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You are here: Home / Downloads / She denied ‘kissing the pig’ or ‘denied to kiss’ the pig?!

She denied ‘kissing the pig’ or ‘denied to kiss’ the pig?!

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Pretty young female kissing piggybank and  cop...
young female kissing piggybank from Yuri Arcurs Website

Gerunds and infinitives

[scroll down for worksheet]

If your English teacher here in Prague has said that you have a problem with your gerunds and infinitives, don’t worry – it’s something which you can improve upon with a little practice!!

One thing that I see, especially at first among learners of English, is that they often separate grammar from vocabulary. For many students, grammar means ‘the tenses’ (eg present simple, present perfect) while vocabulary means ‘single words’, and they often study these areas without realising how ‘connected’ they really are.

For example, it’s quite common for students to have long lists of single words (eg cat, dog rabbit) written down in their notebooks followed by the Czech equivalent. Instead, try to see language more broadly:

It’s really important to know what words or patterns come before or after the vocabulary you are learning.

Take the verb deny. The Longman Dictionary says that we use deny when we want to say that we don’t believe that something is true.

Here are some real examples of how deny can be used:

1. He has denied that he spoke against government policy. [BBC.co.uk]

This example shows that deny can be followed by a ‘that’ clause. ie He denied that + clause.

Other examples of deny +(that) + regular clause taken from the BBC include:

BBC World Service – Sport – Ancelotti denies Chelsea quit rumours
The Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has denied rumours that he is planning to leave the club in a dispute over control of the team. Ancelotti denies speculation that he wants to quit Chelsea..
  • The Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has denied rumours that he is planning to leave the club in a dispute over control of the team. Ancelotti denies speculation that he wants to quit Chelsea..
  • ..it denied that any Australian athlete had been involved in vandalism..
  • Thomas denied that he and Melanie had a romance .

2. Now let’s look at a different way deny is used.

My question for you –> What comes after deny in these examples below (from BBC News)?

  • The former royal butler denies betraying Diana, Princess of Wales, insisting his controversial new book was “a loving tribute”.
  • she denies being drunk on an aircraft.
  • A man denies helping a mugger who stole …  £36, 000 watch in a nightclub toilet..
  • A Chinese restaurant owner, fined after an insect was found in a meal, denies buying up every newspaper carrying a report of the story.

What did you notice about the sentences above?

Yep, deny can be also followed by a gerund (ie the ‘ing’ form of a verb, which functions as a noun).

Other verbs which are followed by a gerund or a noun include:

  • admit
  • fancy
  • keep
  • can’t help
  • risk

However, some verbs in English can be followed by an infinitive. For example:

  • I need to see her.
  • She deserves to get a bonus after all that hard work.
  • She threatened to call the police.
  • I asked to see her parents.

A little tricky

So you can guess the understandable difficulty that you may have when speaking quickly, especially if you’re learning new verbs without studying what comes next in the sentence.

Students can mix these patterns up, and make these mistakes:

* I imagined to hold her hand [instead of I imagined holding her hand]

* She admitted to kiss the piggy bank [instead of She admitted kissing the piggy bank]

* John threatened calling the police [instead of John threatened to call the police]

Please don’t worry about making these mistakes, as you should still try more complex sentences, but with some practice you’ll begin to feel more comfortable and confident using these verbs.

Worksheet

Have a go at this worksheet to practise some common gerund and infinitive patterns.

Also, try to do this by yourself first before you check your answers on page 2 – no peeping!

Tip: check out what the Longman Dictionary says  about the verbs you find most difficult (I have a link on the right hand sidebar).



pdficon_small He denied stealing the money

Enjoy!

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  1. “He wanted TO kiss her” – gerunds & infinitives says:
    July 27, 2012 at 21:37

    […] “She denied kissING the pig or she denied TO kiss the pig?” […]

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Welcome to Get Into English. I’m David, an English teacher, traveller & language enthusiast from Melbourne Australia.
That’s me above in Bendigo, Victoria before Corona came!
I write articles on learning English especially for people wishing to live in or travel to Australia, and for those who are interested in business and all kinds of issues!

Older posts were written while I was in Europe, newer ones are from Australia.

Feel free to leave a comment!

davidsweetnam

This is a nice time to take a little break from po This is a nice time to take a little break from posting photos. This is from my 12 km walk to Middle Park last Thursday 😮 
Not quite sure what to do with the hundreds of photos I still have from during the lockdown 🤷‍♂️ 
But I’ll be back in Middle Park, hopefully tomorrow, it’s a beautiful part of Melbourne. 

Mej se hezky a zatim ahoj 🏝😊🌱

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Walking home from Middle Park. Melbourne and the M Walking home from Middle Park. Melbourne and the Melbourne Cricket Ground at dusk 🏏 
So many magical moments in Australian sporting history have happened here. Hawthorn’s three-peat in 2013-15, Shane Warne’s 700th wicket, the 1992 World Cup, the 1956 Olympics. 
There are many walks you can go on from here - to the river, to East Melbourne, to Richmond. Or indeed up William Barak Bridge to the city 😊🌱☕️

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If you’re not sure where to go, come here ☕️ If you’re not sure where to go, come here ☕️😃

I came here quite a bit during the lockdown. This one is from late October 🤗 And it’ll be waiting for you tomorrow. 

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I walked all afternoon from Richmond to Middle Par I walked all afternoon from Richmond to Middle Park last Thursday. Still posting some of the pictures 😃 This is Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park 🏝

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Waiting for the sunset at Middle Park. The views f Waiting for the sunset at Middle Park. The views from those buildings must be amazing 🏝

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Melbourne is oddly tropical at times - I quite lik Melbourne is oddly tropical at times -
I quite like this 🌱🏝☀️

Middle Park, Melbourne 

3.12.20 😊 
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Middle Park, the red city. This street has many Au Middle Park, the red city. This street has many Australian Bottlebrush trees 😊

#bottlebrush #citylife #sundayvibes✨ #streetphotography #urbanjungle #citylifestyle #melbournemoments #melbmoment #mynikonlife #urbanscape #výlet #naprochazce #cestujeme 🌱
3.12.20
Late in the day in Middle Park, Melbourne 🏝 #h Late in the day in Middle Park, Melbourne 🏝

#heartmiddlepark #visitmelbourne #likemelbourne #jaro #checkmelbourne #printemps #melbmoment #melbournemoments #sunlover #beachvibes 🌱
The colours of Thursday 😍🏝🌱 #jacarandatr The colours of Thursday 😍🏝🌱

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Richardson Street, Middle Park 🌳🌴🌱 #výl Richardson Street, Middle Park 🌳🌴🌱

#výlet #cestujeme #kostel #heartmiddlepark #checkmelbourne #likemelbourne #urbanscapes #beachtown 🏝
Middle Park is one of Melbourne’s smallest subur Middle Park is one of Melbourne’s smallest suburbs. If you haven’t been here, I totally recommend you visit 😊🌱☕️ Beautiful sea, churches, shops, homes and tree-lined streets. 

#middlepark #melbournebeach #visitmelbourne #likemelbourne #checkmelbourne #cestujeme #výlet #heartmiddlepark #beachlovers🌴
Wandering along Richardson Street, Middle Park 🌳 🏝 

#iheartmiddlepark #middlepark #heartmiddlepark #likemelbourne #checkmelbourne #tropicallife #beachlovers🌴
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