Pengertian Gerund and Infinitive
Gerund (Verb+ing) dan Infinitive (to + base verb) merupakan verbal dalam kalimat bahasa Inggris yang dapat berfungsi sebagai kata benda (noun).
Contoh:
- Gerund: singing, drinking, running, walking, studying, dan lain sebagainya.
- Infinitive: to sing, to drink, to run, to walk, to study, dan lain sebaginya.
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Fungsi Gerund dan Infinitive
1. Sebagai subject (subjek)
Dalam suatu kalimat, Gerund dan Infinitive bisa berfungsi sebagai subjek. Namun, untuk Infinitive, biasanya berada di akhir kalimat dan subjek di awal kalimat diganti dengan “It”.
Contoh:
- Gerund: Studying English is fun.
- Infinitive: To travel to Mars would take months. (or) It would take months to travel to Mars.
2. Sebagai subject complement (pelengkap subjek)
Keduanya bisa digunakan sebagai pelengkap subjek pada suatu kalimat.
Contoh:
- Gerund: My goal is winning the marathon.
- Infinitive: My goal is to win the marathon.
3. Sebagai noun complement (pelengkap kata benda)
Noun complement menambahkan keterangan kata benda tersebut. Pada fungsi ini, hanya Infinitive yang dapat digunakan sebagai pelengkap kata benda.
Contoh:
Infinitive: The instruction to wear safety goggles has saved many people’s eyes.
4. Sebagai adjective complement (pelengkap kata sifat)
Terdapat beberapa kata sifat yang bisa diikuti oleh infinitive.
Contoh:
Infinitive: I am happy to meet you.
Beberapa diantara kata sifat yang dapat diikuti oleh infinitive adalah:
| afraid | determined | proud |
| amazed | eager | ready |
| anxious | eligible | reluctant |
| apt | (un)fit | sad |
| ashamed | fortunate | shocked |
| bound | glad | sorry |
| careful | hesitant | sure |
| certain | liable | dissapointed |
| content | likely | surprised |
| delighted | pleased | upset |
5. Sebagai direct object (objek langsung)
Dalam sebuah kalimat, kata kerja sering diikuti oleh objek langsung. Terdapat aturan mengenai kata kerja yang hanya dapat diikuti oleh gerund, infinitive, atau keduanya.
Contoh:
- Gerund: She enjoys drinking.
- Infinitive: Sarah hopes to see the play.
Berikut ini beberapa daftar kata kerja yang diikuti oleh Gerund dan Infinitive:
| Kondisi | Gerund | Infinitive |
| Tanpa tambahan agent | acknowledge, advise, appreaciate, avoid, begin, consider, continue, deny, discuss, dislike, enjoy, finish, forget, hate, (cannot) help, prefer, recommend, regret, remember, start, stop, teach, understand, dll Contoh kalimat: I hate singing. | agree, appear, begin, care, choose, continue, decide, forget, happen, get, hate, learn, hope, like, love, plan, prefer, refuse, seem, start, try, wait, dllContoh kalimat: He decided to go. |
| Dengan tambahan agent | hear, watch, see, dll Contoh kalimat: I watch her crying. | advise, allow, choose, get, help, invite, teach, tell, dllContoh kalimat: I help him to study. |
| Dapat ditambahkan agent (opsional) | ask, beg, expect, need, prepare, promise, want, dllContoh kalimat: I need him to stay. | |
| Tanpa “to” | feel, have, hear, help, watch, see, dllContoh kalimat: I heard you pass the exam. |
6. Sebagai object of preposition (objek preposisi)
Hanya gerund yang merupakan objek dari preposisi.
Contoh:
Thank you for helping me.
Rumus Gerund dan Infinitive
| Fungsi | Rumus | Contoh kalimat Gerund & Infinitives | |
| Gerund | Simple Gerund | verb + ing | Her problem is not knowing enough. |
| Perfective Gerund | having + past participle | He was excited about having watched the race from the start to finish. | |
| Passive Gerund | being + past participle | Being chosen to be part of this team is really great. | |
| Perfective Passive Gerund | having + been + past participle | Having been selected for the experiment gave her career a boost. | |
| Infinitive | Simple Infinitive | to + verb | Her plan is always been to return to her homeland. |
| Perfective Infinitive | to + have + past participle | She hoped to have earned the gold medal by the time she was twenty. | |
| Progressive Infinitive | to + be + present participle | Their goal is to be working by March. | |
| Perfective Progressive Infinitive | to + have + been + present participle | We wanted to have been hiking by now. | |
| Passive Infinitive | to + be + past participle | The suggestion to be seen by a surgeon was never followed. | |
| Perfective Passive Infinitive | to + have + been + past participle | They were happy to have been chosen for the award. | |
Perbedaan Gerund dan Infinitive
Beberapa kata kerja tertentu seperti kata kerja mengenai emosi, penyelesaian, dan kata kerja “remember”) dapat dipengaruhi oleh pemilihan untuk menggunakan gerund atau infinitive.
Seperti yang telah dijelaskan di atas, gerund dan infinitive mempunyai fungsi yang sama sebagai subjek maupun objek, dan keduanya mempunyai makna yang sama.
Contoh:
- Gerund: To eat too much sugar is not healthy.
- Infinitive: Eating too much sugar is not healthy.
Namun, untuk beberapa kasus, kita memilih gerund atau infinitive berdasarkan makna yang ingin diungkapkan. Kita dapat menggunakan gerund untuk mendeskripsikan akasi yang aktual. Di sisi lain, kita menggunakan infinitive untuk mendeskripsikan aksi yang akan terjadi,
Contoh:
- Gerund: Playing golf everyday is boring.
- Infinitive: To play golf everyday would be my idea of happy retirement.
Referensi
Frodesen, J. & Eyring, J. (2000). Grammar Dimensions 4: Form, Meaning, and Use. Boston: Hainle & Hainle.
Thewlis, Stephen H. (2000). Grammar Dimensions 3: Form, Meaning, and Use. Boston: Hainle & Hainle.
Artikel: Gerund and Infinitives
Kontributor: Nanda Widya, S.Hum.
Alumni Sastra Inggris FIB UI
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