Infinitive

When he saw his father enter the room he stopped smoking.

Когда он увидел, что отец входит в комнату, он перестал курить(сочетание с герундием выражает прекращение действия).

I remember sending a letter.

Я помню, что послалписьмо.

I shall never forget taking that examination.

Никогда не забуду, как сдавалэтот экзамен (сочетание с герундием обозначает прошедшее действие).

Before entering his father's house he stopped to smoke.

Прежде чем войти в дом отца, он остановился покурить(сочетание с инфинитивом выражает цель действия).

I must remember to send a letter.

Я должен помнить о том, что нужно отправитьписьмо.

Do not forget to come to the examination tomorrow.

Не забудьте прийтизавтра на экзамен (сочетание с инфинитивом обозначает действие, которое должно произойти в будущем).

Exercises

Ex. 1. Read and translate these sentences. Define the functions of the Gerunds.

1. Going for a trip to the Caucasus sounds great.

2. "Will you, please, stop writing", the teacher said.

3. The family went on discussing plans for the summer holidays.

4. Excuse my interrupting you. Could you tell me where room 423 is?

5. Do you mind borrowing your textbook?

6. I don’t remember ever meeting that man. Who is he?

7. Is the new film worth seeing?

8. Mr. Smith is busy examining the new program.

9. He couldn't help telling her that her acting was marvelous.

10. It's been a pleasure meeting you.

11. If I were you I wouldn't insist on their returning tonight.

12. I don't feel like going for a walk now.

13. They did not think of staying there for more than three days.

14. They do not seem to be interested in settling this problem.

15. What are the reasons for refusing their invitation?

16. Instead of going home they went for a drive.

17. Instead of stopping the rain increased.

18. The young man stood a moment without speaking.

Ex. 2. Translate into Russian, paying particular attention to the way the Gerund should be translated. State whether the Gerund is active or passive, perfect or non-perfect.

1. Choosing a present for that boy was not an easy matter for me.

2. On seeing the funny toy, the child burst out laughing.

3. A lot depends on your pointing out the mistakes at once.

4. Why don't you do the work properly without being reminded?

5. He doesn't like praising people too often.

6. He doesn't like being praised in the presence of his fellow-students.

7. The boy was blamed for not helping his school-friends.

8. The boy was blamed for not having helped his friend when the latter was in trouble.

9. Everybody objects to the arrangement being cancelled without proper consideration.

10. Who is responsible for the prices not having been fixed yet?

Ex. 3. Compare the use of the Noun and the Gerund.

I. a) The discussion of the report lasted two hours.

b) They finished discussing the report at two o'clock.

2. a) The unexpected engagement of a new actor surprised everybody.

b) Mr. Brown began engaging new actors quite unexpectedly.

3. a) The manager was surprised at Miss Polly's sudden cancellation of all her engagements.

b) The manager was surprised at her canceling all engagements so suddenly.

Ex. 4. Point out the doer of the action which the Gerund expresses, then translate the sentences into Russian.

1. We don't mind considering the matter again.

2. We don't mind your considering the matter again.

3. We don't mind the doctor's considering the matter again.

4. We don't mind the company considering the matter again.

Ex. 5. Fill in the blanks with possessive pronouns or nouns in the possessive case where necessary.

1. I'm tired of ... telling everybody my story.

2. I'm tired of ... telling me the same story a hundred times.

3. We'll be looking forward to ... joining us.

4. We'll be looking forward to ... joining you.