Grammar Essentials (Handbook)
🔒 Log in to trackNon-finites (infinitive, gerund, participle), inversion and parallelism
🔒 Log in to trackInfinitive (to + V1) and bare infinitive (V1)
- Bare infinitive (no to) after: modals, let, make, see, hear, watch, feel, bid, had better, would rather, rather than, and after but/except following do: She made him apologise; He did nothing but laugh.
- In the passive, make / see / hear take to: He was made to apologise.
- Verbs followed by to + V1: agree, decide, hope, plan, promise, refuse, want, wish, expect, afford, fail, manage, offer, pretend, threaten, deserve, learn, seem, tend.
- too ... to gives a negative result: He is too tired to walk (not too tired that).
Gerund (V-ing used as a noun)
- Verbs followed by V-ing: avoid, admit, deny, enjoy, finish, mind, miss, postpone, practise, quit, resist, risk, suggest, consider, keep, give up, can't help, feel like, appreciate.
- to as a preposition → V-ing: look forward to, object to, be used to, be accustomed to, with a view to, confess to, be averse to, take to, devote oneself to: I look forward to meeting you.
- After every preposition use V-ing: He is fond of reading; She left without saying goodbye.
- Gerund as subject takes a singular verb: Smoking is injurious.
Verbs whose meaning changes
| Verb | + to V1 | + V-ing |
|---|---|---|
| stop | stop (one activity) in order to do another: He stopped to drink water | quit the activity: He stopped drinking tea |
| remember / forget | a duty still to do: Remember to lock the door | a past action: I remember locking it |
| regret | announce bad news: We regret to inform you | feel sorry about a past act: I regret shouting |
| try | make an effort: Try to lift it | experiment: Try adding salt |
Participles
- Present participle (V-ing) = active; past participle (V3) = passive: a boring lecture (it bores) vs a bored student (he is bored).
- Dangling participle: the opening participle must describe the subject of the main clause. Walking along the beach, a crab bit him ✗ (the crab was not walking) → Walking along the beach, he was bitten by a crab ✓.
- Absolute phrase has its own subject: The weather being pleasant, we went out.
Inversion (auxiliary before subject)
When these words open a sentence, use question word order:
| Opener | Example |
|---|---|
| Never / Seldom / Rarely / Little | Never have I seen such courage. Little did he know the truth. |
| Hardly / Scarcely ... when | Hardly had we reached when it rained. |
| No sooner ... than | No sooner did the bell ring than the pupils ran out. |
| Not only ... but also | Not only did she win, but she also broke the record. |
| Not until / Only then / Only after / Only when | Only then did I realise my mistake. |
| Nowhere / At no time / Under no circumstances / On no account / In no way | Under no circumstances will we accept bribes. |
| So + adjective ... that | So loud was the noise that nobody slept. |
| Conditional without if | Had I known, I would have helped. |
| Neither / Nor / So (agreement) | He can't swim, and neither can I. She likes tea, and so do I. |
| Here / There + verb (with a noun subject) | Here comes the bus (but Here it comes) |
Parallelism
Items joined by and, or, but, not only...but also, either...or, both...and, than, as must have the same grammatical form: She likes reading, writing and painting (not to paint). He is honest, hardworking and intelligent (not has intelligence).
Detailed notes
Non-finites: the three shapes
A non-finite verb does not change with tense or subject. Three shapes exist:
- Infinitive: to + V1 — He promised to finish the work.
- Gerund (-ing used as a noun): He avoided answering the question.
- Participle (-ing/-V3 used as an adjective): the broken chair; Seeing the snake, she fainted.
Gerund after prepositions and set verbs
After any preposition, the verb takes -ing: fond of reading; insisted on paying; interested in learning; before leaving. After these verbs, the next verb is a gerund: enjoy, avoid, mind, finish, suggest, keep, practise, stop, deny, admit, consider. Look forward to ends in a preposition to, so it takes -ing too: I look forward to meeting you (not to meet).
Infinitive after set verbs
After these verbs, use to + V1: promise, decide, agree, hope, plan, refuse, learn, afford, manage, want, offer. Remember + to = duty ahead (Remember to switch off the lights); remember + -ing = memory of the past (I remember switching it off yesterday).
Bare infinitive (no to)
After make, let, hear, see, watch, feel (and after modals): The teacher made the boy recite the poem; Let him do what he wants. Passive voice restores to: He was made to recite it.
Inversion after negative openers
When a sentence opens with a negative or restrictive adverbial, the auxiliary jumps before the subject:
- No sooner had she seen the snake than she fainted.
- Hardly/Scarcely had he sat down when the phone rang.
- Never have I seen such a sunset.
- Not only did he apologise, but he also paid for the damage. The pattern is: opener + auxiliary + subject + main verb. No sooner pairs with than; hardly/scarcely pair with when. Mixed partners (No sooner...when) are the planted error.
Attack method
- For non-finite items, find the governing word: preposition → -ing; set verb → its listed pattern.
- For inversion items, check the opener. Negative opener → auxiliary first, and verify the partner word (than/when).
A quick self-test before marking: cover the options and say the sentence aloud. look forward to meet and No sooner the bell rang both jar on the ear — the spoken check catches most gerund and inversion slips faster than any rule recall.
Quick revision
- Preposition + V-ing; look forward to meeting.
- enjoy/avoid/mind/finish/suggest + V-ing; promise/decide/agree + to V1.
- remember to = duty ahead; remember -ing = past memory.
- make/let/hear/see + bare V1.
- Negative opener → auxiliary before subject; no sooner...than, hardly...when.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Gerund after prepositions and set verbsvery common3 practice Q
The blank follows a preposition (of, on, in, to after look forward) or a set verb (avoid, enjoy, mind, finish, keep).
- Find the governing word.
- Preposition or set verb → next verb takes -ing.
- Reject to + V1 options.
Why it works: a preposition needs a noun, and the -ing form is the verb turned noun.
Example: He avoided ___ the question. (answering/to answer/answer/answered)
avoid + gerund → answering.
Type 2: Infinitive vs gerund by set verb or meaningvery common2 practice Q
The governing verb is from the to-list (promise, decide, agree) or remember/stop/forget, where the form changes the meaning.
- Check the verb against the two lists.
- remember/forget + to = duty ahead; + -ing = past memory.
- Choose the matching form.
Why it works: the two lists are short, fixed and endlessly recycled.
Example: He promised ___ the work by Friday. (to finish/finishing/finish/finished)
promise + to-infinitive → to finish.
Type 3: Bare infinitive after make, let, see, hearcommon2 practice Q
The sentence has make/let/hear/see/watch followed by an object and the blank.
- Confirm the causative/perception verb.
- Object + bare V1 — no to, no -ing.
- If the sentence is passive, restore to (was made to recite).
Why it works: these verbs take the plain base form; every other verb family takes to or -ing.
Example: The teacher made the boy ___ the poem. (recite/to recite/reciting/recited)
make + object + bare infinitive → recite.
Type 4: Inversion after negative openersvery common3 practice Q
The sentence opens with No sooner, Hardly, Scarcely, Never or Not only — or one part contains the un-inverted subject-first order.
- Confirm the negative opener.
- Order: opener + auxiliary + subject + main verb (No sooner had she seen...).
- Check the partner: no sooner...than; hardly/scarcely...when.
Why it works: the negative opener demands inversion, and each opener carries its fixed partner.
Example: Never ___ such a beautiful sunset. (have I seen/I have seen/I saw/did I saw)
Negative opener → have I seen — auxiliary before subject.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Is 'to' a preposition? Test with a noun
Replace the verb after to with a noun. If a noun fits (I look forward to the holiday), then to is a preposition and the verb must be V-ing. If only a verb fits (I want to the holiday), use to + V1.
Example: She is accustomed to ___ (work) late.
accustomed to the noise works, so to is a preposition → working.
⚡ Negative opener = question order
If a sentence begins with a negative or restrictive word (never, seldom, hardly, no sooner, not only, only then, little, nowhere), immediately check that the auxiliary comes before the subject. Missing inversion is the planted error.
Example: Spot the error: Rarely we have seen / such a spectacular / display of fireworks.
Rarely opens the sentence → inversion: Rarely have we seen.
Where students lose marks
Using to + V1 after look forward to / object to / be used to.
Writing made him to go in the active voice.
Dangling participles that make the wrong noun do the action.
Forgetting inversion after never, seldom, not only, no sooner, only then.
Breaking parallel structure in lists and correlatives.
Using too ... that; the pattern is too ... to or so ... that.
Practice sets — 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.