GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

GERUNDS

• A gerund is the –ing form of a verb that functions the same as a noun. For example,
“Running is fun.” In this sentence, “running” is the gerund. It acts just like a noun.

• We use gerunds (verb + ing):

 After certain verbs (enjoy, fancy, dislike, discuss, keep, avoid, mind, recommend,
suggest, etc.)
- I enjoy singing

 After prepositions (after, before, by, in spite of, without, besides, from, for, of, at, about, etc.)
you almost always find a gerund after a preposition. For example, “She is afraid of flying.”
In this sentence “of” is the preposition and “flying” is the gerund. You cannot say “She is
afraid of to fly.” An infinitive cannot be the object of a preposition, only a gerund can. You
could say, “She is afraid to fly,” but in this sentence, the preposition “of” is gone.

 As the subject or object of a sentence.

Swimming is good exercise ( as subject )
My favorite activity is hiking. (as object)
Here are some of the most common verbs that are usually followed by the gerund.
1. enjoy : I enjoyed living in France.
2. fancy : I fancy seeing a film tonight.
3. discuss : We discussed going on holiday together.
4. dislike : I dislike waiting for buses.
5. finish : We've finished preparing for the meeting.
6. mind : I don't mind coming early.
7. suggest : He suggested staying at the Grand Hotel.
8. recommend : They recommended meeting earlier.
9. keep : He kept working, although he felt ill.
10. avoid : She avoided talking to her boss.
 INFINITIVES
We use 'to' + infinitive:
 After certain verbs.
here are some common verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive.
(agree, ask, help, decide, plan, hope, learn, would like, choose, want, afford, offer, promise,
etc.)

And here are some common verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive.
1. Agree : She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting.
2. ask* : I asked to leave early / I asked him to leave early.
3. Decide : We decided to go out for dinner.
4. help*: He helped to clean the kitchen / he helped his flat mate to clean the kitchen.
5. Plan : She plans to buy a new flat mate next year.
6. Hope : I hope to pass the exam.
7. Learn : They are learning to sing.
8. want* : I want to come to the party / I want him to come to the party.
9. would like*: I would like to see her tonight / I would like you to see her tonight.
10. Promise : We promised not to be late.

 After many adjectives.

( amazed, angry, careless, difficult, easy, happy, kind, etc.)
It's difficult to get up early
• Verbs followed by a gerund or infinitive with a change in meaning:

 Forget
I forgot to meet him. (I didn’t meet him because I forgot to do it.)
I forgot meeting him. (I don’t have the memory of meeting him before.)
 go on
He went on to learn English and French. (He ended one period of time before this.)
He went on learning English and French. (He continued learning the languages.)
 quit
She quit to work here. (She quit another job in order to work here.)
She quit working here. (She quit her job here. She doesn’t work here anymore.)
 regret
I regret promising to help you. (I’m sorry that I made the promise.)
I regret to tell you that we can't hire you. (I’m telling you now, and I’m sorry.)
 Remember
She remembered to visit her grandmother. (She didn’t forget to visit.)
She remembered visiting her grandmother. (She had memories of this time.)
 stop
I stopped to call you. (I interrupted another action in order to call you.)
I stopped calling you. (I stopped this activity. Maybe we had a fight.)
 try
I tried to open the window. (I attempted this action but didn’t succeed.)
I tried opening the window. (This was one option I sampled. Maybe the room was hot.
We use the bare infinitive (the infinitive without 'to'):

 After modal verbs - I can meet you at six o'clock

Here's a list of the modal verbs in English:
can could may might will
would must shall should ought to

 After 'let', 'make' and (sometimes) 'help' - The teacher let us leave early

 After some verbs of perception (see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense) - I watched her walk away

 After expressions with 'why' - why go out the night before an exam?