There is a curious corollary to the principle of trying to win the big pots right away

[Makhmud]

While reading a book, I came across a sentence with a curious grammar construction which got me utterly confused. Here it is :

"There is a curious corollary to the principle of trying to win the big pots right away (The Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky)."

I mean the structure "of trying to win the big pots". In this case "trying" plays a gerund role but I am not able to understand absolutely why the infinitive "to win" follows the gerund "trying".

I looked up all my grammar books in which I did not find any mention that it would be possible to use a gerund in conjunction with an infinitive. Could anyone tell me if it is possible to use a gerund in conjunction with an infinitive. And if so, where could I read about such a gerund?

I also wonder if it is possible to use such constructions:

1. A gerund + any infinitive from a vocabulary

Promising to release her was a joke.
After trying to achieve a bit better result he was completely exhausted.

1. A gerund + a passive infinitive

His pretending to be exhausted was ridiculous.

1. A gerund + a passive perfect infinitive

His behaving to have already been exposed seemed ludicrous

1. A gerund + a negative passive infinitive

Her trying not to be seen as an amateur player was exposed immediately.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think you're parsing it wrong. It's "the principle of" ... "trying to win the big pots right away". I'm sure you're familiar with the construction "trying + to infinitive".
Trying to win the big pots right away is a specific principle in poker.

 

[Makhmud]

I think you're parsing it wrong. It's "the principle of" ... "trying to win the big pots right away". I'm sure you're familiar with the construction "trying + to infinitive".
Trying to win the big pots right away is a specific principle in poker.

I am sorry, unfortunately I did not get your idea. Naturally speaking, I know that it is possible to use a verb try with either an infinitive or a gerund, because there are a lot of examples of such using in any public dictionaries.

I have not found any information in grammar books whether it is possible to use a verb (any verb, not only "try") after a gerund.

Is it correct to say something like that
"Promising to release her was a joke" ?

And generally, is it possible to use after a gerund, for example, a perfect infinitive, or a passive infinitive, or a negative infinitive?
Can I say, for example, "His behaving to have already been exposed seemed ludicrous"?

I have never faced such a construction in books and unfortunately I have not found a part of the English grammar where such a subject is described. That is why I am asking

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it correct to say something like that "Promising to release her was a joke"?

Yes.

Can I say, for example, "His behaving to have already been exposed seemed ludicrous"?

No. I have no idea what that sentence is supposed to mean. We don't use "behave to".

 

[Makhmud]

Yes.

No. I have no idea what that sentence is supposed to mean. We don't use "behave to".

Seemingly, I see what you mean. If I got your idea right, you mean to say that it is absolutely correct to use a verb after a gerund only if any 2 verbs can be used together.

For example, there are 2 verbs to finish and to make, which can be used together, so it is grammatically correct to say
"After finishing to make bread, you should taste a piece of it instantly".

I also tried to make a sentence with a gerund + a perfect and perfect continuous infinitive. I do not know if it is correct to say like
In the court he looked uncertain about claiming to have loved her.
In the court he looked uncertain about claiming to have been loving her so far.

I wonder if it is possible to use a gerund with a negative infinitive like
His primary task was helping not to damage the equipment.

I am terribly sorry that I am asking a lot of boring questions which probably annoy you but I really want to understand all the possible variants of using a gerund, because I like this part of speech and often use it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Seemingly, I see what you mean. If I got your idea right understand you correctly, you mean to say that it is absolutely correct to use a verb after a gerund only if any 2 verbs can be used together. I don't know what the underlined part means.

For example, there are 2 the verbs "to finish" and "to make" , which can be used together, so it is grammatically correct to say
"After finishing to make bread, you should taste a piece of it instantly".

No. That's wrong. It's "After finishing making bread, ...".

I have also tried to make a sentence with a gerund + a perfect and perfect continuous infinitive. I do not know if it is the following are correct: to say like
In the court, he looked uncertain about claiming to have loved her. Grammatically correct (with my changes at the start).
In the court, he looked uncertain about claiming to have been loving her so far. The underlined part doesn't make sense. Please try to explain it a different way.

I wonder if it is possible to use a gerund with a negative infinitive, like such as:
His primary task was helping not to damage the equipment. Grammatically sound but I don't know what it means.

I am terribly sorry that I am asking a lot of boring questions which probably annoy you but I really want to understand all the possible variants of using a gerund, because I like this part of speech and often use it. There is no need to apologise but you should make your questions clearer and shorter. Please ask us about just one sentence per post.

 

[Tarheel]

Please tell me what it means to taste something instantly. Do you mean "right away"?

 

[Makhmud]

Please tell me what it means to taste something instantly. Do you mean "right away"?

Yes, of course. I mistook and meant "immediately" instead of "instantly"

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, of course. I mistook made a mistake. and I meant "immediately", instead of not "instantly".

 

[jutfrank]

The original sentence uses the following verb pattern:

to try to do something

In this pattern, the first verb try is followed by second verb in the to-infinitive form. You can use this pattern in various grammatical ways, changing the form of the first verb as appropriate.

I try to eat well.
I tried to eat well.
I'm trying to eat well.

Only the first verb of the pattern can appear in different forms. The second verb must always be in the to-infinitive form.