STUDY NOTES FOR SSC AND STATE LEVEL EXAMS

NON-FINITE : (Traveling is the ) Gerund as direct : The do not appreciate singing. (The gerund is sleeping) Gerund as object of preposition: The police arrested him for speeding. (The gerund is speecing) are words that are formed with verbs but act as . They’re very easy to spot, since every

gerund is a with ‘ing’ tacked to its tail. There Just when we thought we had verbs figured out, are no exceptions to this rule. we’re brought face-to-face with a new animal: non-finite verbs. These words look similar to verbs Like all things grammar, gerunds do take a tiny bit we’ve already been talking about, but they act quite of detective work to spot. The problem here is that different from those other verbs. present also end with the letters ‘ing’. Besides being able to spot gerunds, you should be By definition, a non- cannot serve as the able to tell the difference between a gerund and a main verb in an independent . In practical present . terms, this means that they don’t serve as the action of a sentence. They also don’t have a tense. While Let’s go back to the definition of a gerund for a the sentence around them may be past, present, or moment. Remember that gerunds are words that future tense, the non-finite verbs themselves are are formed with verbs but act as nouns. Present neutral. There are three types of non-finite verbs: participles do not act as nouns. Instead, they act as gerunds, participles, and . modifiers or complete progressive verbs. To find gerunds in sentences, just look for a verb + ing that For example: is used as a . It’s that simple. • Smoking is injurious to health. Exmples of gerunds (all object and/or adverbials): • I like reading books more than playing games. cooking dinner • I need to expand my working hours. cleaning the kitchen • I have no reason to smile. walking home late at night • Going there I will help the poor. doing homework • She saw me teaching English. catching the bus • Having the sun risen we took breakfast. talking to friends • I have a broken chair in my house. cleaning your teeth GERUND cheating in exams A Gerund is a verbal that ends in "ing" and functions making excuses as a noun. getting information from the internet Gerund as : Traveling might satisfy uyour desire fro new Examples: experiences. As you read these examples of gerunds, notice the

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verbs they contain, and notice that every single The can also be used to express an action one of them ends in ‘ing’. By the end of this quick in an abstract, general way: “To err is human”; lesson, you’ll have no problem recognizing gerunds “To know me is to love me.” No one in particular when you see them. is completing these actions. In these sentences, the 1. Swimming in the ocean has been Sharon’s passion infinitives act as the subjects. since she was five years old. Infinitives can also serve as the object of a sentence. 2. Let’s go dancing at the club tonight. One common construction involves a dummy subject (it): “It was nice to meet you.” 3. I’ve been dreaming of summer all winter long. AS A MODIFIER: 4. Holly decided that flying above the clouds was the Infinitives can be used as an (e.g., “A most incredible experience she’d ever had. request to see someone” or “The man to save us”) 5. Bill avoided doing his math assignment because the or as an (e.g., “Keen to get on,” “Nice to World Series was on. listen to,” or “In order to win“). INFINITIVE IN QUESTIONS: Infinitives can be used in elliptical questions as well, as in “I don’t know where to go.” Note: The infinitive is also the usual dictionary form or citation form of a verb. The form listed in dictionaries is the bare infinitive, although the to- infinitive is often used in referring to verbs or in defining other verbs: “The word amble means ‘to walk slowly'”; “How do we conjugate the verb to The infinitive is the basic dictionary form of a go?” verb, usually preceded by to (when it’s not, it’s called the bare infinitive, which we’ll discuss more, THE BARE INFINITIVE later). Thus to go is an infinitive. There are several As we mentioned previously, the infinitive can different uses of the infinitive. They can be used sometimes occur without the word to. The form alongside verbs, as a noun , as a modifier, or without to is called the bare infinitive (the form in a question. with to is called the to-infinitive). In the following sentences both sit and to sit would each be WITH OTHER VERBS: considered an infinitive: The to-infinitive is used with other verbs (we’ll discuss exceptions when we talk about the bare I want to sit on the other chair. infinitive): I can sit here all day. I aim to convince him of our plan’s ingenuity. Infinitives have a variety of uses in English. Certain You already know that he’ll fail to complete the contexts call for the to-infinitive form, and certain task. contexts call for the bare infinitive; they are not normally interchangeable, except in occasional You can also use multiple infinitives in a single instances like after the verb help, where either can sentence: “Today, I plan to run three miles, to clean be used. my room, and to update my budget.” All three of these infinitives follow the verb plan. Other verbs As we mentioned earlier, some verbs require the that often come before infinitives include want, bare infinitive instead of the to-infinitive: convince, try, able, and like. The helping verb do AS A NOUN PHRASE:

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Does she dance? against this construction is likely the fact that in He doesn’t sing. languages such as Latin, the infinitive is a single word, and cannot be split. However, in English Helping verbs that express tense, possibility, or the infinitive (or at least the to-infinitive) is two ability like will, can, could, should, would, and words, and a split infinitive is a perfectly natural might construction. The bears will eat you if they catch you. VERBS FOLLOWED BY GERUND Lucas and Gerardo might go to the dance. AND INFINITIVE: You should give it a try. In English, if you want to follow a verb with another action, you must use a gerund or infinitive. Verbs of perception, permission, or causation, such For example: as see, watch, hear, make, let, and have (after a direct object) • We resumed talking. (gerund – verb + ing.) Look at Caroline go! • I want to see a movie. (infinitive – to+base verb) You can’t make me talk. There are certain verbs that can only be followed by one or the other, and these verbs must be It’s so hard to let someone else finish my work. memorized. Many of these verbs are listed below. The bare infinitive can be used as the object in COMMON VERBS FOLLOWED such sentences like “What you should do is make a BY A GERUND: list.” It can also be used after the word why to ask a Example: He misses playing with his friends. question: “Why reveal it?” abhor explain The bare infinitive can be tricky, because it often acknowledge fancy looks exactly like the present tense of a verb. Look at the following sentences for an example: admit fear advise feel like You lose things so often. allow feign You can lose things at the drop of a hat. anticipate finish In both of these sentences, we have the word lose, appreciate forgive but in the first sentence it’s a present tense verb, avoid give up (stop) while in the second it’s a bare infinitive. So how be worth keep (continue) can you tell which is which? The easiest way is to can’t help keep on try changing the subject of the sentence and seeing celebrate mention if the verb should change: confess mind (object to) She loses things so often. consider miss She can lose things at the drop of a hat. defend necessitate SPLIT INFINITIVES? delay omit detest permit One of the biggest controversies among grammarians and style writers has been the discontinue picture appropriateness of separating the two words of the discuss postpone to-infinitive as in “to boldly go.” Despite what a dislike practice lot of people have declared over the years, there is dispute prevent absolutely nothing wrong with this construction. dread put off Part of the reason so many authorities have been

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endure recall manage yearn enjoy recollect VERBS FOLLOWED BY A GERUND OR escape recommend INFINITIVE WITH NO CHANGE IN MEANING evade report Example: It started to rain. / It started raining. resent suggest resist support begin like resume tolerate can’t bear love risk understand can’t stand prefer shirk urge continue propose shun warrant hate start COMMON VERBS FOLLOWED BY AN VERBS FOLLOWED BY A INFINITIVE: GERUND OR INFINITIVE WITH Example: She threatened to quit if she didn't get a raise. A CHANGE IN MEANING: agree mean I forgot to meet him. appear need (I didn’t meet him arrange neglect because I forgot to do it.) ask offer attempt pay forget I forgot meeting him. beg plan (I don’t have the can/can’t afford prepare memory of meeting him can/can’t wait pretend before.) care profess chance promise He went on to learn choose prove English and French. claim refuse (He ended one period of come remain time before this.) consent request go on dare resolve He went on learning decide say English and French. demand seek (He continued learning deserve seem the languages.) determine shudder She quit to work here. elect strive (She quit another job in endeavor struggle order to work here.) expect swear quit fail tend She quit working here. get threaten (She quit her job here. grow (up) turn out She doesn’t work here guarantee venture anymore.) hesitate volunteer hope wait hurry want incline wish learn would like

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STUDY NOTES FOR SSC AND STATE LEVEL EXAMS

I regret promising to sentence to modify a noun, noun phrase, verb, help you. or , and then plays a role similar to (I’m sorry that I made an adjective or adverb. It is one of the types of the promise.) nonfinite verb forms. regret I regret to tell you that The two types of participle in English are we can't hire you. traditionally called the present participle (forms (I’m telling you now, such as writing, singing and raising) and the past and I’m sorry.) participle (forms such as written, sung and raised). She remembered to visit THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE her grandmother. (She didn’t forget to Even though they look exactly the same, gerunds visit.) and present participles do different things. As we remember just learned, the gerund acts as a noun: e.g., “I She remembered visiting like sleeping“; “Sleeping is not allowed.” Present her grandmother. participles, on the other hand, act similarly to an (She had memories of adjective or adverb: e.g., “The sleeping girl over this time.) there is my sister”; “Breathing heavily, she finished I stopped to call you. the race in first place.” (I interrupted another action in order to call The present participle, or participial stop you.) () formed from it, are used as follows: I stopped calling you. as an adjective phrase modifying a noun phrase: (I stopped this activity. The man sitting over there is my uncle. Maybe we had a fight.) I tried to open the adverbially, the subject being understood to be the window. same as that of the main clause: Looking at the (I attempted this action plans, I gradually came to see where the problem but didn’t succeed.) lay. He shot the man, killing him. try I tried opening the more generally as a clause or sentence modifier: window. Broadly speaking, the project was successful. (This was one option The present participle can also be used with the I sampled. Maybe the helping verb to be to form a type of present tense: room was hot.) Marta was sleeping. (We’ll discuss this further in PARTICIPLES: Text: Complex Verb Tenses.) This is something we learned a little bit about in helping verbs and tense. THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AS PART OF THE CONTINUOUS FORM OF A VERB EXAMPLES I am working. He was singing. They have been walking. We will be staying.

She would have been expecting me. A participle is a form of a verb that is used in a

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THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AFTER VERBS I wasted money buying this game. OF MOVEMENT & POSITION THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE WITH THE This construction is particularly useful with the VERBS CATCH AND FIND verb to go. The pattern with these verbs is verb + object + EXAMPLES present participle. With catch, the participle always refers to an action which causes annoyance or anger. She went shopping. This is not the case with find, which is unemotional. I go running every morning. EXAMPLES He lay looking up at the clouds. If I catch you stealing my apples again, there'll be She came running towards me. trouble! THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AFTER VERBS Don't let him catch you reading his letters. OF PERCEPTION I caught him going through my bag. The pattern for this usage is verb + object + present participle. There is a difference in meaning when We found some money lying on the ground. such a sentence contains a zero infinitive rather They found their mother sitting in the garden. than a participle. The infinitive refers to a complete THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE FOR TWO action while the present participle refers to an ACTIONS AT THE SAME TIME ongoing action. When two actions occur at the same time, and are EXAMPLES done by the same person or thing, we can use a I heard someone singing. present participle to describe one of them. When one action follows very quickly after another done He saw his friend walking along the road. by the same person or thing, we can express the first I can smell something burning! action with a present participle. I watched the birds flying away. EXAMPLES THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE AS AN Whistling to himself, he walked down the road. = ADJECTIVE He whistled to himself as he walked down the road. EXAMPLES They went laughing out into the snow. = They It was an amazing film. laughed as they went out into the snow. Dark billowing clouds often precede a storm. Dropping the gun, she put her hands in the air. = She He was trapped inside the burning house. dropped the gun and put her hands in the air. Many of his paintings show the setting sun. Putting on his coat, he left the house. = He put on his coat and left the house. THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE WITH THE VERBS SPEND AND WASTE THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE TO EXPLAIN A REASON The pattern with these verbs is verb + time/money expression + present participle. The present participle can be used instead of a phrase starting with as, since, or because. In this EXAMPLES usage the participial phrase explains the cause or My boss spends two hours a day travelling to work. reason for an action. Don't waste time playing computer games! EXAMPLES They've spent the whole day shopping. Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

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Being poor, he didn't spend much on clothes. action, without making an assertion, and each has Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned a noun as its object. the flat. Having delivered, in the first sentence, is descriptive He whispered, thinking his brother was still asleep. of ‘he’, and therefore has the force of an adjective. THE PAST PARTICIPLE Each of the expressions having finished and having found, in the second and third sentences, has the force of the verb and of the adjective. We see, Past participles often look very similar to the simple therefore, that they are participles. past tense of a verb: finished, danced, etc. However, We notice that the time when he left, the time when some verbs have different forms. Reference lists Henry was ready for play, and the time when the will be your best help in finding the correct past child was again happy follow immediately upon the participle. Here is one such list of participles. delivery of the message, upon the finishing of the Here’s a short list of some of the most common work, and upon the finding of the mother. irregular past participles you’ll use: These participles express an action that is just finished. They are therefore participles. Verb Simple Past Past Participle to be was/were been A perfect participle is a participle that expresses an to become became become action or state as just finished. to do did done Point out the different kinds of participles in the to go went gone follow-ing sentences, and tell what word each to know knew know modifies: to see saw seen 1. Seeing the multitude, he went up into a mountain. to speak spoke spoken to take took taken 2. We saw the children playing in the fields. to write wrote written 3. The peers, robed in gold and ermine, were marshaled Past participles are used in a couple of different by the heralds. ways: 4. The people, excited by the eloquence of the orator, as an adjective phrase: The chicken eaten by the could not restrain their emotion. children was contaminated. 5. Seated at the open window, the white-haired adverbially: Seen from this perspective, the problem grandmother, bowed by her fourscore years, was presents no easy solution. watching for the face she most loved. in a nominative absolute construction, with a subject: The task finished, we returned home. PERFECT PARTICIPLE: 1. Having delivered the message, he left immediately. 2. Having finished his work, Harry was ready for play. 3. The child, having found its mother, was again happy. In the sentences above, the expressions having delivered, having finished, and having found partake of the nature of the verb, as each expresses

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EXERCISE-1 9. His —————- as he spoke. Fill in the blanks with the past or past (shake) participle form of the verb given in the 10. His path was not —————– with brackets. flowers but he persevered. (strew) 1. The country is —————– by factions. 11. The explorers were ————— to death. (tear) (freeze) 2. Once Sydney Smith was asked his name 12. His voice —————— to a whisper. by a servant and found to his dismay that (sink) he had —————— his own name. (forget) ANSWERS: 3. You couldn’t have —————- a better 1. Torn day for a drive. (choose) 2. Forgotten 4. The old beggar was —————— by a 3. Chosen mad dog. (bite) 4. Bitten 5. He —————– the book on the table. 5. Laid (lay) 6. Trod 6. Walking through the jungle he ———— 7. Beat —- on a snake. (tread) 8. Sown 7. He —————— a hasty retreat on the 9. Shook arrival of a policeman. (beat) 10. Strewn 8. You must reap what you have ———— 11. Frozen —– (sow) 12. Sank

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