Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and infinitives are sometimes referred to as verb complements. They may
function as subjects or objects in a sentence.

What are Gerunds?

A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as a noun that names
an activity rather than a person or thing. Any action verb can be made into a gerund.

Spelling Tip
Verbing (Present Participle)

 Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark > barking
 For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide > sliding, ride > riding
 For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die > dying, tie > tying
 For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-consonant and is
stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex: beg > begging, begin >
beginning. However: enter > entering (last syllable is not stressed)

Gerund Examples
Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject:

1. Jogging is a hobby of mine.

Gerunds can act as an object following the verb:

1. Daniel quit smoking a year ago.

Gerunds can serve as an object after a preposition:

1. I look forward to helping you paint the house.

Note: The same spelling rules that apply to the progressive tenses also apply to gerunds.

Some verbs and verb phrases are directly followed a gerund:

1. Paul avoids using chemicals on the vegetables he grows.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change in

meaning:
 1. Some people prefer getting up early in the morning.
2. Some people prefer to get up early in the morning

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning:

1. He remembered sending the fax. (He remembered the act of send the fax)
2. He remembered to send the fax. (He remembered the fax and sent it.)

What are Infinitives?

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It is formed
with to + base form of the verb. Ex: to buy, to work.

Infinitive Examples
Infinitives can be used as:

an object following the verb:

1. Jim always forgets to eat

a subject at the beginning of a sentence:

1. To travel around the world requires a lot of time and money.

an adverb modifying a verb:

1. You promised to buy me a diamond ring.

an adjective modifying a noun:

1. Tara has the ability to succeed.

Some verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:

1. Do you want to call your family now?

Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive:

1. I convinced Catherine to become vegetarian.

2. He advised me to sell all my shares of stock.
Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without causing a change in
meaning:

1. Will you continue working after you give birth?

2. Will you continue to work after you give birth?

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a change in meaning:

1. He stopped drinking coffee. (He never drank coffee again.)

2. He stopped to drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank some
coffee.)

Verbs change their meaning when they are followed by a Gerund or an Infinitive

Some verbs have different meanings when they are follwed by a gerund or an infinitive.

forget

GERUND
looks back in the past
He'll never forget spending so much money
on his first computer.
INFINITIVE
looks into the future
Don't forget to spend money on the tickets.

go on

GERUND INFINITIVE
to continue with the same thing to change the activity
Go on reading the text. Go on to read the text.

mean

GERUND INFINITIVE
sth. has to be done to get a result intend to do sth.
You have forgotten your homework again. I meant to phone your mother, but my
That means phoning your mother. mobile didn't work.

regret

GERUND INFINITIVE
you did sth in the past and you are not to tell bad news and you are not happy
happy about it about it
 GERUND INFINITIVE
you did sth in the past and you are not to tell bad news and you are not happy
happy about it about it
We regret to inform you that the flight has
I regret being late for school.
beeen delayed for another two hours.

remember

GERUND INFINITIVE
looks back in the past looks into the future
I remember switching off the lights when I Remember to switch off the lights when
went on holiday. you go on holiday.

stop

GERUND INFINITIVE
to stop with an activity to stop in order to do sth.
I stopped smoking. I stopped to smoke.

try

GERUND INFINITIVE
to test sth. to do sth. that is not easy
I tried taking an aspirin but it didn't help. Try to be quiet when you come home late.

The following words are a little more tricky.

like

I like reading books. = I like to read books.

There is normally no difference in meaning.

 Use the Gerund when like is used in the sense of 'enjoy'.

Example: I like riding my bike.
 Use the Infinitive when you do sth. in the sense of a habit.
Example: I like to do my homework in the afternoon. (I think, it is good to do my
homework in the afternoon).
Mind the following examples:

 I like watching films.

 I would like to watch the film.

be afraid

Use the Gerund when you worry about sth.

 I'm afraid of having an accident.

In other cases there is no difference in meaning whether we use Gerund or Infinitive.

 I'm afraid to go by bike on this road. = I'm afraid of going by bike on this road.

need

If we use a Gerund after need, then the sentcene has a passive meaning:

 The window needs cleaning.

used to

The form to be used to + Gerund means that the person is familiar with sth.

 He is used to smoking. (He still smokes.)

The form used to + Infinitive means that the person did sth. in the past.

 He used to smoke. (He does not smoke any more.)

Attention!

 He is used to smoke. (This sentence is wrong.)

 When to Use Gerunds and Infinitives: 5 Simple Rules for English Learners

What is your hobby?

What do you love doing?

Going to the beach? Playing video games? Hiking (walking)? Singing? Dancing?

Nice! These are all examples of gerunds.

Now, what if I ask you what you want to do every day?

Maybe you are learning to draw. Maybe all you want to do is to read comic books.
Maybe you are planning to start your own business. Or maybe you will soon decide to
travel the world!

These are also hobbies, aren’t they? But we used infinitives to describe them.

Gerunds and infinitives are very common in the English language. They can be used in
many situations. Sometimes you may use an infinitive and a gerund. Sometimes you have
to choose between the two, because using one may be completely wrong.

Does it get confusing? Yes it does!

So how do you know when to use an infinitive and when to use a gerund? Our five
 What Is an Infinitive? What Is a Gerund?

An infinitive is the verb form that has “to” at the beginning. For example, “to do,” “to
sleep,” “to love” and “to create.” It is the simplest verb form that you have to modify to
fit into sentences.

For example, “She sleeps” no longer contains the infinitive of the verb “to sleep.”
Instead, it has been conjugated into the simple present third person form of the verb “to
sleep”: sleeps.

Infinitives are easy!

How about gerunds?

Gerunds are formed by adding “-ing” to the verb: “sleeping,” “drawing,” “swimming.”
But they are not the “-ing” verb forms that you see in the present or past continuous
tense. They look the same, but gerunds are actually verb forms used as nouns.

Let’s take the infinitive of the verb “to sleep” and use it in two different sentences:

I am sleeping.

This is the present continuous. “Sleeping” here is part of the verb. It is not a gerund.
Here’s the second sentence:

I don’t like sleeping.

This is present simple, but it contains a gerund. “Sleeping” is the direct object of this
sentence.

Now that you know the difference between infinitives and gerunds, let’s introduce the
rules that will help you use both correctly.

5 Simple Rules to Master the Use of Gerunds and Infinitives

Rule 1: Gerunds can be used as a subject of a sentence.

Take a look at some examples.

Walking is good for your health.

Making friends has become more difficult since I moved to a new city.

Becoming a millionaire is a dream of many young people today.

Here, the gerunds (in bold) are part of the sentence subjects (“walking,” “making
friends,” “becoming a millionaire”). All three sentences sound like normal, everyday
English.

Now read these two sentences:

“To be or not to be—that is the question.”

“To mourn a mischief that is past and gone is the next way to draw new mischief on.”

(Both sentences are quotes from William Shakespeare’s works.)

They sound formal, don’t they? They are poetic, aren’t they? Shakespeare is one of the
greatest authors of all time, but his English is famously difficult to understand. And that’s
because it is literature. It is formal and it is art.

In those two quotes, the infinitives “to be” and “to mourn” are used as the sentence
subjects.

So, it is possible to use both infinitives and gerunds as subjects, but gerunds are much
more commonly used as subjects. Just pay attention to how the choice reflects on the tone
and meaning of your sentences.

Rule 2: Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as objects of a sentence.

You may say:

“I enjoy drawing.”

You may also say:

“Yesterday, I decided to draw.”

Both sentences are correct, but one has an infinitive as the object and the other has a
gerund as the object.

What is the difference?

It’s the verbs that precede (come before) the object! Some verbs require a gerund and
some will require an infinitive. In the above examples, we can see that the formula is
“enjoy” + [gerund] and “decide” + [infinitive].

With practice, you will be able to remember which one is which.

Here are a few examples of verbs that need to be followed by an infinitive:

 agree: I agreed to go to a party with my friend.

 decide: The president decided not to participate in the discussions.

 deserve: Everyone deserves to be respected.

 expect: I expect to know my exam grade by tomorrow.

 hope: We were hoping to avoid traffic by leaving early.

 learn: He learned not to trust anyone.

 need: She needs to learn how to cook.

 offer: I offered to help my brother with homework.

 plan: We are planning to watch a movie tonight.

 promise: My friend promised to find the time to help me move.

 seem: We seem to be lost.

 wait: I cannot wait to see my family.

 want: I don’t want to go to bed yet.

There are lots of verbs that require an infinitive after. You will learn them naturally, as
you progress in your English studies.

And here are a few examples of verbs that need to be followed by a gerund:

 admit: They admitted changing the schedule.

 advise: I advise proceeding (moving forward) with caution.

 avoid: She avoided looking me in the eye.

 consider (think about): I considered staying silent, but I had to tell her.

 deny: I denied knowing about his secret.

 involve: The course involved writing three tests.

 mention (say something): She mentioned seeing my brother at a baseball game.

 recommend: I recommend practicing gerunds and infinitives.

 risk: Don’t risk losing your job!

 suggest: I suggest reading more English short stor