English Grammar: Tenses, Gerunds, and Infinitives

Posted on Mar 24, 2025 in Civil Engineering, Civil Constructions

Whatever, Whoever, However, Wherever

Whatever: anything, whichever: anything, from a limited number, whoever: any person, however: in any way, wherever: any place.

Have Something Done

Examples:

  • I had my car repaired.
  • I’m going to have my hair cut tomorrow.
  • I had my photo taken on London Bridge.

Narrative Tenses

Past Simple

Used to talk about consecutive actions or situations in the past (for the main events in a story).

Past Continuous

Used to describe a longer continuous past action that was in progress when another action happened.

Past Perfect

Used to talk about the earlier past, things which happened before the main events.

Past Perfect Continuous

Used with action verbs to talk about longer continuous actions that started before the main events happened and have continued up to that point (e.g., be, have, know, like).

Wish

Wish + Person/Thing + Would/Wouldn’t

Example: “It annoys me that you don’t put away your clothes.” → “I wish you’d put away your clothes.”

Wish + Past Simple

Used to talk about things we would like to be different in the present, but are impossible. (e.g., “I wish I was ten years younger.”)

Wish + Past Perfect

Used to talk about things that happened or did not happen in the past and which you regret now. (e.g., “I wish I had not bought those shoes.”)

Gerunds and Infinitives

  • Remember + infinitive: You remember first, then you do something.
  • Remember + gerund: You do something, then you remember it.
  • Forget + infinitive: You didn’t remember to do something.
  • Forget + gerund: You did something and you won’t forget it.
  • Try + infinitive: Make an effort to do something.
  • Try + gerund: Experiment to see if something works.
  • Need + gerund is a passive construction.

Infinitive (with To)

Common verbs: afford, agree, appear, arrange, be able, can’t wait, choose, decide, deserve, expect, happen, help, hesitate, hope, learn, make, manage, offer, plan, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, teach, tend, threaten, want, would like.

Gerund

Common verbs: admit, avoid, be worth, can’t help, can’t stand, carry on, deny, enjoy, fancy, feel like, finish, give up, keep, look forward to, imagine, involve, mind, miss, postpone, practice, recommend, regret, risk, spend, stop, suggest.

The Passive: It is Said That, He is Thought To…

  • You can use “it is said, believed, expected + that + clause.”
  • You can use “He, The man… + is said + to + infinitive (to be) or perfect infinitive (to have been).”

Reporting Verbs

Used to report what other people have said.

Example: “I will drive you to the airport.” → Jack offered to drive me to the airport.

Verbs followed by (not) to do something: agree, offer, refuse, promise.

Verbs followed by somebody (not) to do something: advise, ask, convince, warn, invite, tell, remind.

Verbs followed by (not) doing something: deny, suggest, blame sb for, regret, admit, recommend, accuse sb of, insist on, apologize (to sb) for.

Clauses of Contrast and Purpose

  • Although, even though, though + a clause.
  • Despite or in spite of + a noun, gerund, or the fact + subject + verb.
  • To: express purpose, for + a noun or a gerund to describe a purpose.
  • After so that, use a subject + modal verb.
  • To express a negative purpose, use in order not to.

Quantifiers

  • We use all or all (of) the + a plural or uncountable noun.
  • Everything, everybody + singular verb (is).
  • We use most to say the majority and most of for specific cases.
  • We often use all/most of + and object pronoun: all of us, most of them, all of you.
  • Use every + singular countable noun to mean (all of a group).