Continuous, Perfect & Passive ING & TO Forms

English Grammar & Use - B1+ Suite

B1+/B2

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Gerunds & Infinitives

CONTINUOUS Gerunds & Infinitives PERFECT Gerunds & Infinitives PASSIVE Gerunds & Infinitives

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OUTCOME STATEMENT: Develop a clearer understanding of when, why and how to use these more advanced ING & TO forms

STUDY TIME: 40 Mins QUIZ: 20 Questions

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ING & TO Forms

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Perfect

Continuous

Passive

Review Verbs followed by the Infinitive Form

CONTINUOUS INFINITIVE

• TO BE + ING

For verbs that are followed by infinitve form: If we need to express that an action is/was in progress at a specific time, we use the CONTINUOUS INFINITIVE

1.

• To be + ING or be + ING (after Modal verbs)

PRESENT ongoing actions

• Paramedic: "He seems to be breathing"
• He's pretending to be working, but he isn't working!.
• You must be joking.

• He should be working, not playing.

PAST ongoing actions

• Paramedic: "He seemed to be breathing"
• He pretended to be working, but he wasn't working!.

2. If the continuous action happened in the past, we can choose to use the PERFECT CONTINUOUS INFINITIVE

• TO HAVE BEEN + ING

• He claimed to have been driving at only 20km per hour when the accident happened.

• He was believed to have been living under a false identity while on the run last year

• Yesterday, we should have been working, not playing.

'Perfect Continuous Infinitive' or 'That XX Was + ING'?

• to be + ING or to have been + ING ?

3. Selecting the correct form:

• I should have been planning the congress, not thinking about my holidays.
• He must have been sleeping.

3.1 If the first verb is in the past tense you can often use both forms with no real change in meaning. It's more common to use the to be + ing form.

• He appeared to be making progress.

• He appeared to have been making progress.

3.2 If the first verb is a Modal Verb and an action was in progress in the past, we must use: have been + ING

Review Verbs followed by the ING Form

Perfect Gerund

• having + past participle

1. If the first verb uses a gerund and we need to express that an action happened in the past we can use a perfect gerund.

1.1 Note that you can also use a simple gerund with the same meaning.

• I remember being here before.
• I denied breaking the window.

• I remember having been here before.
• I denied having broken the window.

• He accused me of not having shut the system down correctly.

NB: In conversation, mother tongue speakers use the Gerund more often than the Perfect Gerund with these verbs: Remember/Forget/Recall/Deny/Admit

2. Perfect Gerunds can also be used as a subject with the meaning: Because + subject-verb phrase

• Having been there before, I didn't need a guide.

Because I had been there before...

• Having read the book, I didn't really enjoy the film.

Because I have read the book...

3. Perfect Infinitive

• to have + past participle

3.1 We use this form to express the completion of something before another action happens

• She plans to have finished all her work by 5pm today.
• He intends to have read the report before the meeting.
• I'm going to have finished my presentation before lunch.

4. Perfect Continuous Infinitive

• to have been + ING

4.1 We use this form to express that an action was in progress before another action happened.

• He seems to have been having a shower when the intruder entered the house.
• She claimed to have been working when her boss walked into the office.

Review Verbs followed by the ING Form

Passive Gerund

• being + past participle

1. After verbs that take a gerund, we use the passive gerund to indicate that the action expressed happens to the subject.

• I remember being punished at school.
• I hate being made to wait
• I love being complimented on my work
• We resented not being selected for the team.
• He saw the speed camera so slowed down to avoid being fined.

NB: you can use get instead of be

• I hate getting fined for speeding.

1.2 This form can also be used as a subject:

• Being loved is good for your mental health.
• Being fined by the traffic police is a common occurance for some drivers.

1.3 This form is also found after prepositions and with before, after, without despite/in spite of & while:

• Despite being injured in the crash, he was able to help others.
• While being prepared for surgery, he died.
• He was able to enter without being seen.
• I'm worried about being sacked from my job.

Passive Infinitive

Review Verbs followed by the Infinitive Form

• to be + past participle

2. With verbs that take an infinitive, we use the passive infinitive to indicate that the action expressed happens to the subject.

2.2 This form can also be found after adjectives and with too/enough:

• Bulgari jewels are too expensive to be worn everyday.
• It's difficult to be told you will lose your job.

• The report has to be finished by 5pm
• He struggled to be recognised as a serious writer

Passive continues

• to have been + past participle

Perfect Passive Infinitive

1. We use this form in passive sentences to express that an action happened at, around, before or since a specific time.

• The car seems to have been stolen before midnight.

• He claims to have been read by millions since his book became part of the scholastic syllabus.

• The bank seems to have robbed sometime between 2 and 4 A.M.

• He is thought to have escaped from his prison cell around 6 A.M.

1.1 If the first verb is Past Simple, we can still use the perfect passive as above.

• He claimed to have been mugged when he was walking near the central railway station.

Lexis: Crimes of THEFT

Future Perfect Passive Infinitive

• will have been + past participle

1. If we need to talk about something that takes place by a specific point in the future, we can use:

• The fugitive will have been found and arrested by the weekend, police sources say

• All the work will have been completed by the end of today.

Steal: To take something that belongs to someone else without permission.

• Someone stole my phone from the table.

Rob: To take money or things from a person or place, often using force or threats.

• The bank was robbed last night.

Mug: To attack someone in a public place to steal their money or belongings.

• He was mugged last night while walking home.

Tip: Steal things (e.g., a phone, money). Rob a person or place (e.g., a bank, a shop, a person). Mug a person, usually in the street or another public place. Includes the use or threat of violence

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He claimed TO HAVE BEEN DRIVING... or He claimed THAT he WAS DRIVING ?

With non-modal verbs, you can use the 'THAT X WAS + ING' structure instead of a Perfect Continous Infinitive Compare the 2 structures:

• He claimed to have been driving at only 20km per hour when the accident happened.

• He was believed to have been living in France while on the run last year, but actually he was at his mum's house!

• He claimed that he was driving at only 20km per hour when the accident happened.

• It was believed that he was living in France while on the run last year, but actually he was at his mum's house!

Cambridge FCE/CAE/CPE Exams. This type of 'transformation' of sentance structure while keeping the same meaning is tested in Cambridge exams. If you are preparing for an exam, you should learn how to transform 'that xx was + ing' into the Perfect Continuous Infinitive

You cannot use the 'THAT X WAS + ING' structure instead of a Perfect Continous Infinitive with MODAL VERBS i.e.

• He must have been talking on his phone when the accident happened

• He can't have working very hard.

• Yesterday, we should have been working, not playing.

This is the MODAL PEREFECT CONTINUOUS FORM. You can study it in detail in the relevant SURFACE Module