C.1 – Key to gerunds and infinitives
1 We can’t afford to miss/missing this opportunity.
2 It’s not worth to spend/spending any more time on this.
3 We decided to close down / closing down the plant in Slovakia.
4 You promised to deliver/delivering by the end of April.
5 I considered to call/calling him but I decided it was better to send an email.
6 If we don’t decide soon, we risk to lose/losing the whole contract.
7 She agreed to prepare/preparing some figures before the next meeting.
8 Is Mr Messier busy? OK, I don’t mind to wait/waiting for a few minutes.
9 May I suggest to postpone/postponing the meeting until next week?
10 He refused to sign/signing the contract until he’d spoken to his boss.
B Complete the sentences with the verbs in the box. Choose either the -ing form or to + infinitive.
| advertise employ fly give help make receive speak think write |
0 They agreed to give us thirty more days to pay the invoice.
1 There’s no point __in advertising ____________ this brand on TV. It would cost too much.
2 I suggested _________employing _____ another sales rep, but no-one agreed.
3 We’re expecting _______to receive _______ some more stock early next week.
4 I’ll join you later. I need to finish _____writing _________ this report
5 I learned _________to speak _____ Portuguese while I was working in Brazil.
6 I work in PR. My job involves ___making___________ contact with the media.
7 I can’t help ________thinking______ that something is going to go wrong.
8 I can’t afford ________to fly______ business class all the time.
9 I can’t promise ____to help __________ you with this problem, but I’ll do my best.
C Complete the sentences with an -ing form or to + infinitive. Use your own ideas.
0 Next summer I hope to go backpacking in New Zealand.
1 When questioned by the project leader, the student denied ordering the wrong supplies ___________________________________________________________________________
2 The warranty on this computer is very good. They guarantee to deliver the new parts within a day
___________________________________________________________________________
3 I’m the sort of person who can’t resist jumping into the lake
___________________________________________________________________________
4 I’m a very busy person and I really can’t afford to waste time
___________________________________________________________________________
5 When I’m away from home I miss talking to my family
___________________________________________________________________________
6 One of my classmates is really annoying. He keeps on disturbing the class
___________________________________________________________________________
7 I didn’t have much time, but I did manage to finish this text
___________________________________________________________________________
8 The project is behind schedule and I think we should consider extending the deadline
___________________________________________________________________________
9 This year I’ve wasted a lot of time updating files