Gerunds and Infinitives in English (B1)
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Some verbs are followed by the -ing form and others by to + verb, and choosing wrongly is a common mistake. This lesson gives you clear patterns and lists to help you decide with confidence.
When one verb follows another, English forces a choice: gerund (-ing) or infinitive (to + verb). I enjoy swimming but I want to swim. There is no way to reason this out from meaning alone in most cases — the first verb simply dictates which form follows it, and those patterns have to be learned.
There are broad tendencies that help. Verbs about liking, disliking and continuing tend to take gerunds: enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, keep. Verbs about wanting, planning and deciding tend to take infinitives: want, hope, decide, promise, agree, offer. Prepositions always take gerunds, without exception.
A small but important group takes both, with a genuine change of meaning. I stopped smoking means you quit; I stopped to smoke means you paused in order to have one. These pairs — stop, remember, forget, try, regret, go on — are regularly tested and worth learning individually.
How to form Gerunds and Infinitives
| Pattern | Verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb + -ing | enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, keep, practise, deny | She avoided answering. |
| verb + to + infinitive | want, hope, decide, promise, agree, offer, refuse, manage | He agreed to help. |
| verb + object + to | tell, ask, advise, allow, persuade, remind, want | She told me to wait. |
| verb + bare infinitive | make, let, help (also with to) | They made me wait. Let me try. |
| preposition + -ing | after any preposition | interested in learning, good at cooking |
| both, same meaning | begin, start, continue, like, love, hate, prefer | It began to rain / raining. |
| both, different meaning | stop, remember, forget, try, regret, go on | I stopped smoking / to smoke. |
Gerunds and Infinitives: the key rules
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Some verbs take the gerund (enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, mind); others take the to-infinitive (want, decide, hope, plan, agree).
She enjoys hiking but wants to try climbing.
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After prepositions, always the gerund.
I'm interested in learning Arabic. Thanks for coming.
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Some verbs change meaning: stop, remember, forget, try.
I stopped smoking (quit). I stopped to smoke (paused in order to).
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Gerunds also serve as subjects.
Swimming keeps me sane.
When to use Gerunds and Infinitives
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Talking about preferences
Like, love, hate and prefer accept both forms with little difference in meaning.
I love cooking. I'd love to cook for you sometime.
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Reporting what someone told you to do
The verb + object + infinitive pattern is central to reported commands and requests.
The doctor advised me to rest. She reminded him to call.
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Using verbs after prepositions
An absolute rule — any verb following a preposition takes the -ing form.
She's good at negotiating. He apologised for being late.
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Expressing purpose
The infinitive of purpose answers why, and is one of the most frequent infinitive uses.
I went to the bank to withdraw some cash.
Verbs that change meaning
With this small group, the choice is not stylistic — it changes what actually happened.
verb + -ing — the action already happened
The gerund refers backwards to something completed or habitual.
I stopped smoking. (I quit) I remember locking the door. (I did, and I recall it)
verb + to — the action comes after
The infinitive refers forwards to something intended or subsequent.
I stopped to smoke. (I paused in order to) I remembered to lock the door. (I didn't forget)
Gerunds and Infinitives in example sentences
- She suggested meeting on Thursday.suggest always takes -ing, never an infinitive.
- They refused to sign the agreement.refuse takes an infinitive.
- He persuaded me to reconsider.verb + object + infinitive.
- My parents let me choose my own subjects.let takes a bare infinitive — no to.
- I'm looking forward to hearing from you.to here is a preposition, so -ing follows.
- I forgot to send the invoice.The invoice was never sent.
- I'll never forget seeing the Northern Lights.The experience happened and is memorable.
- Try restarting it. If that fails, try to call support.try + -ing means experiment; try + to means attempt.
Gerunds and Infinitives in a real conversation
Several changing-meaning verbs appear — check what each one implies actually happened.
Nina:Did you remember to book the venue?
Otto:I remember calling them, but I'm not sure I confirmed.
Nina:You should try emailing instead. They never answer the phone.
Otto:I've stopped trying to reach them directly, to be honest.
Nina:I'd suggest going in person, then.
Otto:Good idea. I'll stop by on my way home to sort it out.
Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
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I enjoy to travel.
I enjoy travelling.
Enjoy belongs to the gerund family — no infinitive allowed.
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She's good at cook.
She's good at cooking.
After a preposition the verb must wear its -ing form.
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Remember posting the letter tomorrow.
Remember to post the letter tomorrow.
Remember + to-infinitive = future duty; remember + gerund = a past memory. The wrong choice changes the meaning entirely.
Check yourself: 10 Gerunds and Infinitives questions
Answer these and see the reason for each one. They are 10 of the 60 exercises in the full Gerunds and Infinitives practice set.
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I really enjoy ___ early in the morning.
- to running
- to run
- running
- run
Show answer
running — Enjoy always takes the -ing form.
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Would you mind ___ the door?
- close
- closed
- to close
- closing
Show answer
closing — Mind is one of the verbs that must be followed by an -ing form.
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She suggested ___ the meeting until Thursday.
- postponing
- to postponing
- to postpone
- postpone
Show answer
postponing — Suggest never takes a to-infinitive, despite how often learners use one.
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'Try adding more salt' means ___.
- make an effort to add salt
- experiment with adding salt to see if it helps
- avoid adding salt
- remember to add salt
Show answer
experiment with adding salt to see if it helps — Try plus -ing means experiment; try plus to-infinitive means make an effort at something difficult.
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We managed ___ the last train by two minutes.
- catch
- to catching
- to catch
- catching
Show answer
to catch — Manage plus a to-infinitive describes a difficult success.
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After ___ the report, she went straight home.
- finished
- to finish
- finish
- finishing
Show answer
finishing — After functions as a preposition here, so the -ing form is required.
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I cannot stand ___ in long queues.
Show answer
waiting — Can't stand belongs to the group of verbs taking an -ing form.
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I am not used to ___ up quite so early.
Show answer
getting — The to in be used to is a preposition, so an -ing form must follow.
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I remember ___ him at a conference years ago.
Show answer
meeting — Remember plus -ing refers to a memory of a past event.
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He tried ___ the window, but it was painted shut.
Show answer
opening — Try plus -ing means experimenting with a method to see whether it works.
Practise Gerunds and Infinitives today
Learn the verb patterns in groups rather than trying to reason each case out.
- Make two lists of fifteen verbs each: those taking -ing and those taking to.
- Write eight sentences using verb + object + infinitive with different verbs.
- Write six pairs with stop, remember, forget and try showing both meanings.
- Correct these: I enjoy to read. — She suggested to meet. — He made me to wait.
Gerunds and Infinitives: frequently asked questions
Is there any logic to which verbs take which form?
Some. Gerunds tend to follow verbs about experiences already underway or completed — enjoy, finish, avoid, keep, deny. Infinitives tend to follow verbs about intentions and future actions — want, hope, plan, decide, promise. The tendency is real but leaks badly, so treat it as a helpful hint rather than a rule and learn the frequent verbs individually.
Why is it looking forward to hearing and not to hear?
Because to in this expression is a preposition, not part of an infinitive. Prepositions are always followed by an -ing form, so hearing is required. The same applies to be used to doing, object to doing, in addition to doing and get round to doing. Test it by trying a noun after to — I look forward to the weekend works, which confirms to is a preposition.
When do verbs take a bare infinitive with no to?
After make, let and the modal verbs. They made me wait, She let him go, You must leave. Help takes either — help me carry or help me to carry — with the bare form more common. Note that in the passive, make regains its to: I was made to wait. This is a small, closed set worth memorising.
Which changing-meaning verbs matter most?
Stop, remember, forget and try are the four that appear most often and are tested most frequently. Regret and go on follow. The pattern is consistent across all of them: the gerund points backwards to something that already happened, and the infinitive points forwards to something intended or subsequent. Learning the pattern is more efficient than memorising six separate pairs.