To Rebase vs Rebasing 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 rebase (Infinitive)

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

Example

I plan to rebase my branch to incorporate the latest changes.

Rebasing (Gerund)

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

Example

Rebasing can help maintain a clean commit history.

Where can infinitives/gerunds be placed in a sentence?

To rebase (Infinitive)

• 1. Subject

  To rebase is a common practice in software development.

  To rebase is a common practice in software development.

  • "*To rebase*" serves as the subject of the sentence.
  • Infinitive phrase (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (a common practice in software development).
• 2. Object

  She wants me to rebase her branch.

  She wants me to rebase her branch.

  • "Me *to rebase* her branch" is the object of the verb "wants."
  • Noun (She) + verb (wants) + noun phrase (me *to rebase* her branch).
• 3. Adjective Modifier

  We need a clean codebase to rebase our changes.

  We need a clean codebase to rebase our changes.

  • "*To rebase* our changes" modifies the noun "codebase."
  • Noun (We) + verb (need) + noun phrase (a clean codebase *to rebase* our changes).

Rebasing (Gerund)

• 1. Subject

  Rebasing is an important step in Git workflow.

  Rebasing is an important step in Git workflow.

  • "*Rebasing*" is the subject of the sentence.
  • Gerund (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (an important step in Git workflow).
• 2. Object

  I enjoy rebasing my branches for better organization.

  I enjoy rebasing my branches for better organization.

  • "*Rebasing* my branches" is the object of the verb "enjoy."
  • Noun (I) + verb (enjoy) + gerund (*rebasing* my branches).
• 3. Object of Preposition

  She has a preference for rebasing her code before submitting it.

  She has a preference for rebasing her code before submitting it.

  • "For *rebasing* her code" is the object of the preposition "for."
  • Noun phrase (She) + verb (has) + noun phrase (a preference for *rebasing* her code).

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

• decide
• hope
• want
• attempt
• refuse

Example

They decided to rebase their branch before merging.

I hope to rebase my code before the deadline.

He wants to rebase his changes on the main branch.

We attempted to rebase the feature branch, but encountered conflicts.

She refused to rebase her code because of the complexity.

Verbs Taking Gerunds as Objects

• avoid
• consider
• recommend
• postpone
• imagine

Example

They avoid rebasing their branches frequently.

I am considering rebasing my code to fix the issues.

Experts recommend regularly rebasing your feature branches.

He decided to postpone rebasing until the code review is complete.

Can you imagine rebasing your code without any conflicts?

Verbs Taking Both Infinitives and Gerunds as Objects

• like
• start
• begin

Example

She likes to rebase her branches for a cleaner commit history. She likes rebasing her branches for a cleaner commit history.

We started to rebase our codebase for better collaboration. We started rebasing our codebase for better collaboration.

He began to rebase his branch to include the latest changes. He began rebasing his branch to include the latest changes.