Practice gerunds and infinitives in complex forms with B2 exercises. Improve accuracy with clear examples and explanations for advanced learners.
Gerunds and Infinitives: Complex Forms Exercises
At the B2 level, students should be able to not only use basic gerunds and infinitives correctly, but also understand and make more complicated forms. These forms help you say things more clearly about time, voice (active/passive), and actions that have already happened.
What Are Complex Gerunds and Infinitives?
Complex forms are more than just simple ones:
- Simple gerund: doing
- Simple infinitive: to do
They include:
Perfect forms
- Gerund: having done
- Infinitive: to have done
Passive forms
- Gerund: being done
- Infinitive: to be done
Perfect passive forms
- Gerund: having been done
- Infinitive: to have been done
Perfect Gerunds and Infinitives
Form
- having + past participle (gerund)
- to have + past participle (infinitive)
Use
We use perfect forms to show that one action came before another.
Examples
- She denied having taken the money.
- He seems to have forgotten the meeting.
- I regret having said that.
The action (taking, forgetting, saying) happened before the main verb.
Passive Gerunds and Infinitives
Form
- being + past participle (gerund)
- to be + past participle (infinitive)
Use
When the subject gets the action instead of doing it, we use passive forms.
Examples
- He dislikes being told what to do.
- She wants to be promoted.
- They avoided being seen together.
The focus is on what is happening to the subject.
Perfect Passive Forms
Form
- having been + past participle
- to have been + past participle
Use
These forms use both the past tense and the passive voice.
Examples
- She denied having been invited.
- He is believed to have been injured in the accident.
- They regretted having been chosen for the task.
The action happened to the subject before the main verb.
Choosing Between Infinitives and Gerunds
Some verbs are followed by gerunds, others by infinitives, and some can be followed by both, but the meaning changes.
Common patterns
- Verb + gerund: avoid, deny, suggest
- He denied having broken the window.
- Verb + infinitive: want, decide, hope
- She hopes to have finished by tomorrow.
- Verb + object + infinitive:
- They expected him to have completed the task.
You can say what you mean more clearly and naturally if you know how to use complex gerunds and infinitives. This is very important for both written and spoken English at the B2 level. If you practice these advanced structures regularly, you’ll be able to use them correctly and with confidence.
