Advanced Gerund Usage and Distinctions

This section delves deeper into the nuanced usage of gerunds and infinitives, particularly with verbs that change meaning based on which form follows them. Gerund or Infinitive Klasse 8 exercises often focus on these distinctions to help students grasp the subtle differences.

The verb "remember" showcases how meaning can shift:

• "Remember doing something" means recalling a past action.
• "Remember to do something" implies keeping a future task in mind.

Similarly, "stop" has different implications:

• "Stop doing something" means to cease an ongoing action.
• "Stop to do something" indicates pausing one action to perform another.

The verb "try" also demonstrates this semantic distinction:

• "Try doing something" suggests experimenting with or testing out an action.
• "Try to do something" implies making an effort to accomplish a task.

Example: He tried opening the jar with a spoon (experimenting), but then he tried to open it with a jar opener (making an effort).

The document reiterates the importance of gerunds after prepositions, providing additional examples:

• "Boots are made for walking."
• Adjective/Noun/Verb + Preposition + Gerund constructions:
  • "good at doing something"
  • "interested in learning"
  • "sick of waiting"
  • "dream of traveling"

Highlight: Gerund nach help is an exception where the base form of the verb is used instead of the gerund: "Can you help me carry this?"

Understanding these nuances is crucial for advanced English learners and forms a significant part of Englisch hilfen Gerund Übungen (English help gerund exercises).