To Omit vs Omitting Infinitives & Gerunds

When and How to Use Each Expression?

Get a sense of when and how each expression can be used through the following examples!

To omit (Infinitive)

Purpose or Intention: Use the infinitive "to omit" when you want to express a purpose, intention, desire, or potential action

Example

I promise to omit any irrelevant details in the report.

Omitting (Gerund)

Activity or Experience: Use the gerund "omitting" when you want to refer to the activity itself or the experience as a noun.

Example

Omitting irrelevant details can improve the clarity of the report.

Where can infinitives/gerunds be placed in a sentence?

To omit (Infinitive)

• 1. Subject

  To omit unnecessary information is important for clarity.

  To omit unnecessary information is important for clarity.

  • "*To omit* unnecessary information" serves as the subject of the sentence.
  • Infinitive phrase (subject) + verb (is) + adjective phrase (important for clarity).
• 2. Object

  She asked him to omit his name from the guest list.

  She asked him to omit his name from the guest list.

  • "Him *to omit* his name from the guest list" is the object of the verb "asked."
  • Noun (She) + verb (asked) + noun phrase (him *to omit* his name from the guest list).
• 3. Adverbial Modifier

  They worked hard to omit any errors from their presentation.

  They worked hard to omit any errors from their presentation.

  • "Hard *to omit* any errors from their presentation" modifies the verb "worked."
  • Noun phrase (They) + verb (worked) + adverb phrase (hard *to omit* any errors from their presentation).

Omitting (Gerund)

• 1. Subject

  Omitting unnecessary information is crucial for clarity.

  Omitting unnecessary information is crucial for clarity.

  • "*Omitting* unnecessary information" serves as the subject of the sentence.
  • Gerund (subject) + verb (is) + adjective phrase (crucial for clarity).
• 2. Object

  I appreciate omitting irrelevant data from the presentation.

  I appreciate omitting irrelevant data from the presentation.

  • "*Omitting* irrelevant data from the presentation" is the object of the verb "appreciate."
  • Noun (I) + verb (appreciate) + gerund (*omitting* irrelevant data from the presentation).
• 3. Object of Preposition

  He received praise for omitting unnecessary details.

  He received praise for omitting unnecessary details.

  • "For *omitting* unnecessary details" is the object of the preposition "for."
  • Noun phrase (He) + verb (received) + noun phrase (praise for *omitting* unnecessary details).

Verbs Taking Infinitives/Gerunds as Objects

The following are verbs that can take only the base form of the verb (infinitive), only the -ing form (gerund), or both.

Verbs Taking Infinitives as Objects

• plan
• refuse
• want
• decide
• choose

Example

He plans to omit irrelevant sections from the document.

She refused to omit any important details from her speech.

We want you to omit any sensitive information from the report.

They decided to omit the controversial paragraph from the article.

I chose to omit the unnecessary scenes from the movie.

Verbs Taking Gerunds as Objects

• avoid
• consider
• recommend
• mind
• resist

Example

They avoided omitting any important information from the report.

We are considering omitting certain sections from the final draft.

Experts recommend omitting irrelevant data to improve readability.

I don't mind omitting personal anecdotes from my presentation.

She resisted omitting any essential details from the article.

Verbs Taking Both Infinitives and Gerunds as Objects

• like
• begin
• continue

Example

He likes to omit unnecessary words from his writing style. He likes omitting unnecessary words from his writing style.

They began to omit irrelevant sections from their reports. They began omitting irrelevant sections from their reports.

She continues to omit redundant information from her presentations. She continues omitting redundant information from her presentations.