Gerund vs Infinitive
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Gerunds: used as nouns
- •Infinitives: after certain verbs and with purpose
- •Verbs that take both with different meanings
More Examples
I stopped smoking last year.
Gerund: stopped an activity
I stopped to smoke.
Infinitive: stopped in order to smoke (different meaning)
She remembered locking the door.
Gerund: recalls a past action
She remembered to lock the door.
Infinitive: didn't forget to do it
Tips
- ✓Gerund = subject/object; infinitive = purpose or after specific verbs.
- ✓With "try", "stop", "remember", "forget" — the form changes the meaning dramatically.
Verb Forms Reference
Which verbs take -ing, to-infinitive, or both
| Verb | Takes | |
|---|---|---|
| + -ing only | ||
| admit | verb + -ing | |
| avoid | verb + -ing | |
| can't help | verb + -ing | |
| consider | verb + -ing | |
| delay | verb + -ing | |
| deny | verb + -ing | |
| enjoy | verb + -ing | |
| feel like | verb + -ing | |
| finish | verb + -ing | |
| give up | verb + -ing | |
| imagine | verb + -ing | |
| involve | verb + -ing | |
| keep | verb + -ing | |
| mention | verb + -ing | |
| mind | verb + -ing | |
| miss | verb + -ing | |
| postpone | verb + -ing | |
| practise | verb + -ing | |
| put off | verb + -ing | |
| risk | verb + -ing | |
| suggest | verb + -ing | |
| + to-infinitive only | ||
| afford | to + verb | |
| agree | to + verb | |
| aim | to + verb | |
| appear | to + verb | |
| arrange | to + verb | |
| choose | to + verb | |
| dare | to + verb | |
| decide | to + verb | |
| demand | to + verb | |
| deserve | to + verb | |
| expect | to + verb | |
| fail | to + verb | |
| happen | to + verb | |
| help | to + verb | |
| hope | to + verb | |
| learn | to + verb | |
| manage | to + verb | |
| need | to + verb | |
| offer | to + verb | |
| plan | to + verb | |
| pretend | to + verb | |
| promise | to + verb | |
| refuse | to + verb | |
| seem | to + verb | |
| tend | to + verb | |
| want | to + verb | |
| wish | to + verb | |
| would like | to + verb | |
| Both (same meaning) | ||
| begin | both (same) | |
| can't bear | both (same) | |
| continue | both (same) | |
| hate | both (same) | |
| like | both (same) | |
| love | both (same) | |
| prefer | both (same) | |
| start | both (same) | |
| Both (meaning changes) | ||
| forget | both (↑ meaning) | |
| go on | both (↑ meaning) | |
| mean | both (↑ meaning) | |
| regret | both (↑ meaning) | |
| remember | both (↑ meaning) | |
| stop | both (↑ meaning) | |
| try | both (↑ meaning) | |
64 of 64 verbs shown
Advanced Notes
The gerund/infinitive split is partly historical — no single rule covers all cases, so high-frequency verbs must be memorized. After prepositions, only gerunds work ("interested in doing", "look forward to meeting" — never "to meet" here). The meaning-change verbs (stop, remember, forget, try, regret, mean, go on) are a high-yield area for exams and natural speech. With "like/love/hate", British English slightly prefers gerunds for general preferences, American English uses either freely. "Need" has a special passive gerund: "The car needs washing" = "The car needs to be washed".
Compare With
Other B2 Topics
Past Perfect
Used for the earlier of two past events to show sequence
Future Perfect
Used for actions completed before a specific future point
Conditionals (0, 1, 2, 3)
Forms real, hypothetical, and impossible conditions across all time frames
Reported Speech
Used for converting direct speech to indirect speech with tense and pronoun shifts
Causative Have
Used for arranging for someone else to do something for you
Past Perfect Continuous
Used for an ongoing action that continued up to a past event
Future Perfect Continuous
Used for duration of an ongoing action up to a future point
Modal Perfects: Deduction About the Past
Expresses deductions about past events using must/can't/might + have
Participle Clauses
Used for reducing clauses using -ing or past participle for concise formal style