What Clauses What clauses is a part of a noun clause. It is used as a subject or an object of the sentence. For example: What he said was interesting. What he said is a noun clause. It is used as the subject of the sentence. The noun clause has its own subject (he) and verb (said) I listened to what he said. What he said is a noun clause. It is used as the object of the preposition to. A: What did she say? B: What she said surprised me. What she said is the subject of the sentence. A: What should they do? B: What they should do is obvious. A noun clause subject takes a singular verb. (e.g. is) Compare the following sentences. We gave them some home-made ice cream. What we gave them was some home-made ice cream. If we want to focus particular attention on certain information in a sentence, we sometimes a what- clause followed by be. The information we want to focus attention on is outside the whatclause. We often use this if we want to introduce a new topic, to 1
give a reason, instruction, explanation, or to correct something that has been said or done. In the following examples, the information in focus is underlined. What I d like you to work on is exercise 2 on page 80. Tim arrived two hours late; What had happened was that his bicycle chain had broken. We can often put the what-clause either at the beginning or the end of the sentence: What upset me most was his rudeness. or His rudeness was what upset me most. To emphasize an action performed by someone, we use a sentence with what...do... Dave lost his job and was short of money, so what he did was (to) sell his flat and move in with his brother. A: When the bookcase arrived, two shelves were broken. B: Did you send it back? A: No, what we did was (to) send them a letter of complaint The pattern in this kind of sentence is What + subject + do + be + to-infinitive clause. 2
Exercise 1 Rewrite the ideas, beginning with What 1. The police interviewed all the witnesses to the accident first. What the police did first was interview all the witnesses to the accident. 2. You should invest all your money in telecoms companies. 3. She writes all her novels on a typewriter. 4. Their car broke down on the motorway so they didn't get to Jo's wedding on time. 5. She works in a coffee shop on the 5th floor. 6. She draws caricatures on Saturdays to earn extra money. Exercise 2 Think about 5 things you love doing on the weekend. Write 5 true sentences with the structure What...is.... Example: What I like doing on the weekend is read novels. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 3
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, the complement, or the object of a sentence. Examples: a. Reading helps you learn English. subject of sentence b. I'm excited aboutreadingnovel.object of preposition c. I enjoy reading. object of sentence Verbs Followed by Gerunds Admit Advise Anticipate Appreciate Avoid Complete Consider Delay Deny Discuss Dislike Enjoy Finish He admitted cheating on the test The doctor generally advised drinking low-fat milk. I anticipated arriving late. I appreciate hearing from them He avoided talking to her He completed renovating the house. I will consider going with you He delayed leaving for school She denied committing the crime They discussed opening a new business She dislikes working after 5 PM. We enjoy hiking She finished studying about ten 4
Forget Can t help Keep Mention Mind Miss Postpone Practice Quit recall Recollect Recommend Regret Remember resent resist risk Stop suggest tolerate try understand I ll never forget visiting Napoleon s tomb. I can t help worrying about it I keep hoping he will come She mentioned going to a movie Would you mind helping me with this? I miss being with my family Let s postpone leaving until tomorrow She practiced singing the song. She quit worrying about the problem. Tom recalled using his credit card at the store. She recollected living in Kenya. Tony recommended taking the train. She regretted saying that. I remember telling her the address yesterday. Nick resented Debbie's being there. He resisted asking for help. He risked being caught. She stopped working at 5 o'clock. They suggested staying at the hotel. She won t tolerate cheating during an examination Sam tried opening the lock with a paperclip. I don t understand his leaving school 5
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Reference list of verbs followed by gerund 7
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 Verbs Followed by Infinitives Afford Agree Appear Arrange Ask Beg Care Claim Consent Decide Demand Deserve Expect Fail I can t afford to buy it. Tom agreed to help me. His health appeared to be better. Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami. He asked to come with us He begged to come with us. He doesn't care to participate in the activity. She claimed to be a princess. She finally consented to marry him. I have decided to leave on Monday. He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris. He deserves to go to jail. They expect to arrive early. He failed to get enough money to pay for the new project. 8
Forget Hesitate Hope Learn Manage Mean Need offer plan prepare pretend promise Refuse Regret remember Seem Struggle Swear threaten voulunteer Wait Want Wish I forgot to mail the letter. Don t hesitate to ask for my help. Jane hopes to arrive next week. He learned to play the piano. He managed to open the door without the key. I didn t mean to hurt your feeling. I need to have your opinion They offered to help us. I am planning to have a party. They prepared to take the test. The child pretended to be a monster. She promised to stop smoking. The guard refused to let them enter the building. I regret to inform you that your application was rejected. Did you remember to lock the door when you left? Nancy seemed to be disappointed. I struggled to stay awake. She swore to tell the truth. She threatened to tell my parents. He volunteered to help us. She waited to buy a movie ticket. I want to tell you something. She wishes to come with us. 9
Reference list of verbs followed by infinitives 10
Common verbs followed by either infinitives or gerund 11
Note: Remember + gerund This is when you remember something that has happened in the past. You have a memory of it, like being able to see a movie of it in your head. I remember going to the beach when I was a child. (= I have a memory of going to the beach). He remembers closing the door. (= He has a memory of closing the door). Remember + to + infinitive This is when you think of something that you need to do. (And usually, you then do the thing). I remembered to buy milk. (= I was walking home and the idea that I needed milk came into my head, so I bought some). She remembered to send a card to her grandmother. Forget + gerund This is the opposite of remember + gerund. It's when you forget about a memory, something that you've done in the past. Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about it. I told my brother that we'd spent Christmas at Granny's house in 1985, but he'd forgotten going there. Forget + to + infinitive This is the opposite of remember + to + infinitive. It's when you want to do something, but you forget about it. 12
I forgot to call my mother. (= I wanted to call my mother, but when it was a good time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking about something else, and the idea to call my mother didn't come into my head). Try + gerund This is when you do something as an experiment. The thing you do is not difficult, but you want to see if doing it will have the result that you want. I wanted to stop smoking, so I tried using nicotine patches. (= Using nicotine patches was easy, but I wanted to know if it would help me stop smoking). She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight. (It was easy for her to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see if it would help her lose weight, but it didn't). Try + to + infinitive This is when the thing you do itself is difficult and you don't succeed in doing it. I tried to lift the suitcase, but it was too heavy. She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough. Look at the difference: It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window (it was easy to open the window). It didn't help though, because it was very hot outside too. I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck. 13
Stop + gerund When we stop doing something it means the verb in the gerund is the thing that we stop. It can mean 'stop forever' or 'stop at that moment'. I stopped working when I was expecting a baby. (Working is the thing I stopped). Stop + to + infinitive In this case, we stop something else in order to do the verb in the infinitive. I stopped to eat lunch. (I stopped something else, maybe working or studying, because I wanted to eat lunch. Regret + gerund This is when you are sorry about something you did in the past and you wish you hadn't done it. I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today. She regrets leaving school when she was sixteen. She wishes that she had studied more and then gone to university. Regret + to + infinitive We use this construction when we are giving someone bad news, in quite a formal way. The verb is almost always something like 'say' or 'tell' or 'inform'. I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed. The company regrets to inform employees that the London office will close next year 14
Use gerund/infinitive in the following. 1. Alan can t stand on trains. (riding/ to ride) 2. Mr. Harris enjoys people out to dinner. (inviting / to invite) 3. In the old days, gentlemen challenged their rivals. (fighting / to fight) 4. Jim stopped his shoelace. Wait for him. (tying / to tie) 5. My wife always volunteers cakes PTA meetings. (baking / to bake) 6. Don t waste my time about your salary. (complaining/ to complain) 7. Eva is having trouble on the exam. (concentrating / to concentrate) 8. Please allow me your Facebook page. (joining / to join) 9. You won t forget milk on your way home, will you? (picking up /to pick up) 10. She pretended (be) a student in order to get a student discount. 11. She waited to (see) what would happen next. 12. The child denied (steal) the piece of candy. 13. We fully intend (pay) you for all the work you have done for us. 14. You seem (be) a little distracted. Is everything alright? 15. Laura and Ed discussed (move) to the city to find work; however, in the end, they decided against relocating. 16. She refused (admit)that she had made a mistake. 17. After his accident last year, he would never consider (buy) another motorcycle. 15
18. Margaret just happened (find) the lost car keys while she was looking for something else. 19. He never admitted (have) the wild party while his parents were out of town. 20. The doctor ordered Mr Gray (smoke, not) Glossary Clause (n) Gerund (n) Infinitive (n) A part of sentence that has its own subject and verb An English noun form from a verb by adding -ing. The basic form of a verb References Azar, B.S. 1989. Understanding and using English Grammar. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 16
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