Gerunds & Infinitives

To start with, a gerund is simply a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing"; and an infinitive is the "to" form of a verb.

e.g

reading (gerund)

to read (infinitive)

Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a sentence without any change in meaning.

e.g

Watching the snowfall at night is my favorite activity.

My favorite activity is watching the snowfall at night .

To watch the snowfall at night is my favorite activity.

My favorite activity is to watch the snowfall at night.

watching the snowfall /

to watch the snowfall

As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. In such situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence determines whether you use a gerund or an infinitive.

e.g

He enjoys swimming. ("Enjoy" requires a gerund)

He wants to swim. ("Want" requires an infinitive)

Verbs followed by gerunds

We use "Gerunds" after certain verbs. Here are some verbs followed by a gerund:

Admit

Adore

Anticipate

Appreciate

Avoid

Complete

Consider

Delay

Deny

Detest

Discuss

Dislike

Enjoy

Endure

Envisage

Fancy

Finish

Give up

Hate

Imagine

Include

Involve

Justify

Keep

Mention

Mind

Postpone

Practise

Quit

Recollect

Recommend

Report

Resent

Resist

Risk

Suggest

Tolerate

e.g

We kept climbing.

Nick has suggested eating out.

I cannot tolerate lying.

etc.

Gerunds as an object of a preposition

Only gerunds are used after prepositions.

e.g

She is thinking about trying martial arts.

He looks forward to meeting his cousins.

Novels about growing up are popular among teenagers.

I forgive you for not telling the truth.

My mom is scared of flying.

I drank a cup of coffee before leaving

etc.

Verbs followed by infinitives

agree

aim

afford

appear

arrange

ask

care

choose

claim

consent

dare

decide

decline

demand

deserve

desire

expect

fail

guarantee

happen

hope

intend

know

learn

manage

need

offer

plan

pledge

prepare

pretend

promise

refuse

resolve

seem

tend

struggle

swear

volunteer

wait

want

wish

would like

e.g

He refused to have stolen the file.

I managed to reach the top of the hill.

We hope to see you next week.

etc.

Verb + Required Noun + Infinitive

advise

allow

cause

convince

enable

encourage

force

get (cause to)

hire

invite

order

permit

remind

require

tell

urge

warn

e.g

I advised them to see a doctor.

He encourages his patients to eat healthy foods.

They reminded me to pay the bills before the end of the month.

etc.

Verb + (Optional Noun) + Infinitive

ask

choose

expect

need

prepare

promise

threaten

want

wish

would like

e.g

I want to study Spanish.

I want my son to study Spanish.

etc.

Verbs Followed by EITHER Gerunds OR Nouns+Infinitives

advice

allow

encourage

permit

require

urge

e.g

California doesn't permit fishing without a fishing license.

California doesn't permit people to fish without a fishing license.

etc.

Infinitive after adjectives

adjective + (for/of someone) + infinitive + (rest of sentence)

e.g

Pleased to meet you.

That's very kind of you to talk to him patiently.

Good to see you!

etc.

Infinitive after nouns

noun + infinitive

e.g

It was a stupid place to park.

This is the right thing to do.

Jim is the best person to hire.

etc.

Infinitive with question words

e.g

I'm not sure I know who to call.

She asked me how to use the washing machine.

Tell me when to press the button.

etc.

Infinitive indicating purpose

e.g

I am calling to ask you about dad.

You sister has gone to finish her homework.

She came to collect her pay cheque.

etc.

to V

so as to V

in order to V

Verbs followed by gerunds and infinitives with a change in meaning

forget remember stop regret try mean

forget

e.g

Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about it.

(It's when you forget about a memory, something that you've done in the past. )

I forgot to call my mother.

(It's when you want to do something, but you forget about it. Here, I wanted to call my mother, but when it was a good time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking about something else, and the idea to call my mother didn't come into my head.)

remember

e.g

I remember going to the beach when I was a child.

(I have a memory of going to the beach).

I remembered to buy milk.

(I was walking home and the idea that I needed milk came into my head, so I bought some.)

stop

e.g

My boss came into the room, so I stopped browsing the internet.

(It means giving up an activity, doing no more)

She was shopping and she stopped to get a cup of coffee.

(It indicates purpose. She stopped shopping because she wanted to get a cup of coffee).

regret

e.g

I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today.

(You feel bad about something you did in the past and you wish you hadn't done it.)

I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.

(We use this construction when we are giving someone bad news, in quite a formal way. The verb is almost always something like 'say' or 'tell' or 'inform'. )

try

e.g

She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight.

(It was easy for her to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see if it would help her lose weight, but it didn't)

She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.

(It means that you made an effort to do the thing,)

mean

e.g

You have forgotten your homework again. That means phoning your mother.

(expresses what the result of an action will be)

I meant to phone your mother, but my mobile didn't work.

(Intending to do something)

Attention!

We also use perfect gerunds and infinitives, progressive gerunds and infinitives in addition to the ones having simple forms, in both active voice and passive voice as well.

I need to talk to him.

He is very sorry to have missed the chance of applying for the exam.

I was happy to be sent abroad.

She seems to have been dismissed from the job.

I promised to be waiting at the door when my mother came.

She's known to have been writing a novel for a while.

I am tired of arguing.

The captain was accused of having desserted his ship.

to V1 (Active simple infinitive)

to have V3 (Active perfect infinitive)

to be V3 (Passive simple infinitive)

to have been V3 (Passive perfect infinitive)