Gerunds vs Infinitives
Updated: Sep 17
Gerunds vs Infinitives
- What is a “Gerund”? It’s the “verb” + ing to form a “noun”
Ex. Work – working Play – playing jump - jumping
- Gerunds can be used as a subject.
Ex. Playing (subject) sports is fun.
Exercising (subject) regularly is important.
- Gerunds can also be used as an object.
Ex. They quit smoking. (Object)
Dan enjoys watching (Object) TV every night.
- We use “gerunds” after verb “to go”
Ex. Let’s go fishing.
Last week we went camping.
- Gerunds also follow prepositions
Ex. I’m interested in reading.
Ex. He’s afraid of going to the park at night.
- Gerunds follow some verbs.
Ex. I enjoy knitting.
We miss going to the gym.
She avoids eating junk food.
We are considering moving to a new city.
He denied stealing the money.
Have you finished cleaning your room?
Keep trying, and you will succeed.
Would you mind opening the window?
They postponed opening the new project.
She suggested going for a walk.
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An Infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by "to" (to + verb).
Ex. to work, to play, or to jump.
Like gerunds infinitives function as nouns in a sentence.
- Infinitives can be used as a subject.
Ex. To learn a new language takes time.
- Infinitives can also be used as an object.
Ex. She wants to learn Spanish.
- We use “infinitives” after adjectives.
Ex. It is important to exercise regularly.
- We also use “infinitives” To Show Purpose.
Ex. He went to the store to buy milk.
- Infinitives follow some verbs.
Ex. They agreed to meet at 5 PM.
He decided to study medicine.
I hope to see you soon.
She learned to drive last summer.
He offered to help us with the bags.
We plan to launch the project soon.
I promise to call you later.
She refused to sign the document.
Do you want to join us for lunch?
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These verbs can be followed by either a gerund (-ing) or an infinitive (to + verb) with no noticeable difference in meaning.
Ex. It began raining. It began to rain.
She started working here. She started to work here.
He continued talking. He continued to talk.
I like reading in bed. I like to read in bed.
They love traveling. They love to travel.
I hate waiting in long lines. I hate to wait in long lines.
She prefers staying home. She prefers to stay home.
I can't stand sitting in traffic. I can't stand to sit in traffic.
He can't bear hearing that noise. He can't bear to hear that noise.
These verbs can be followed by either a gerund (-ing) or an infinitive (to + verb) with difference in meaning.
Ex. I stopped seeing her. (I quit/ended the relationship.)
I stopped to see her. (I paused my current action in order to visit
her.)
I remember turning off the stove. (I have a memory of doing it in the past.)
I forgot meeting him before. (I met him, but I lost the memory.)
I forgot to meet him. (I had a plan to meet him, but I failed to do it.)
Try resetting the router. (Experiment with an action to see if it works.)
Try to open the heavy door. (Attempt something that requires
effort/difficulty.)
I regret saying that. (I feel sorry about a past action.)
We regret to inform you that... (I am sorry to deliver bad news now/next.)
To practise using the "Gerunds", click the link below
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