GERUNDS VS INFINITIVES (2)
The basic form of a sentence in English is:
Subject + Verb + Object
When a gerund comes before the main verb in a sentence, it will act as the subject of that sentence. Like our example earlier: “Walking always puts me in a good mood.”
Walking is the subject of the sentence. If we replace “walking” with a different noun, like a movie title. “Harry Potter always puts me in a good mood.” We can see that a gerund can function perfectly as a subject.
Examples:
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Playing the guitar was always his favorite hobby. |
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Baking is a great way to relieve stress. |
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Reading helps me keep my mind sharp. |
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Cheating will never get you anywhere in life. |
Gerunds are often part of noun phrases as we can see in the first example; playing the guitar was always his favorite hobby. Playing the guitar is our noun phrase.
2. Infinitives
Using an infinitive as a subject is a bit different. Using an infinitive often sounds quite formal. We typically only use infinitives as a subject in written English.
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Swimming gives me great pleasure |
the use of a gerund sounds natural |
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To swim gives me great pleasure |
the use of an “infinitive” sounds old-fashioned and posh. |
You can use an infinitive as a subject when giving directions, explanation, quoting someone, or a dictionary definition. For example:
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To cook properly, place the fish skin side down. |
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To get there, take the bus to the high street and then cross the road. |