The English Education Students’ Ability In Using Gerund And Infinitive

Abstract

In learning a language, we often find some words that have the same meaning but different functions. In English and Indonesian grammar, we also find verbs that occupy the function of nouns. It is a gerund. Gerund and infinitive are materials that have to be learned in grammar to make good sentences. Broukal (2005) states that "Gerund is a base verb -ing that works like a noun, a gerund can be a subject or an object in a sentence". Besides, Warriner (1982) also states that "an infinitive is a verb form, usually preceded by to, that is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb”. Gerunds and infinitives persist in being a major problem for students i n l e a r n i n g English because most of languages have infinitives but not gerunds. Students often find it difficult to distinguish either they should use gerund or infinitive in a certain context. One of the problems for learners is to know which verbs in English are followed by the infinitive and which verbs take the –ing form. The problem is complicated by the fact that there are some verbs that can take both forms, but with a different meaning. This research had purpose to reveal the ability of students of English Language Education Study Program batch 2018 of Lambung Mangkurat University in using gerund and infinitive. The method of this research was a descriptive quantitative method. The research found out that the ability of students in using gerund and infinitive was average 69.47, in using gerund was average 75.04, and in using the infinitive was average 63.90. As conclusion, their ability in using gerund and infinitive was in average to good category.