Gerundio e infinitivo
Cuando un verbo va detrás de otro verbo, de un adjetivo o de una preposición, puede ir en -ing, con to o sin to, y no siempre se puede elegir. En la parte 1 decide entre opciones de sentido parecido y en la parte 4 está detrás de muchas estructuras fijas.
Patrones
- verbo + -ing
enjoy, avoid, mind, finish, keep, consider, suggest, admit, deny, can't stand, give up.
- I enjoy cooking for my friends.
- Would you mind opening the window?
- verbo + to
want, decide, hope, manage, refuse, afford, offer, promise, seem, tend, plan.
- We decided to stay at home.
- I can't afford to buy a new car.
- verbo + persona + to
ask, tell, want, advise, allow, persuade, encourage, expect, remind.
- My parents encouraged me to study abroad.
- make / let + persona + infinitivo sin to
Help admite las dos formas. En pasiva, make lleva to: I was made to wait.
- My boss let me leave early.
- The film made me cry.
- preposición + -ing
Detrás de cualquier preposición va -ing.
- She's good at solving problems.
- He left without saying goodbye.
- -ing como sujeto
La actividad como sustantivo.
- Swimming is good for your back.
- to de finalidad
Para qué haces algo.
- I went to the shop to buy some bread.
Cambian de sentido
- remember / forget
+ to: lo que tienes que hacer. + -ing: recuerdo de algo ya hecho.
- Remember to lock the door.
- I remember meeting her at a party years ago.
- stop
+ -ing: dejar de hacer. + to: pararse para hacer otra cosa.
- He stopped smoking last year.
- We stopped to get some petrol.
- try
+ to: intentar. + -ing: probar algo para ver si funciona.
- I tried to open the jar, but it was too tight.
- Try turning it off and on again.
- regret
+ -ing: arrepentirse. + to: lamentar tener que comunicar algo, formal.
- I regret not studying harder.
- We regret to inform you that your flight has been cancelled.
Dónde aparece en el examen
- Parte 1: las opciones tienen sentido parecido y se distinguen por lo que va detrás. En She … to finish on time vale managed, pero no succeeded, que pediría in finishing. Mira siempre la palabra que sigue al hueco.
- Parte 2: faltan preposiciones delante de -ing (of, in, at, on) o el to de un infinitivo.
- Parte 4: estructuras como It's not worth + -ing, There's no point in + -ing, look forward to + -ing o be used to + -ing.
Trampas típicas
- En look forward to, be used to, get used to, object to y when it comes to, el to es preposición y va seguido de -ing.
- Succeed va con in + -ing; manage va con to.
- Would like va con to; like admite -ing (disfrutar) o to (costumbre o preferencia), con poca diferencia.
- Let casi no se usa en pasiva con infinitivo: di I was allowed to go.
- Suggest nunca va con persona + to: He suggested going.
Ojo.«Para + infinitivo» se traduce con to, no con for. ✗ I went to the shop for buy some bread. ✓ I went to the shop to buy some bread.
Ojo.Tras look forward to se tiende a poner el verbo en infinitivo. ✗ I'm looking forward to see you. ✓ I'm looking forward to seeing you.
Dónde cae en el examen
- Parte 1 · Multiple-choice cloze , con ejercicios de muestra
- Parte 2 · Open cloze , con ejercicios de muestra
- Parte 4 · Key word transformation , con ejercicios de muestra