HOW WE USE OF INFINITIVE AND GERUND

HOW WE USE OF INFINITIVE AND GERUND 

What is an Infinitive?

An infinitive is the basic form of the verb + "to".


What is a Gerund?
A gerund is a noun made from a verb. To make a gerund, you add "-ing" to the verb.

Infinitives and infinitive phrases can be both subjects and objects in sentences.  Take a look at these examples:

SUBJECT  To study hard will increase your chances of getting into college. OBJECT Kathy wants to study with her friends.

There are some verbs that are followed only by infinitives.  For example,

Hesitate She didn’t hesitate to tell the boss that some employees were stealing office supplies. Offer The Martin Family offered to watch their neighbor’s dog for the whole week. Promise The school promised to help me find an apartment. Want We want to visit all of the historic sites in Tehran.

These words are rarely followed by gerunds (nouns that look like -ing ending verbs). 

For a list of verbs that are followed by infinitives, click here.   For a list of adjectives followed by infinitives, click here. For a list of verbs followed by infinitives + object, click here.  For a list of verbs that are followed by gerunds, click here.

Students are often confused about this.  When should I use infinitives?  When should I use gerunds?  There are some situations when BOTH an infinitive and gerund can be used with no change in meaning.  For example,

The children like to go to the zoo. The children like going to the zoo.

These two sentences have the same meaning.

For some other verbs, there is a difference in meaning:

Example Meaning GERUND Louise stopped smoking. She doesn’t smoke anymore. INFINITIVE Louise stopped to smoke. She stopped doing an activity because she wanted to smoke.

So, now you may want to ask, “What’s the difference between infinitives and gerunds?”  That’s a good question.  We are glad you asked!

Though there are always exceptions to the following, here are two suggestions that will help you distinguish the difference between infinitives and gerunds: