like, we use the gerundive when we appreciate and the infinitive when we think that it’s good for us ( it’s not inevitably appreciated).
Ex. I like playing football. (J'aime jouer au football). I appreciate that.
Ex. I like to go to the dentist twice a year. (Je trouve cela bien d'aller chez le dentist deux fois par an). It’s good for me to go to the dentist twice a year, even if I don’t appreciate that.
· After stop, we use the gerundive when it’s about stopping something in general, and infinitive when it’s about stopping what we are doing, in order to do something else.
Ex. He has stopped smoking. (Il a arrêté de fumer).
Ex. He stopped to look at the shop window. (Il s'est arrêté pour regarder la vitrine).
· After remember, we use the infinitive when it’s about remembering something before doing it ; we use the gerundive when it’s about remembering something after having done it.
Ex. Did you remember to feed the cat? (Avez-vous pensé à donner à manger au chat ?)
Ex. Yes, I remember feeding the cat before leaving for work. (Oui, je me rapelle lui avoir donné à manger avant de partir pour le travail).
4. Exercises
a) They accuse me ……… (lie).
b) My boss forced me ……… (work) until midnight.
c) The security guard prevented John ……… (leave) the building.
d) She regretted ………(have to leave) so early.
e) Have you succeded ………(pass) your driving test yet?
f) Have you ever dreamt ………(become) rich?
g) ………(play) soccer is my favourite passtime.
h) I enjoy ……… (not, do) anything on my days off.
i) Penny hates ………(do) homework.
j) However, she likes ………(do) homework at least twice a week.
a) What do you suggest………(buy)for dinner this evening?
b) I don’t know……… (how, operate) a crane.
c) They arranged………(meet) at the station.
d) Mary enjoys ………(go) shopping on Thursday evening.
e) The boss offered ……… (raise) the employees’ salaries.
f) Didn’t he admit………(not, pay) his taxes ?
g) I regretted……… (not, go) to the doctor sooner.
h) Fred couldn’t decide ………(where, go) for his holidays.
i) The police failed ………(prevent) the riot.
j) Did the children enjoy ………(visit) the museum ?
k) I told him my name, but he appears ……… (forget) it.
l) Keep on ………(work) hard if you want to succeed.
m) He really minds ……… (tell, passive voice) what to do.
n) They seem……… (not, remember) who I am.
o) Peter couldn’t decide ……… (whether, go) to the match or not.