Colegio Gimnasio Campestre San Sebastián

GUIA INFORMATIVA DE SÍNTESIS N° 1

NOMBRE: _________________________________________ GRADO: DÉCIMO
AREA: INGLÉS FECHA: ____________________ PERIODO: PRIMERO
TEMA: MODAL VERBS, GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES, LEARN, BRAIN AND
MEMORY AND ADJECTIVES -ED AND -ING.
DOCENTE: Ivonne Hernández
COMPETENCIAS: lingüística, pragmática y sociolingüística.
DBA: 1. Recognizes general and specific information in written and oral opinion texts
and discussions on familiar topics.

ADJECTIVES ENDING IN -ED AND -ING

There are many adjectives that we have in English that end in -ED or -ING.

An adjective that ends in -ING is used to describe: the characteristic of a

person, a thing or a situation.
An adjective that ends in -ED is used to describe: a feeling (or how a person
feels) or an emotion. It is used to describe a temporary thing. Since only
people have feelings, -ed adjectives cannot be used to describe an object or
situation.

Compare differences:

 My boyfriend is bored (my boyfriend feels bored)

 My boyfriend is boring (my boyfriend is a boring person)

You can use these adjectives to describe people or situations but be careful that
you are using the correct adjective.

For example, there is a big difference in meaning between:

 I am confused. (I don’t understand something)

 I am confusing. (I will cause you to be confused)

Sometimes the adjective which describes a situation or thing has a different

ending:
 Stressful, impressive, repulsive, attractive
 LEARN, BRAIN AND MEMORY

BRAIN EXAM
Power Paper
Death Preparation
Drain Result
Disorder Revision
Teaser Stress

 Short-term deadline
 Effective strategy
 Process information
 Recycle material
 Pass a test
 Long-term memory
 Fail an exam

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding -ing. The gerund form of the verb
read is reading. You can use a gerund as the subject, complement or the object
of a sentence.
 Examples:
 Reading helps you learn English. Subject of sentence
 Her favorite hobby is reading. Complement of a sentence
 I enjoy reading. Object of a sentence

Gerunds can be made negative by adding “not”

Examples:

 He enjoys not working

 The best thing for your health is not smoking

2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn."
You can also use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a
sentence.

Examples:

 To learn is important. subject of sentence

 The most important thing is to learn. complement of sentence
 He wants to learn. object of sentence

Infinitives can be made negative by adding "not."

Examples:

 I decided not to go.

 The most important thing is not to give up.

3. Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a
sentence. However, as subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound more like
normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives sound more abstract. In the following
sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more common in everyday
English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential for something and sound
more philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just remember that 90% of the time,
you will use a gerund as the subject or complement of a sentence.

Examples:

 Learning is important. normal subject

 To learn is important. abstract subject - less common
 The most important thing is learning. normal complement
 The most important thing is to learn. abstract complement - less common

4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an

infinitive. In such situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally
interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence determines whether you
use a gerund or an infinitive.

Examples:

 He enjoys swimming. "Enjoy" requires a gerund.

 He wants to swim. "Want" requires an infinitive.
5. Some verbs are followed by gerunds as objects. List of Verbs Followed by
Gerunds

Examples:

 She suggested going to a movie.

 Mary keeps talking about her problems.

6. Some verbs are followed by infinitives. List of Verbs Followed by Infinitives

Examples:

 She wants to go to a movie.

 Mary needs to talk about her problems.

7. Gerunds are used after prepositions. Most commonly, these are "verb +
preposition" combinations. You don't have to memorize these resources, you just
need to remember that gerunds are used after prepositions!

Examples:

 They admitted to committing the crime.

 Leslie made up for forgetting my birthday.
 He is thinking about studying abroad.

8. Remember that there are many "adjective + preposition" combinations and

"noun + preposition" combinations in English as well. These are also followed by
gerunds. List of Adjective + Preposition Combinations Followed by
Gerunds and List of Noun + Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds. Once
again, you don't have to memorize these resources, you just need to remember
that gerunds are used after prepositions!

Examples:

 Sandy is scared of flying. adjective + preposition

 Nick is anxious about taking the examination. adjective + preposition
 His interest in becoming a professional snowboarder was well
known. noun + preposition
 Thomas' story about seeing a grizzly bear was really exciting. noun +
preposition

9. Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive, but with a difference in

meaning. List of Verbs Followed by a Gerund or Infinitive (Different Meaning)

Examples:

 Nancy remembered getting married. Nancy has a memory of getting

married.
 Fred remembered to bring sunblock to the beach. Fred remembered that
he needed to bring sunblock.
 MODAL VERBS

WHAT ARE MODAL VERBS?

They are Auxiliary verbs that provide additional and specific meaning to the main
verb of the sentence.

Modal Verbs are sometimes referred to as Modal Auxiliary Verbs because they
help other verbs.

They are:

Can could may might should must ought to

HOW DO WE USE MODALS?

Subject Modal Verb

Example: Mary could play the piano

 They do not accept conjugation

 They do not need other auxiliary verbs

FORM

 There is no “s” in singular

 There is no “do / does” in the question
 There is no “don’t / doesn’t” in the negative.
 He can ski He cans ski or He can skis
Would you like to come with me Do you would like to come with me?
They can’t be serious They don’t can be serious
Modal verbs do not have infinitives or -ing forms
to can / canning to must / musting
Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without to
She must study
We should have gone the other way
He could play football in his youth (general ability)
Modal verbs do not have all the tenses
Modal verbs use other verbs to complete the tenses.
Can is completed with be able to
Must is completed with have to
Example
They can play the piano. They will be able to play the piano in the future
WHAT DO THEY EXPRESS?
They can have more than one meaning depending on the situations. To
understand it better we are going to divide them into 3 categories.

 Single concept modal: they have one meaning

 Double concept modal: they have two meanings
 Modals in past: they are used to express a situation in the past

Single Concept Modals Double Concept Modals Modals in Past

Will May Could have

Might Must Might have
Should Could Should have
Ought to Can Must have

SINGLE CONCEPT MODAL

Modal Concept Examples

Will Future John will travel to New York next week

Might Small probability I might move to London some day

Should Recommendation You should go to the doctor

Ought to Formal We ought to know about first aids

recommendation

DOUBLE CONCEPT MODAL

Modal Concept Example

May (1) Probability/ Possibility It may rain tomorrow

May (2) Permission May I have the table?

Must1) Probability/ possibility She must be his sister,

because they look alike

Must (2) Obligation You must do your

homework

Can (1) Present ability We can speak English

Can (2) Permission Can I have a sweet?

Could (1) Unreal ability I could go if I had time

Could (2) Past ability She could play the

piano, not anymore

A LAST TIP
There are few verbs which often serve as modals too. These are modal-like verbs
or semi-modals and they need to be conjugated.

Modal Concept Example

Need to Necessity We really needed to talk to you

Have to Obligation Susan had to pay the rent

ACTIVITIES

To reinforce this topic, you can read this information in the Grammar Reference of
your student’s book on page 113 and also it is available in the English blog.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TORRES, Carmen. (2009). Modal Verbs. Tomado de:

https://es.slideshare.net/torrestorres/modal-verbs-1133347

ENGLISH PAGE. (s.f). Gerund and Infinitives. Recuperado de:

https://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_1.htm