Unit4 - Subjective Questions

A Simple Infinitive and a Gerund are both verb forms that can function as nouns, but they have distinct structural and usage differences:

1. Structure:

   • Infinitive: Formed by 'to' + base form of the verb (e.g., to eat, to sleep).
   • Gerund: Formed by the base form of the verb + 'ing' (e.g., eating, sleeping).

2. Usage:

   • Infinitives often refer to a potential action, a purpose, or a future event. They are abstract or philosophical.
     • Example: "I want to learn French."
   • Gerunds often refer to an actual, real, or completed action. They act more like concrete nouns.
     • Example: "I enjoy learning French."

Certain verbs change their meaning significantly depending on whether they are followed by an infinitive or a gerund:

1. Stop:

   • + Gerund: To cease an action entirely.
     • Example: "He stopped smoking." (He does not smoke anymore).
   • + Infinitive: To interrupt an action in order to do something else.
     • Example: "He stopped to smoke." (He paused what he was doing to have a cigarette).

2. Remember:

   • + Gerund: Recalling a past memory.
     • Example: "I remember locking the door."
   • + Infinitive: Remembering a duty or task to be performed.
     • Example: "Please remember to lock the door."

3. Forget:

   • + Gerund: Losing the memory of something that actually happened.
     • Example: "I will never forget meeting him."
   • + Infinitive: Failing to perform a duty.
     • Example: "I forgot to meet him."

Complex infinitives and gerunds include perfect forms used to express actions that occurred before the time of the main verb.

Perfect Infinitive

• Form: to have + past participle ().
• Usage: Indicates an action completed in the past relative to the main verb.
• Example: "She claims to have seen the ghost." (The seeing happened before the claiming).

Perfect Gerund

• Form: having + past participle ().
• Usage: Emphasizes that one action was finished before another started. It functions as a noun phrase.
• Example: "He denied having stolen the money." (The stealing happened before the denial).

Note: In informal English, the simple gerund is often used instead of the perfect gerund without a loss of meaning (e.g., "He denied stealing the money").

Passive forms are used when the emphasis is on the receiver of the action rather than the doer.

1. Passive Infinitive:

   • Structure: to be + past participle ().
   • Usage: Used after verbs, adjectives, or nouns when the subject is the receiver.
   • Example: "There is a lot of work to be done."
   • Example: "I expect to be invited to the party."

2. Passive Gerund:

   • Structure: being + past participle ().
   • Usage: Used when the action expressed by the gerund is passive.
   • Example: "I don't mind being kept waiting."
   • Example: "She avoided being seen by the crowd."

Verbs followed strictly by Gerunds:

1. Admit
2. Avoid
3. Consider
4. Enjoy
5. Finish
   • Example: "She avoided answering the question."

Verbs followed strictly by Infinitives:

1. Agree
2. Decide
3. Hope
4. Offer
5. Plan
   • Example: "They agreed to help us with the project."

Many adjectives can be followed by an infinitive to express feelings, opinions, or reactions. This construction often follows the pattern:

Subject + be + Adjective + Infinitive

1. Expressing Feelings/Emotions:
   • Examples: afraid, amazed, glad, happy, sad, sorry.
   • "I am happy to hear that."
2. Expressing Personal Traits/Character (often used with 'of'):
   • Examples: kind, nice, rude, silly, clever.
   • "It was rude of him to leave so early."
3. Describing the Activity:
   • Examples: easy, hard, difficult, impossible, dangerous.
   • "English is easy to learn."

There is a strict grammatical rule governing prepositions in relation to gerunds and infinitives:

1. General Rule: Prepositions (such as in, on, at, of, for, about, with, without) are almost always followed by a Gerund (-ing form), not an infinitive.

   • Example: "He is good at drawing."
   • Example: "Thank you for coming."
   • Example: "She left without saying goodbye."

2. The Exception ('To'): The word 'to' is tricky because it can be part of an infinitive (to go) or a preposition. When 'to' functions as a preposition in phrasal verbs or specific adjective phrases, it must be followed by a gerund.

   • Example: "I look forward to meeting you." (Not to meet).
   • Example: "He is used to waking up early."

Some verbs cannot be followed immediately by an infinitive; they require a direct object (noun or pronoun) to be placed between the main verb and the infinitive.

Structure:

Common Verbs using this structure:

• Advise
• Allow
• Ask
• Beg
• Encourage
• Expect
• Force
• Invite
• Tell
• Want

Examples:

1. "She advised me to study harder." (Not advised to study).
2. "I expect him to be on time."
3. "They invited us to attend the wedding."

A Bare Infinitive is the base form of the verb without the particle "to".

Conditions for usage:

1. After Modal Verbs: Can, could, may, might, must, should, will, would.
   • Example: "You must go now."
2. After 'Let' and 'Make': When used in the active voice.
   • Example: "Let him go."
   • Example: "She made me cry."
3. After Perception Verbs (see, hear, feel, watch) to indicate a completed action.
   • Example: "I saw him cross the road."
4. After 'Had better' and 'Would rather'.
   • Example: "You had better leave."

Definition: A quantifier is a word or phrase used before a noun (or noun phrase) to indicate the amount or quantity of something.

Distinction:

1. Countable Quantifiers: Used with nouns that can be counted (singular or plural).

   • Examples: Many, few, a few, several, a number of.
   • Sentence: "There are many books on the shelf."

2. Uncountable Quantifiers: Used with nouns that cannot be counted (abstract concepts, liquids, masses).

   • Examples: Much, little, a little, a bit of, a large amount of.
   • Sentence: "There is not much water left."

3. Neutral Quantifiers: Can be used with both.

   • Examples: Some, any, a lot of, plenty of, all.
   • Sentence: "We have some apples" (Countable) / "We have some sugar" (Uncountable).

While both 'some' and 'any' are used to describe indefinite quantities, their usage depends on the sentence type.

1. Some:

• General Rule: Used in positive (affirmative) sentences.
  • Example: "I have some money."
• Exception: Used in questions when offering or requesting something (where the answer 'yes' is expected).
  • Example: "Would you like some coffee?" (Offer)

2. Any:

• General Rule: Used in negative sentences and questions.
  • Example (Negative): "I don't have any money."
  • Example (Question): "Do you have any siblings?"
• Exception: Used in positive sentences when it means "it doesn't matter which one."
  • Example: "You can take any bus."

This distinction involves both the type of noun (countable vs. uncountable) and the connotation (negative vs. positive).

1. Grammar (Noun Type)

• Few / A Few: Used only with Plural Countable Nouns.
• Little / A Little: Used only with Uncountable Nouns.

2. Meaning (Connotation)

• Negative Connotation (Insufficiency):

  • Few: Hardly any, not enough. Emphasizes scarcity.
    • Example: "He has few friends." (He is lonely).
  • Little: Hardly any, not enough.
    • Example: "We have little time." (We must hurry).

• Positive Connotation (Sufficiency/Existence):

  • A Few: Some, a small number (but enough).
    • Example: "He has a few friends." (He is socially active).
  • A Little: Some, a small amount.
    • Example: "We have a little time." (We can relax briefly).

• Many: Used with countable plural nouns. It is commonly used in questions and negative sentences, though acceptable in formal affirmative sentences.

  • Example: "Are there many students?"

• Much: Used with uncountable nouns. Like 'many', it is preferred in questions and negative sentences.

  • Example: "We don't have much time."

• A lot of / Lots of: Used with both countable and uncountable nouns. These are preferred in affirmative (positive) sentences in informal English over 'much' or 'many'.

  • Example (Countable): "She has a lot of friends."
  • Example (Uncountable): "There is a lot of pollution."

Definition: Multipliers are words that express how many times a quantity is increased. Common examples include once, twice, double, three times, ten times, etc.

Word Order / Position:
Multipliers are Pre-determiners. This means they are placed before other determiners (articles, possessives, or demonstrators).

Structure:

1. With Articles (a/an/the):

   • "They offered twice the price."
   • Not: "They offered the twice price."

2. With Possessives (my/your/her):

   • "She earns three times my salary."

3. With Demonstratives (this/that):

   • "I need double this amount."

Although 'each' and 'every' are often interchangeable, there are subtle differences in usage and perspective.

1. Each:

   • Focuses on individual members of a group separately.
   • Used for two or more items (often small numbers).
   • Example: "Each student was given a book." (Emphasis on the individual receiving it).

2. Every:

   • Focuses on the group as a whole (similar to 'all').
   • Used for three or more items (often large numbers).
   • Example: "Every student passed the exam." (Emphasis on the whole class).

Note: Both 'each' and 'every' take singular verbs.

The distinction between 'fewer' and 'less' is a common source of error, strictly defined by countability.

1. Fewer:

   • Used with Countable Plural Nouns.
   • It refers to number.
   • Example: "There are fewer cars on the road today."
   • Example: "I made fewer mistakes than last time."

2. Less:

   • Used with Uncountable Nouns.
   • It refers to degree, amount, or quantity.
   • Example: "I drink less coffee now."
   • Example: "It takes less time to fly."

Common Exception: 'Less' is often used with countable nouns in specific measurements of time, distance, and money (e.g., "Less than 10 dollars," "Less than 5 miles") because the amount is viewed as a single whole sum.

Fractions (e.g., , ) and percentages (e.g., 50%) act as quantifiers, but the verb agreement depends on the noun following the phrase "of".

Rule:

• If the noun in the "of-phrase" is Singular/Uncountable, use a Singular Verb.
• If the noun in the "of-phrase" is Plural, use a Plural Verb.

Examples:

1. Uncountable Noun (Singular verb):

   • "Half of the water is gone."
   • "50% of the work is finished."

2. Plural Countable Noun (Plural verb):

   • "Half of the students are absent."
   • "One-third of the apples were rotten."

These two phrases look similar but function differently regarding subject-verb agreement.

1. A number of:

   • Meaning: Functions as a quantifier meaning "several" or "many".
   • Agreement: Takes a Plural Verb.
   • Example: "A number of students are waiting outside." (Meaning: Many students are waiting).

2. The number of:

   • Meaning: Refers to the specific numerical figure or count of a noun.
   • Agreement: Takes a Singular Verb (because 'The number' is the subject).
   • Example: "The number of students is increasing." (Meaning: The count [e.g., 50] is increasing).

These are complex forms used to describe actions happening over a period of time.

1. Continuous Infinitive:

   • Structure: to be + verb-ing.
   • Usage: Emphasizes an action continuing at the moment of speaking or at a specific time.
   • Example: "I'd really like to be swimming right now."
   • Example: "He seems to be sleeping."

2. Continuous Gerund:

   • Structure: being + verb-ing (Rarely used in simple contexts, often replaced by simple gerund, but distinct in passive or specific constructions).
   • Note: Often, the term 'Continuous Gerund' is conflated with just the usage of the standard Gerund (walking) which inherently implies activity. However, in complex passive constructions, it appears as: "He dislikes being ignored" (Passive) vs simple activity "He enjoys walking."
   • More strictly, complex gerunds often refer to the Perfect or Passive forms. The standard -ing form covers continuous meaning.

Both 'all' and 'the whole' indicate totality, but they are used with different grammatical structures.

1. Word Order:

   • All: Determiner + the + Noun. (All goes before the article).
   • Whole: The + Whole + Noun. (Whole acts like an adjective after the article).

2. Usage with Singular/Plural:

   • All: Can be used with uncountable and plural countable nouns.
     • "All the time."
     • "All the students."
   • Whole: Mostly used with singular countable nouns.
     • "The whole day."
     • Note: "The whole money" is incorrect; we say "All the money" because money is uncountable.

3. Examples:

   • "All the city was destroyed." (Correct)
   • "The whole city was destroyed." (Correct and more common for singular countables).