What are Gerunds and Infinitives?
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun — it names an activity: Swimming is good exercise. An infinitive is to + the base verb — it expresses purpose, intention, or a potential action: She decided to resign. Both forms can act as the subject or object of a sentence, but they are not interchangeable: the verb before them determines which form is required.
The challenge with gerunds and infinitives is that there is no single rule about which verbs take which form. Some verbs (enjoy, avoid, finish) are always followed by a gerund. Others (want, decide, hope) are always followed by an infinitive. A third group (remember, stop, try, forget) can take either form, but the meaning changes depending on which you choose.
At B1 level, the most urgent skill is memorising the most common gerund verbs and infinitive verbs and recognising that a preposition always requires a gerund, never an infinitive. At B2 and above, the focus shifts to the meaning-changing pairs — the verbs where choosing the wrong form produces a grammatically correct but semantically wrong sentence.
Gerund and Infinitive Verb Lists
There is no shortcut rule that predicts whether a verb takes a gerund or an infinitive — these lists must be learned. The most reliable strategy is to learn new verbs together with their pattern: 'enjoy doing', 'decide to do'.
Gerund: verb + -ing | Infinitive: to + base verbCommon Verbs Followed by Gerund (-ing)
| Verb | Example sentence | Note |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy | I enjoy working with data. | always gerund — never 'enjoy to work' |
| avoid | She avoided making direct eye contact. | always gerund |
| finish | He finished writing the report at midnight. | always gerund |
| suggest | They suggested meeting earlier in the week. | always gerund |
| mind | Would you mind opening the window? | always gerund — used in polite requests |
| keep | She kept checking her messages throughout the meeting. | always gerund |
| consider | We are considering moving to a smaller office. | always gerund |
| admit | He admitted making the error in the first draft. | always gerund |
| practise | Practise speaking aloud to build fluency. | always gerund |
| risk | She did not want to risk losing the contract. | always gerund |
Common Verbs Followed by Infinitive (to + verb)
| Verb | Example sentence | Note |
|---|---|---|
| want | I want to review the proposal before Thursday. | always infinitive — never 'want doing' |
| decide | They decided to postpone the launch. | always infinitive |
| hope | She hopes to hear back by Friday. | always infinitive |
| plan | We plan to expand into three new markets. | always infinitive |
| agree | He agreed to extend the deadline. | always infinitive |
| offer | She offered to cover the afternoon session. | always infinitive |
| refuse | The contractor refused to sign the revised terms. | always infinitive |
| manage | Did you manage to reach the client? | always infinitive |
| seem | The situation seems to be improving. | always infinitive |
| fail | He failed to submit the form on time. | always infinitive |
Verbs That Change Meaning — Gerund vs Infinitive
| Verb | With gerund (-ing) | With infinitive (to + verb) |
|---|---|---|
| remember | remember doing = recall a past action | remember to do = not forget a future task |
| stop | stop doing = end an activity | stop to do = pause in order to do something else |
| try | try doing = experiment to see if it helps | try to do = make an effort / attempt |
| forget | forget doing = fail to recall a past event | forget to do = fail to carry out a future task |
| regret | regret doing = feel sorry about a past action | regret to do = formal way to deliver bad news |
How to Use Gerunds and Infinitives
Gerund as Subject — naming an activity
A gerund can act as the subject of a sentence, naming an activity in the same way a noun would. This is common in general statements about activities, habits, and rules. The gerund subject is always treated as singular.
- Reading scientific papers in a second language takes longer than most people expect.
- Delegating effectively is one of the hardest skills for new managers to develop.
- Getting eight hours of sleep consistently has a measurable impact on decision-making.
Gerund After Certain Verbs — enjoy, avoid, finish, consider
A fixed group of verbs must be followed by a gerund, never by an infinitive. These verbs typically relate to feelings about activities, completion of activities, or mental consideration. If you are unsure, memorise the pattern: enjoy doing, avoid doing, finish doing, consider doing.
- She genuinely enjoys presenting to large audiences — it energises her.
- The legal team strongly advised avoiding any direct comment to the press.
- Have you finished reviewing the contract? We need sign-off today.
- The board is seriously considering relocating the headquarters.
Infinitive After Certain Verbs — want, decide, hope, plan
A different fixed group of verbs must be followed by an infinitive. These verbs typically relate to intentions, decisions, wishes, or future-oriented actions. The infinitive makes the action feel like a separate, upcoming event.
- The team decided to restructure the proposal before sending it to the client.
- She hopes to transfer to the Singapore office by the end of the year.
- We plan to launch the product in Q3, subject to testing results.
- He refused to comment on the acquisition until the deal was finalised.
Gerund After Prepositions — before, after, without, interested in
After any preposition — in, at, on, for, about, without, before, after, by, of — English always requires a gerund, never an infinitive. This rule is absolute and applies regardless of the verb or phrase preceding the preposition.
- She is very good at managing competing priorities under pressure.
- He submitted the report without checking the figures in the final section.
- Before leaving the office, confirm that the server backup has completed.
- The team improved its performance by implementing a daily check-in routine.
Patterns That Signal Gerund or Infinitive
Verbs That Change Meaning
A small but important set of verbs can take either a gerund or an infinitive, but the choice changes the meaning — sometimes dramatically. These are high-frequency errors at B1–B2 level.
remember + gerund — recalling a past action
I remember sending the invoice — I have the confirmation email.
The sending happened before the remembering. The gerund looks backward in time.
remember + infinitive — not forgetting a future task
Please remember to send the invoice before close of business.
The sending has not happened yet. The infinitive looks forward in time.
stop + gerund — ending an activity
She stopped checking her phone after 9 pm.
The checking is the activity that ended. Stop + gerund = give up the activity.
stop + infinitive — pausing for a purpose
She stopped to check her phone when she felt it vibrate.
She paused whatever she was doing in order to check her phone. The infinitive shows purpose.
Common Mistakes
Using infinitive after 'enjoy'
✗ I really enjoy to work with international clients.
✓ I really enjoy working with international clients.
Enjoy always takes a gerund, never an infinitive. This applies to all forms: enjoyed, enjoys, will enjoy. The pattern is fixed: enjoy + verb-ing.
Using gerund after 'want' or 'would like'
✗ I want going to the conference in Berlin.
✓ I want to go to the conference in Berlin.
Want, need, and would like always take an infinitive (to + verb). 'I want to go', 'I need to check', 'I would like to attend' — the infinitive is not optional here.
Using infinitive after a preposition
✗ She is very interested in to learn more about the project.
✓ She is very interested in learning more about the project.
After any preposition — in, at, for, about, without — English requires a gerund, never an infinitive. 'In' is a preposition here, not the start of an infinitive.
Choosing the wrong form with 'stop'
✗ He stopped to smoke ten years ago — he is much healthier now.
✓ He stopped smoking ten years ago — he is much healthier now.
Stop + infinitive means pause in order to do something (He stopped to smoke = he paused what he was doing so he could have a cigarette). Stop + gerund means end an activity permanently. The context here requires stop smoking.
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