IDEFINITE PRONOUN

The indefinite pronouns are:

somebody	someone	something
anybody	anyone	anything
nobody	no one	nothing
everybody	everyone	everything

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in -thing for things:

Everybody enjoyed the concert.
I opened the door but there was no one at home.
It was a very clear day. We could see everything.

We use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:

Everybody loves Sally.
Everything was ready for the party.

When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun we normally use a plural pronoun:

Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood up and clapped.
I will tell somebody that dinner is ready. They have been waiting a long time.

We can add -'s to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive.

They were staying in somebody’s house.
Is this anybody’s coat?

We use indefinite pronouns with no- as the subject in negative clauses (not pronouns with any.)

Anybody didn’t come >> Nobody came.

We do not use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or nothing:

Nobody came.
Nothing happened.

We use else after indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things in addition to the ones we already mentioned.

All the family came, but no one else.
If Michael can’t come we’ll ask somebody else.
So that's eggs, peas and chips. Do you want anything else?

to + infinitive

The Infinitive with to

after:	the first	Gagarin was the first to fly in a spaceship.
	the last	Peter was the last to watch the film.
	the next	He is the next to get his passport.

after:	adjectives	I'm happy to be here.
		It's better not to smoke.

after:

certain verbs (agree, choose, forget, hope, learn, promise, regret*, want, …)

I learn to drive a car.

* After regret the to-infinitive is used when announcing bad news:
We regret to inform you that the flight to Munich has been cancelled.

In other cases the Gerund is used.

after:	question words	I don't know what to say.
		Can you tell me how to get to the bus stop?

after:

want/would like

I want you to help me.

verb + object + to-infinitive

I helped my dad to clean the car.

NOTE!!!

I want to help you.

I want you to help me.

Infinitives are defined as to + base form of the verb. They have several functions.

1. Used as subjects and subject complements.

To know me is to love me.
To live in Hawaii is my lifetime dream.

2. Used as objects following certain verbs.*

I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your gift.
He hesitated to ask the embarrassing question.

3. Used as a shortened form of in order to.

You must take this medicine (in order) to get well.
I went to the bank to cash a check.

Infinitives can sometimes take objects of their own.

We hope to find the person who did this.
I was asked to make a dessert for the potluck dinner.

*These verbs are commonly followed by infinitives.

afford beg decide forget intend mean prepare seem threaten

agree begin demand go know how need pretend start try

appear care deserve happen learn neglect promise stop volunteer

arrange choose desire hate like offer refuse struggle wait

ask claim expect hesitate love plan regret swear want

attempt consent fail hope manage prefer remember tend wish

to + infinitive

We use the to-infinitive:
• to express purpose (to answer "Why...?"):
He bought some flowers to give to his wife. He locked the door to keep everyone out.
We sometimes say in order to or in order not to:
We set off early in order to avoid the traffic. They spoke quietly in order not to wake the children
… or we can say so as to or so as not to:
We set off early so as to avoid the traffic. They spoke quietly so as not to wake the children.
• after certain verbs (see verb following by infintive), particularly verbs of thinking and feeling:
choose, decide, expect, forget, hate, hope, intend, learn, like, love, mean, plan, prefer, remember, want, would like, would love
… and verbs of saying:
agree, promise, refuse
They decided to start a business together. Remember to turn the lights out.
Some verbs are followed by a direct object and the infinitive(see verb following by infiniteve):
advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, warn, expect, intend, would prefer, want, would like
She reminded me to turn the lights out. He encouraged his friends to vote for him.
• after certain adjectives.
Sometimes the to-infinitive gives a reason for the adjective:
• disappointed
• glad
• sad
• happy
• anxious
• pleased
• surprised
• proud
• unhappy
We were happy to come to the end of our journey = We were happy because we had come to the end of our journey John was surprised to see me = He was surprised because he saw me
Other adjectives with the to-infinitive are:
• able
• unable
• due
• eager
• keen
• likely
• unlikely
• ready
• prepared
• unwilling
• willing
Unfortunately I was unable to work for over a week. I am really tired. I’m ready to go to bed.
We often use the to-infinitive with these adjectives after it to give opinions:
• difficult
• easy
• possible
• impossible
• hard
• right
• wrong
• kind
• nice
• clever
• silly
• foolish
It’s easy to play the piano, but it’s very difficult to play well. He spoke so quickly it was impossible to understand him.
We use the preposition for to show who these adjectives refer to:
• difficult
• easy
• possible
• impossible
• hard
It was difficult for us to hear what she was saying. It is easy for you to criticise other people.
We use the preposition of with other adjectives:
It’s kind of you to help. It would be silly of him to spend all his money.
• As a postmodifier (see noun phrase) after abstract nouns like:
• ability
• desire
• need
• wish
• attempt
• failure
• opportunity
• chance
• intention
I have no desire to be rich. They gave him an opportunity to escape. She was annoyed by her failure to answer the question correctly.
• We often use a to-infinitive as a postmodifier after an indefinite pronoun (See indefinite pronoun):
When I am travelling I always take something to read. I was all alone. I had no one to talk to. There is hardly anything to do in most of these small towns

gerund phrase

secound edition:

What Are Gerunds?

Gerunds are words that look like verbs and act like nouns.

You can spot them because they will always be a verb + ing acting as a noun.

(Words that are made of verbs but don't act like verbs are called verbals. There are two other types of verbals: participles and infinitives.)

Example:

Swimming is fun.

The word swim is a verb. Swimming is a verb with an -ing ending acting as a noun (the subject of this sentence).

Phrases

These consist of a gerund and the words that modify and complement it.

Example:

Swimming in the pool is fun.

Gerund	Phrase
Running is my favorite activity.	Running marathons is my favorite activity.
I love listening.	I love listening to my favorite band.
Reading rocks!	Reading books on the porch rocks!

---

Their Modifiers and Complements

Remember what these act as? NOUNS, right?

Let's look at that example of the phrase from above.

Example:

Swimming in the pool is fun.

Now, you may have noticed that in the pool is an adverbial prepositional phrase. It is telling us where the swimming happened.

But, nouns can only be modified with adjectives, right?

Well, remember how we talked about a gerund being a verb form acting as a noun?

Even though it's an official noun, it still carries some of the attributes of a verb.

The verb part allows it to take adverbial modifiers just like any other verb- even though it's acting as a noun. (By the way, it can still take adjectival modifiers - just like other nouns.)

They can even take complements (like direct objects), just like verbs can.

And, this one is kind of strange, they can sort of take subjects.

Only the subjects will never be in the subject case (he, she, I). They will always be possessive (his, her, my).

In a Sentence	Acting As...	Its Complement/Modifier
Diagramming sentences is fun!	Subject	Sentences is the direct object ofdiagramming.
I love listening to my favorite band.	Direct Object	To my favorite band is a prepositional phrase modifying listening.
Amir's loud eatingreally bothers me!	Subject	Amir's is the "subject" of eating Loud is an adverb modifying eating.

Gerund after special verbs

Gerund/Infinitive - Explanations

Gerund/Infinitive - Exercises

We use the Gerund after the following verbs:
admit	Mr.Amir admitted having driven too fast.
avoid	They avoid going on holiday on Saturdays.
carry on	If we carry on sleeping so badly, we may need help.
consider	Ralph is considering buying a new house.
delay	I delayed telling Max the news.
deny	Mss.Anty denies reading the book.
dislike	We dislike reading poems.
can't help	Mr.Dani couldn't helps falling in love with her.
enjoy	I enjoy playing chess.
finish	They finished working in the garden.
give up	Mss.Devi gives up playing ice-hockey.
imagine	Mr.Mufly imagined driving a new car.
include	Your responsibility includes taking reservations on the phone.
involve	The project will involve growing plants.
justify	I cannot justify paying $100 for this ticket.
keep (on)	They keep on running.
mention	Did Alex ever mention playing baseball?
mind	I don't mind sleeping on the couch.
miss	They miss playing with their friends.
practise	Mss.Aryana nurul qarima practised playing hockey.
regret*	Do you regret having mentioned it?
risk	You risk catching a cold.
suggest	Mss.chichi suggested flying to Cairo.

* After regret the to-infinitive is used when announcing bad news:
We regret to inform you that the flight to Munich has been cancelled.

Ulrike Schroedter contributed to the list.