The Gerund (or –ing form)_______________________________

1. As nouns, as a SUBJECT of a sentence or clause:

Smoking is bad for your health / Reading French is easier than speaking it.

2. After prepositions:

He is good at diving / I’m sorry for keeping you waiting / After swimming I felt cold

3. After certain VERBS:

admit dislike mind

appreciate enjoy miss
avoid finish practice
consider hate prefer
continue imagine resist
deny like suggest
detest love understand
I really appreciate having time to relax / Have you considered getting a job abroad? /
You mentioned having been in hospital last year…

(*love, like, hate, prefer + infinitive = a particular time or situation)

4. After certain EXPRESSIONS and PHRASAL VERBS:

be used to be for/against give up

get used to it’s no use keep on
can’t help look forward to put off
can’t stand spend or waste (time,
money) doing something
feel like care for
I am looking forward to meeting her / He put off making a decision until he had more
information / He is used to working at night

The Infinitive__________________________________________
1. After the following VERBS: (most common)

afford begin hope promise

agree choose learn refuse
appear dare manage seem
arrange decide mean want
attempt expect plan wish
beg fail pretend
I can’t afford to pay that house / I agreed to lend her some money / John promised to
help me / I refuse to accept our apology.
 2. VERB + object + INFINITIVE:

advise help remind

allow invite teach
ask order tell
beg persuade want
force recommend warn
I asked Mary to come to the party / She has forced them to tell the truth / They
persuaded me to do it

Make – let – feel – hear - see – etc, + infinitive without “to”

My parents didn’t let me go to John’s party / Did you feel the earth move?

3. After ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

It´s interesting to learn languages / It’s good to see you / It’s difficult to understand/ I
was very pleased to see you yesterday / She was upset to hear that her sister was ill

4. As a SUBJECT, when we talk about one particular action:

To sell my car was difficult

More common: It was difficult to sell my car (preparatory it)

INFINITIVE OR GERUND?________________________________________
1. Verbs taking infinitive or gerund without a change in meaning:

begin start forbid intend propose

I began working / I began to work

2. Verbs taking infinitive or gerund with a change in meaning:

remember – I remember my father taking me to the zoo (have a memory of sth past)
I must remember to post the letter (not forget)
forget - I forgot to post the letter (not do sth because you didn’t remember)
I’ll never forget doing that (not to have a memory of sth past)
regret - I regret to inform you that your order has been cancelled (feel sad about
sth you are doing now)
I regretted blaming her for it very much (feel sorry/guilty about sth you
did in the past)
stop - Stop fighting about nonsense! (not to do sth anymore)
He stopped to look at the shop window (interrupt an action to do
another)
try - He tried to start the car, but it had run out of petrol (make an effort)
Try using a smaller tool (experiment with)
mean - Sarah means to study harder (intend)
Following this diet means eating healthy (involve)