Gerund and Infinitive Rules Summary by English With Simo
1. Gerunds (verb + -ing)
Use gerunds in these situations:
- As the subject of a sentence
Example: Swimming is good exercise. - After certain verbs
Examples: enjoy, finish, practice, suggest, avoid, consider, delay, mind, quit, risk
Example: I enjoy cooking. - After prepositions
Example: He's interested in learning English. - In certain fixed expressions
Example: It's worth visiting that museum.
2. Infinitives (to + verb)
Use infinitives in these situations:
- To express purpose
Example: I went to the store to buy milk. - After certain adjectives
Example: It's important to exercise regularly. - After certain verbs
Examples: want, decide, hope, plan, agree, expect, learn, offer, promise, refuse
Example: They decided to go to the party. - In certain fixed expressions
Example: To be honest, I don't like that movie.
3. Base Form of the Verb (Infinitive without 'to')
Use the base form:
- After modal verbs
Example: You should eat more vegetables. - After 'let' and 'make' (in active voice)
Example: Let me think about it. - After perception verbs (see, hear, feel, etc.) with object
Example: I saw him leave the house.
4. Verbs That Can Be Followed by Either
Some verbs can be followed by either gerunds or infinitives, sometimes with a slight change in meaning:
like, love, hate, prefer, start, begin, continue, forget, remember, try
Example of meaning change:
- I stopped smoking. (I quit the habit)
- I stopped to smoke. (I paused in order to have a cigarette)
