GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

-ING FORMS

1. VERB AS SUBJECT: “Eating fast food is unhealthy”

ACTIVITY (noun): “Some people think swimming is the best sport”

2. AFTER CERTAIN VERBS:

admit, avoid, feel like, consider, deny, face, mention, suggest, recommend, include, fancy, finish, imagine,
keep, practise, risk, recall.

3. AFTER PREPOSITIONS:
After adjectives + prepositions: interested in, good at, responsible for…
After verbs + prepositions: apologise for, think about, dream of, worry about…
After phrasal verbs: carry on, give up, end up…
Verb + object + prep.: blame someone for, prevent someone from…

4. AFTER CERTAIN EXPRESSIONS:

Feel like, looking forward to, don´t mind, can´t stand, it´s not worth, it´s no use, there´s no point, it´s a
waste of time…

TO INFINITIVE

1. AFTER CERTAIN VERBS:

agree, afford, appear, arrange, expect, fail, happen, hope, manage, pretend, seem, learn, need, want,
intend, hope, offer, promise, refuse, decide, threaten, prepare, plan, endevour…

2. AFTER CERTAIN EXPRESSIONS:

would like, would love, would prefer, can´t wait, it´s a good idea, in order to…

3. VERB + OBJECT + INFINITIVE:

Aim, claim, dare, pretend, struggle, tempt, tend, vote, ask, tell, order, invite, need, advise, allow, help,
want, remind, encourage, choose, persuade, beg, warn, send, teach, expect, force…

4. AFTER CERTAIN ADJECTIVES:

happy to see you, possible to do, sorry to interrupt, pleased to meet you, glad to see you, difficult/easy to
do…

5. AFTER NOUNS:

We made a promise to be there on time.

I took the decision to study Law.
 6. ONLY + TO INFINITIVE: after a clause to show result
I watched all the film only to discover that the main character dies in the end.

7. PAST INFINITIVE: for a past concept.

TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

The rain seems to have stopped.

She turned out to have won the first prize.

BARE INFINITIVE (INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO)

1. I´D RATHER have the chicken wings instead of the lobster.

2. YOU´D BETTER go now or you´ll be late again

3. MAKE + OBJECT + BARE INFINITIVE: my teacher made me study a list of linkers for the exam

! In the passive we use “to” after “make”: he was made to study

4. LET + OBJECT + BARE INFINITIVE: my parents let me go to the excursion tomorrow.

5. MODAL VERBS: can, may, might, could, should, must…

-ING OR TO INFINITIVE?

1. Some verbs can be used either with –ing or infinitive and there is no change in meaning:

begin, continue, hate, bother, can´t bear, , like, love, enjoy, hate, prefer, start

2. Some other verbs change the meaning: remember, forget, stop, mean, try, go on, regret…

A. REMEMBER

Remember to do (you mustn´t forget)

Meaning: Something you want to remember before you do the action.
Ex: Don’t worry, I’ll remember to pick you up on my way to work.

Remember doing (memories)

Meaning: Something you remember after you did the action.
Ex: I remember my grandma telling us stories before bed.

B. FORGET

Forget to do
Meaning: refers to something you intended to do but didn’t remember.
Ex: I forgot to turn off the light before I left for work.
Forget doing (memories)
Meaning: refers to something that you’ve done and you can´t remember doing it.
Ex: Clive couldn’t forget camping on the Mediterranean coast with his friends last summer.

C. REGRET

Regret to do
Meaning: being sorry about something (usually in formal cases).
Ex: We regret to inform you that your application was rejected.

Regret doing
Meaning: you wish you had (not) done something.
Ex: I regret not going to university.

D. GO ON

Go on to do
Meaning: two actions are happening one after another.
Ex: After she graduated from college, she went on to work for a newspaper.

Go on doing
Meaning: an action is being continued.
Ex: Even though we couldn’t hear him because of the noise, he went on talking.

E. TRY

Try to do
Meaning: make an effort to do something.
Ex: I’ll try to fix it, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to.

Try doing
Meaning: when you experiment with doing something. (look for a solution)
Ex: Adam tried adding some salt, but the soup was still bland.

F. STOP

Stop to do
Meaning: interrupt one action in order to do something else.
Ex: I stopped to tie my shoelaces.

Stop doing
Meaning: give up doing something.
Ex: Mildred stopped eating sugar because she wants to lose weight.

G. MEAN

Mean to do
Meaning: have an intention to do something.
Ex: I meant to repair my motorbike this afternoon but I changed my mind.
Mean doing
Meaning: something needs to be done in order to get results.
Ex: being a professional sportsperson means sacrifying a lot.

-ING OR BARE INFINITIVE?

Some verbs of perception can be used with –ing or bare infinitive with a slight change in meaning:

feel, hear, help, let, make, overhear, see, watch, listen

1. VERB + OBJECT + -ING: I heard a man shouting (when the action after the verb is continuous)

2. VERB + OBJECT + BARE INFINITIVE: I heard a man shout (brief, finished action)

VERB + THAT-SENTENCE
Suggest, mention, claim, complain, explain, imagine, say, state, admit, realise, remember, reply, think…

VERB + OBJECT + THAT-SENTENCE

Remind, tell, warn, inform…

PASSIVE GERUND AND INFINITIVE