Formas Verbales del Inglés: Infinitivos, Gerundios y Participios
Las formas verbales del inglés determinan el significado, la gramática y el estilo. Usar un infinitivo o un gerundio tras un verbo puede cambiar completamente el mensaje. Esta guía cubre seis categorías esenciales con ejemplos reales y tarjetas con búsqueda.
48 items · 6 topics
"want to do"
infinitive after verbs of desire
"She wants to learn Spanish before travelling."
"decide to leave"
infinitive after decision verbs
"He decided to leave the company last month."
"too tired to run"
infinitive expressing result after too + adjective
"I was too tired to run another kilometre."
"in order to save"
infinitive expressing purpose
"She studies hard in order to save time later."
"seem to understand"
infinitive after linking verbs
"They seem to understand the instructions perfectly."
"make someone cry"
bare infinitive after causative make
"That film always makes me cry."
"let him go"
bare infinitive after let
"The teacher let the students go five minutes early."
"old enough to vote"
infinitive after adjective + enough
"At eighteen you are old enough to vote."
"enjoy swimming"
gerund after verbs of enjoyment
"She enjoys swimming in the sea every morning."
"avoid making mistakes"
gerund after avoidance verbs
"Proofread carefully to avoid making mistakes."
"keep practising"
gerund after keep meaning continue
"Keep practising and your accent will improve."
"mind closing the door"
gerund after mind in polite requests
"Would you mind closing the door, please?"
"finish writing"
gerund after finish
"I need to finish writing the report by Friday."
"can't help laughing"
gerund after can't help
"I can't help laughing every time I watch that clip."
"worth reading"
gerund after worth
"This book is definitely worth reading twice."
"good at explaining"
gerund after preposition
"She is very good at explaining complex ideas."
"the running water"
present participle as pre-noun modifier
"Listen to the sound of the running water."
"broken window"
past participle as pre-noun modifier
"The landlord repaired the broken window."
"walking down the street"
present participle clause replacing adverb clause
"Walking down the street, she saw an old friend."
"having finished the test"
perfect participle for completed prior action
"Having finished the test, he handed it to the teacher."
"exhausted by the heat"
past participle clause showing cause
"Exhausted by the heat, they stopped for water."
"the results obtained"
past participle in post-noun modification
"The results obtained were better than expected."
"sitting there quietly"
present participle describing simultaneous action
"She sat at the desk, working quietly."
"given more time"
past participle in conditional sense
"Given more time, they could have done better."
"have already eaten"
present perfect for completed action with present relevance
"I've already eaten, thanks."
"had left before she arrived"
past perfect for earlier past action
"By the time she arrived, everyone had left."
"will have finished by noon"
future perfect for action completed before a future point
"She will have finished the report by noon."
"have been waiting for hours"
present perfect continuous for ongoing action
"We have been waiting here for two hours."
"had been studying all night"
past perfect continuous for ongoing action before past event
"He had been studying all night when the alarm rang."
"should have called"
perfect modal for past obligation not fulfilled
"You should have called before coming over."
"must have forgotten"
perfect modal for deduction about the past
"She must have forgotten about the meeting."
"could have been worse"
perfect modal for unrealised past possibility
"It was a bad fall, but it could have been worse."
"is working right now"
present continuous for action in progress
"She is working on the project right now."
"was sleeping when you called"
past continuous for interrupted action
"He was sleeping when you called."
"will be travelling next week"
future continuous for action in progress at a future time
"I will be travelling next week, so call me after."
"always losing his keys"
present continuous with always for annoying habit
"He is always losing his keys."
"are meeting tomorrow"
present continuous for fixed future arrangement
"We are meeting the client tomorrow at ten."
"was constantly interrupting"
past continuous with constantly for repeated past habit
"She was constantly interrupting during the lecture."
"has been raining all day"
present perfect continuous for recent prolonged action
"It has been raining all day — the streets are flooded."
"will be waiting at the gate"
future continuous for parallel future action
"I will be waiting at the gate when you land."
"have your hair cut"
have + object + past participle for arranged service
"She had her hair cut at the salon yesterday."
"get the car repaired"
get + object + past participle (informal causative)
"You should get the car repaired before the trip."
"make the students repeat"
make + object + bare infinitive for forced action
"The teacher made the students repeat the exercise."
"let the children play"
let + object + bare infinitive for permission
"They let the children play in the garden."
"have someone deliver it"
have + object + bare infinitive for arranged action
"Can you have someone deliver the package today?"
"get him to sign"
get + object + to-infinitive for persuaded action
"She managed to get him to sign the contract."
"had the report checked"
have something done passive causative
"He had the report checked by a colleague."
"got the project approved"
get something done for bureaucratic success
"She finally got the project approved by the board."
Preguntas frecuentes
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre un gerundio y un participio de presente?
Ambos terminan en -ing, pero funcionan de forma distinta. El gerundio actúa como sustantivo ("Swimming is good exercise"), mientras que el participio de presente actúa como adjetivo o forma parte de un verbo continuo ("She is swimming"). La prueba clave: ¿puedes reemplazarlo por un sustantivo? Si es así, es un gerundio.
¿Cuándo usar el infinitivo en lugar del gerundio?
La elección la dicta el verbo principal. Verbos como want, decide, promise y hope llevan infinitivo. Verbos como enjoy, avoid, finish y keep llevan gerundio. Algunos verbos como remember, stop y try admiten ambas formas con significados distintos: "I stopped to smoke" (paré para fumar) frente a "I stopped smoking" (dejé de fumar).
¿Qué es el participio perfecto y cuándo se usa?
El participio perfecto se forma con having + participio pasado (p. ej., "having finished"). Indica que una acción se completó antes que otra en la misma oración. Ejemplo: "Having checked all the data, she submitted the report." Es habitual en el lenguaje formal y sustituye a las oraciones adverbiales.
¿Qué es la estructura causativa en inglés?
El causativo describe que otra persona realiza algo por encargo. Los patrones principales son: have/get + objeto + participio pasado para servicios ("I had my car serviced") y have/get + objeto + infinitivo para instrucciones directas ("She got him to sign it"). Es esencial en el inglés profesional y formal.
¿Cómo elegir entre formas perfectas y continuas?
La forma perfecta (have + participio pasado) se centra en el resultado o la relación con el presente. La forma continua (be + -ing) se centra en el proceso. La forma perfecta continua (have been + -ing) combina ambas: destaca una acción prolongada con un resultado actual, p. ej.: "I've been studying — that's why I'm tired."
Las formas verbales se fijan más rápido cuando las escuchas en el habla natural.
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