infinitive & gerund

There are certain words in English that are usually followed by an infinitive or gerund. If you are not sure whether to use the infinitive or gerund, check out these lists or look the words up in a dictionary


Infinitive


Certain words are followed by an infinite verb with or without ‘to’.

1) as the subject of a clause

*To know you is to love you.

2)after certain expressions (without ‘to’)

* Why not go to the cinema?

3)after certain verbs (without ‘to’)

*I can swim.

4) after certain verbs (with ‘to’)

*He wants to swim.

5) after certain verbs with interrogatives (infinitive constructions)

*They don’t know how to swim.

6) after certain verbs with objects (without ‘to’)

*He made her swim.

7) after certain verbs with objects (with ‘to’)

*They wanted him to swim.

after certain adjectives and their comparisons

*It’s easier to swim downstream.

9) after nouns deriving from the verbs mentioned above

*We made a promise to swim. (derived from the verb ‘to promise’)


Gerund

Certain words are followed by an Ing-Form.


1) as the subject of a clause

*Cycling is good for your health.

2) after certain adjectives

*He’s afraid of going by plane.

3) after certain prepositions

* Before going to bed , he turned off the lights.

4) after certain verbs

*I enjoy cooking.

5) after certain verbs with prepositions

*I am looking forward to seeing you again.

6) after certain nouns

*We had problems finding our way back home.


Words followed either by Infinitive or Ing-Form


a) *same meaning

*I started to read. / I started reading.

b) *same meaning but different use

*She forbids us to talk. / She forbids talking.

c) *different meaning

*He stopped to smoke. / He stopped smoking.

d) *infinitive or present participle

*I saw him go up the stairs. / Isaw him going up the stairs