Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and infinitives are forms of verbs that act like nouns. They can follow adjectives and other verbs. Gerunds can also follow prepositions. A gerund (often known as an -ing word) is a noun formed from a verb by adding -ing. Not all words formed with -ing are gerunds. An infinitive is to + the verb. When a verb follows a verb it either takes the gerund or infinitive form. Some verbs can take either the gerund or the infinitive with no loss of meaning. For example:

With the verb start - "It started to rain." or "It started raining." Both sentences have the same meaning.

Sometimes the use of the gerund or infinitive changes the meaning of the sentence. For example:

With the verb remember - "I remembered to do my homework". or "I remembered doing my homework."

In the first sentence (I remembered to do my homework), the person speaking remembered they had some homework first and then carried out the action and did it. In the second sentence (I remembered doing my homework.), the person speaking carried out the action (their homework) first and then remembered doing it. Other verbs only take one or the other, unfortunately there is no rule as to which form the verb takes. The same is true when the verb follows an adjective. The best way to learn their correct use is with practice - these lists may help:List of verbs which are normally followed by the gerund - with some examples. acknowledge | admit | adore | anticipate | appreciate | avoid | celebrate | confess | contemplate delay | deny | describe | detest | discuss | dislike | dread | endure | enjoy fancy | finish | imagine | involve | keep | justify | mention | mind | miss | omit | postpone | practise quit | recall | recommend | regret | report | resent | resume | risk | suggest | tolerate | understand For example:

I adore reading your books. They anticipated winning the election. I detest going to discos. We postponed making any decision in the meeting. I quit smoking. Do you recall seeing someone like that?

List of verbs which are normally followed by the infinitive - with some examples. afford | agree | appear | arrange | ask | attempt | care | choose | claim | come | consent dare | decide | demand | deserve | determine | elect | endeavour | expect | fail | get | guarentee hate | help | hesitate | hope | hurry | incline | intend | learn | long | manage | mean | need offer | plan | prepare | pretend | promise | refuse | resolve | say | seem | tend | threaten | want | wish

For example:

I can't afford to go to the pub. He agreed to practise more. You should learn to express yourself. They managed to fix the problem.

List of verbs which can be followed by the gerund or infinitive - with some examples. Some verbs can be followed by the gerund or infintive. With no change in meaning begin | continue | hate | like | love | neglect | prefer | start | try For example:

He began to learn English when he was eight. He began learning English when he was eight. I hate to leave. I hate leaving.

!Note - We often use the gerund when we speak about things in general, and the infinitive for particular situations.
With a change in meaning: forget | remember | stop. For example:

I forgot to feed the cat. (The cat is hungry - he has not been fed) I forgot feeding the cat. (The cat is ok - I fed him and then forgot about it)

Gerunds after Prepositions. When a verb is used after a preposition the verb takes the -ing form. For example: You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
List of gerunds after prepositions: The gerund (-ing form) must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:against | at | after | by | on | instead of | talk about | tired of | without.

For example:

I am against smoking in public places. She is good at speaking English. I went home after leaving the party. You can improve your English by using the Internet. We need to keep on going. You should tell the truth instead of lying all the time. We can talk about going home. I'm tired of hearing excuses. You can't learn English without making mistakes.

Gerund or Progressive/Continuous http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/gerund_progressive.htm

Both forms end in -ing. Nevertheless it is easy to find out whether it is a Gerund or a Progressive form. Progressive tenses: These tenses are formed with von to be and the infinitive + - ing.
sentences He is reading a book. He was reading a book. He has been reading a book for three hours. tense Present Progressive Past Progressive Present Perfect Progressive

He had been reading a book before Mary came in. He will be reading a book when I get home. He will have been reading a book. He would be reading a book if he had time. A book is being read. A book was being read.

Past Perfect Progressive will-future Progressive Future Perfect Progressive Conditional Progressive Present Progressive - Passive Past Progressive - Passive

He would have been reading a book if he had had time. Conditional Perfect Progressive

Gerund: The Gerund is formed only with infinitive + - ing.

Reading books is great fun. He likes reading books. He is looking forward to reading books at the weekend. He is keen on reading books. He is used to reading books. What about reading books? He likes the idea of reading books. After reading the book, he went to bed. I remember having read this book. - Passiv

EXERCISES Put in the verbs in brackets in the Gerund or the to-infinitive. http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/structures/gerund_infinitive.htm Example: They go on _______ (read) the book. Answer: They go on reading the book.

1) I can't imagine Peter 2) He agreed 3) The question is easy 4) The man asked me how 5) I look forward to 6) Are you thinking of 7) We decided

(go) by bike. (buy) a new car. (answer). (get) to the airport. (see) you at the weekend. (visit) London? (run) through the forest. (study) hard. (work) the night shift. (ride) the bike at the age of 5.

8) The teacher expected Sarah 9) She doesn't mind 10) I learned

Put in the verbs in brackets in the Gerund or the infinitive. Example: They promised ______ (sell) the old comics. Answer: They promised to sell the old comics.

1) We decided

(buy) a new car. (do). (smoke) . (fly) an aeroplane. (write) picture postcards. (do) if there's a fire in the shop?

2) They've got some work 3) Peter gave up 4) He'd like 5) I enjoy

6) Do you know what 7) Avoid

(make) silly mistakes. (be) home at 11 o'clock. (build) a big house.

8) My parents wanted me 9) I dream about

Decide if the verbs are followed by a verb in the gerund or in the infinitive form.
1) finish Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 2) like Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 3) hope Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 4) feel like Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 5) seem Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct.
1) I can't imagine Peter going by bike. 2) He agreed to buy a new car. 3) The question is easy to answer. 4) The man asked me how to get to the airport. 5) I look forward to seeing you at the weekend. 6) Are you thinking of visiting London? 7) We decided to run through the forest. 8) The teacher expected Sarah to study hard. 9) She doesn't mind working the night shift. 10) I learned to ride the bike at the age of 5.

6) forget Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 7) start Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 8) manage Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 9) agree Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct. 10) avoid Gerund Infinitive + to Both possibilities are correct.
3) Peter gave up smoking. 4) He'd like to fly an aeroplane. 5) I enjoy writing picture postcards. 6) Do you know what to do if there's a fire in the shop? 7) Avoid making silly mistakes. 8) My parents wanted me to be home at 11 o'clock. 9) I dream about building a big house. 10) I'm hoping to see Lisa. 1) finish Gerund 4) feel like Gerund 5) seem Infinitive + to 6) forget Both possibilities are correct. 7) start Both possibilities are correct. 8) manage Infinitive + to 9) agree Infinitive + to 10) avoid Gerund

1) We decided to buy a new car. 2) They've got some work to do.

2) like Both possibilities are correct. 3) hope Infinitive + to