You already know to do and doing. At B2, these forms can also be perfect, passive and continuous: to have done, being done, to be doing. They let you talk about time and about who does the action with much more precision.Você já conhece to do e doing. No B2, essas formas também podem ser perfeitas, passivas e contínuas: to have done, being done, to be doing. Elas permitem falar do tempo e de quem faz a ação com muito mais precisão.
B2 The full picture
Both the infinitive and the gerund have simple, perfect, passive and continuous forms. The perfect forms show that the action happened before the main verb. The passive forms show that the subject receives the action.Tanto o infinitivo quanto o gerúndio têm formas simples, perfeitas, passivas e contínuas. As formas perfeitas mostram que a ação aconteceu antes do verbo principal. As formas passivas mostram que o sujeito sofre a ação.
| Form | Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|---|
| simple | to invite | inviting |
| perfect | to have invited | having invited |
| passive | to be invited | being invited |
| perfect passive | to have been invited | having been invited |
| continuous | to be inviting | (rare) |
Same pattern, new forms
The verb before still decides the pattern. If a verb takes the infinitive (seem, hope, expect), it takes all the infinitive forms. If it takes the gerund (deny, admit, enjoy), it takes all the gerund forms.O verbo anterior continua decidindo a estrutura. Se um verbo pede infinitivo (seem, hope, expect), ele aceita todas as formas do infinitivo. Se pede gerúndio (deny, admit, enjoy), aceita todas as formas do gerúndio.
B2 Perfect forms: to have done, having done
Use the perfect infinitive after verbs like seem, appear, claim, pretend and be said / believed when the action is earlier than the main verb. Brazilians often say “he seems that he forgot”; the natural English is he seems to have forgotten.Use o infinitivo perfeito depois de verbos como seem, appear, claim, pretend e be said / believed quando a ação é anterior ao verbo principal. Os brasileiros costumam dizer “he seems that he forgot”; o natural em inglês é he seems to have forgotten (parece que ele esqueceu).
- The printer seems to have stopped working. (Parece que a impressora parou de funcionar.)
- He claims to have met Neymar at the airport. (Ele afirma ter conhecido o Neymar no aeroporto.)
- I would like to have studied abroad when I was younger. (Eu teria gostado de ter estudado fora quando era mais novo.)
The perfect gerund (having + past participle) appears after deny, admit, regret, remember and after prepositions. It stresses that the action is finished and earlier. With these verbs, the simple gerund is also correct, because the meaning already shows the past.O gerúndio perfeito (having + particípio) aparece depois de deny, admit, regret, remember e depois de preposições. Ele reforça que a ação já terminou e é anterior. Com esses verbos, o gerúndio simples também está correto, porque o sentido já mostra o passado.
- The student denied having copied the answers. (O aluno negou ter copiado as respostas.)
- Having finished her shift, Carla went straight home. (Depois de terminar o plantão, a Carla foi direto para casa.)
- I regret not having learned to swim as a child. (Eu me arrependo de não ter aprendido a nadar quando criança.)
B2 Passive forms: to be done, being done
Use the passive infinitive (to be + past participle) and the passive gerund (being + past participle) when the subject receives the action. This is very common with feelings: I hate being interrupted, Everyone wants to be respected.Use o infinitivo passivo (to be + particípio) e o gerúndio passivo (being + particípio) quando o sujeito sofre a ação. É muito comum com sentimentos: I hate being interrupted (odeio ser interrompido), Everyone wants to be respected (todo mundo quer ser respeitado).
Active
The subject does the action.O sujeito faz a ação.
Lucas loves inviting friends over. (O Lucas adora convidar amigos para ir à casa dele.)
Passive
The subject receives the action.O sujeito recebe a ação.
Lucas loves being invited to parties. (O Lucas adora ser convidado para festas.)
- The documents need to be signed by Friday. (Os documentos precisam ser assinados até sexta.)
- She was afraid of being left alone at the bus station. (Ela tinha medo de ser deixada sozinha na rodoviária.)
- I expected to be called for the interview. (Eu esperava ser chamado para a entrevista.)
- My car needs washing. (Meu carro precisa ser lavado.)
Need doing = need to be done
After need, the -ing form has a passive meaning: The walls need painting = The walls need to be painted. Do not say “need being painted”.Depois de need, a forma -ing tem sentido passivo: The walls need painting = The walls need to be painted (As paredes precisam ser pintadas). Não diga “need being painted”.
B2 Continuous and perfect passive forms
The continuous infinitive (to be + -ing) describes an action in progress at the time we are talking about. It is common after seem, appear, pretend, happen and be supposed to.O infinitivo contínuo (to be + -ing) descreve uma ação em andamento no momento de que estamos falando. É comum depois de seem, appear, pretend, happen e be supposed to.
- You’re supposed to be studying, not watching series! (Era para você estar estudando, não vendo série!)
- The economy seems to be getting better. (A economia parece estar melhorando.)
- The bridge is believed to have been built in 1850. (Acredita-se que a ponte tenha sido construída em 1850.)
- Having been warned about the traffic, we left early. (Como tínhamos sido avisados sobre o trânsito, saímos cedo.)
Reporting with be said / believed
In news and academic texts, the passive with be said, be thought, be believed, be reported is followed by an infinitive. The form of the infinitive shows the time: to be (now), to be doing (in progress), to have done (before).Em notícias e textos acadêmicos, a passiva com be said, be thought, be believed, be reported é seguida de infinitivo. A forma do infinitivo mostra o tempo: to be (agora), to be doing (em andamento), to have done (antes).
The minister is reported to be considering a new tax. The pattern appears often in vestibular reading texts.The minister is reported to be considering a new tax. (Segundo informações, o ministro está considerando um novo imposto.) Essa estrutura aparece muito em textos de vestibular.
Common Mistakes
Avoid these
✗ He seems that he lost his keys. ✓ He seems to have lost his keys.Depois de seem com sujeito pessoal, use o infinitivo; para o passado, to have + particípio.
✗ I hate to be interrupting. ✓ I hate being interrupted.Quando o sujeito sofre a ação, use a passiva: being + particípio.
✗ The kitchen needs being cleaned. ✓ The kitchen needs cleaning.Use needs cleaning ou needs to be cleaned.
✗ She denied to have taken the money. ✓ She denied having taken the money.Deny pede gerúndio, inclusive na forma perfeita.
✗ The castle is said to be built in 1600. ✓ The castle is said to have been built in 1600.Para algo anterior, use o infinitivo perfeito passivo.
Quick Summary
| Form | Example | Português |
|---|---|---|
| perfect infinitive | She seems to have left. | Parece que ela já foi embora. |
| perfect gerund | He admitted having lied. | Ele admitiu ter mentido. |
| passive infinitive | I want to be promoted. | Quero ser promovido. |
| passive gerund | I hate being ignored. | Odeio ser ignorado. |
| continuous infinitive | He pretended to be sleeping. | Ele fingiu que estava dormindo. |
| perfect passive | It is thought to have been stolen. | Acredita-se que tenha sido roubado. |
Practice Time
Quiz