To infinitives Vs Gerund

To Infinitive
• ‘to’ + infinitive
e.g. They decided to wait.
e.g. She agreed to come.

• As nouns:
e.g. To leave children alone at home is
dangerous.
e.g. To be or not to be, that is the
question.
 To Infinitive
• As object:
e.g. He offered to help me.
• As adjectives:
e.g. It is time to go.
• As adverbs:
e.g. She is anxious to leave.
 Gerund
• -ing
• e.g. Fishing is fun.

• As nouns:
e.g. Surfing the Net is a good way to get
more information.
 Gerund
• After most prepositions:
at, in, on, by, of, from …
e.g. Bonn is good at sports.
• After before and after:
e.g. We start the lesson after greeting
Miss Lam.
 Gerund
• After these verbs:
avoid, delay, enjoy, finish, mind, practise,
escape, consider, keep, deny, suggest,
admit, risk, miss, imagine, dislike …
 To VS -ing
• I remember doing something.
(I did it and now I remember this.)
VS
• I remember to do something.
(I remembered that I had to do it, so I did it.)
 To VS -ing
• I know I locked the doors. I clearly remember
locking it.
VS
• I remembered to lock the door but I forgot to
shut the windows.
 To VS -ing
• I regret doing something.
(I did it and now I’m sorry about it.)
VS
• I regret to say/ to tell you something.
(I’m sorry that I have to say…)
 To VS -ing
• Go on doing something~
(continue with the same thing)
VS
• Go on to do something~
(do or say something new)
 To VS -ing
• Need to do something
(It is necessary for me to do it)
=> You need to work harder if you want to have
better results.
VS
• Something needs doing
(it needs to be done)
=> The batteries in the radio need charging.
 To VS -ing
• Come to do something
(a gradual change)
=> After some years, they came to accept her
as a family member.
VS
• Come doing something
(describe movement)
=> He came hurrying up the path.
 To VS -ing
• Go on to do something
(sth is done after sth else is finished)
=> After the intervals, Pavarotti went on to sing
another song.
VS
• Go on doing something
(describe movement)
=> He went on tapping his pen on the table.
 To VS -ing
• Mean to do something
(intended to do sth)
=> I meant to phone you last week.
VS
• Mean doing something
(sth has sth else as a result)
=> If we want to get there by 7.00, that means
getting up before 5.00.
 To VS -ing
• Regret to do something
(about to do sth which we are not happy about)
=> I regret to inform you that your application has
been unsuccessful.
VS
• Regret doing something
(already have done sth and we are not happy abt it)
=> It’s too late now, but I’ll always regret asking John
to do the work.
 To VS -ing
• Remember to do something
(remember before the action)
=> Remember to take your bag before going out.
VS
• Remember doing something
(remember after the action)
=> I remember going to the bank, but nothing
after that .
 To VS -ing
• Stop to do something
(why we stop doing sth)
=> She stops to make a cup of tea.
VS
• Stop doing something
(what we stop doing)
=> They stop laughing.
 To VS -ing
• Come to do something
(a gradual change)
=> After some years, they came to accept her
as a family member.
VS
• Come doing something
(describe movement)
=> He came hurrying up the path.