Prime Time 6, Coursebook mit Audio-CD und DVD
d) Gerund or infinitive? Some English verbs can be followed either by a gerund or an in nitive : • Without a dierence in meaning: to begin , to continue , to start , to like , to love , to hate , to prefer • With a dierence in meaning: to mean , to stop , to forget , to remember Verb + gerund Verb + infinitive If you really want to go to the US, it’ll mean saving up for a long time. I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’d like to go to the US with me. • Aer to mean the gerund describes a logical consequence. • Aer to mean the in nitive expresses an intention to do something. Jack has stopped taking photos. He never knows what to do with them. Oh, look at that view! Let’s stop to take a photo. • Aer to stop the gerund refers to something that has/might come to an end. • Aer to stop the in nitive expresses the reason for stopping. I’ll never forget seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. Do you remember flying through it in that helicopter? I mustn’t forget to put all those fantastic pictures in an album. Please remember to lend me the album when you’ve finished. • Aer to forget and to remember the gerund describes an event/activity that has already taken place. • Aer to forget and to remember the in nitive expresses an intention to do something new. e) Participle constructions e present participle (exciting) is active in meaning; the past participle (unexpected) is passive in meaning. Participle constructions I thought the film was very exciting. There were lots of frightening scenes. My feelings about the unex- pected ending are somewhat mixed. • You can use participles as adjectives . Like adjectives, they can be used a ttributively (frightening) and predicatively (mixed) . Lots of workmen stood waiting for the doors to open. Two policemen came running along the road. The factory will remain closed because of the strike. • Present and past participles can be used aer verbs describing rest (a “position” ) or motion ( to stand , to come , to remain , to sit , to stay , etc.). We watched a black car waiting in front of the bank. Then we noticed a policeman standing near the entrance of the bank. • Verbs like to watch, to notice , to hear are verbs of perception . You can use a direct object + present participle (a black car) aer them. f) Participle or infinitive after verbs of perception? Present participle: activity in progress We heard three men near the black car talking to each other in a strange language. Then we observed them slowly moving towards the bank. • e present participle describes an activity in progress . Only part of the action is seen or heard. It corresponds to the progressive form . Infinitive: completed activity Suddenly we noticed the men take out their guns, and we saw the policeman take out his gun, too. We saw the three men run across the road, saw one of them stumble and fall and then heard the film director shout, “Cut!” • e in nitive describes a completed action . It is seen from its beginning to its end. is is especially the case when the activity is short or when a series of actions is described. It corresponds to the simple form . 175 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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