Gerunds and Infinitives
I. A gerund is a verb in its ing form that functions as a noun that names
an activity. Any action verb can be made into a gerund.
Spelling tip:
- Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play – playing; cry – crying; bark – barking
- For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide - sliding, ride –
riding
- For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die - dying, tie –
tying
- For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-consonant
and is stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex: beg - begging,
begin beginning. However: enter - entering (last syllable is not stressed)
Gerund Examples
1. Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject:
- Jogging is a hobby of mine.
2. Gerunds can act as an object following the verb:
- Daniel quit smoking a year ago.
3. Gerunds can serve as an object after a preposition:
- I look forward to helping you paint the house.
4. Some verbs are directly followed by a gerund:
- Paul avoids using chemicals on the vegetables he grows.
5. Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without causing a
change in meaning:
- Some people prefer getting up early in the morning.
- Some people prefer to get up early in the morning.
6. Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in
meaning:
- He remembered sending the fax. (He remembered the act of sending the
fax).
- He remembered to send the fax. (He remembered that he had to send a
fax and sent it).
II. An infinitive is a verb in its basic form. It is formed with to + base form
of the verb. Ex: to buy, to work.
Infinitive Examples: an infinitive can be used as:
1. an object following the verb:
- Jim always forgets to eat
2. a subject at the beginning of a sentence:
- To travel around the world requires a lot of time and money.
3. Some verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:
- Do you want to call your family now?
4. Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by
an infinitive:
- I convinced Catherine to become vegetarian.
- He advised me to sell all my shares of stock.
5. Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without
causing a change in meaning:
- Will you continue working after you give birth?
- Will you continue to work after you give birth?
6. Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a
change in meaning:
- He stopped drinking coffee. (He never drank coffee again.)
- He stopped to drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank
some coffee).
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Reference Lists – Gerunds and Infinitives
Common verbs that are followed by an infinitive
Afford –agree – appear – arrange – ask – care – claim - consent - decide –
demand – determine – endeavor - expect – fail – forget – guarantee – happen –
have (obligation) – hesitate - hasten - hope – invite - learn – long - manage – offer
– plan – prepare – pretend – proceed - promise – prove (resultar) - refuse –
resolve - seek - seem – stop – strive – swear – tend - threaten - trouble - undertake
- volunteer – wait – want – wish - would like
Common verbs that are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by
an infinitive
Advise – accustom - aid - allow – appoint - ask – assist - cause – challenge –
command – convince – defy - direct - drive – empower- enable – encourage –
entitle - expect – forbid – force – get - hire – incite – induce – inspire - instruct –
invite – lead - leave (= responsabilizar a alguien) – oblige - order – pay- permit –
persuade – press - prompt - provoke - program – remind – teach – tell – urge –
want – warn – require – stimulate – teach - tell - tempt – trust – warn
Common verbs and phrases that are followed by a gerund
Admit – advise –anticipate – appreciate - avoid - be used to - can’t help - can’t
stand – complete - consider – defend – delay - deny – detest - discuss – dislike -
end up – enjoy – escape - excuse – fancy - feel like – finish – forget – forgive - get
- get used to - give up - go on - have difficulty - have problems - have trouble –
imagine – involve keep (on) - it’s no use - it’s worthwhile – keep - look forward to
– mention – mind – miss – postpone – practice – prevent - put off – recall –
recollect – report- resent – resist – risk - quit - spend time – stop – suggest –
tolerate - understand - waste time - work at
Common verbs that can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive
without causing a change in meaning
Begin – bother – (can't) stand - cease – commence – dread - continue – hate –
intend – like – love – neglect - prefer – propose - start
Common verbs that can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a
change in meaning
Forget – quit - regret (ing = arrepentirse; infinitive = lamentar) - remember – stop –
try – mean – go on
Exercises – Gerunds and Infinitives
Choose the correct gerund or infinitive from the parenthesis at the end of the
sentence.
She likes to get up early in the morning. (likes / dislikes)
1. Alan can’t stand __________________ on trains. (riding/ to ride)
2. Mr. Harris enjoys __________________ people out to dinner. (inviting / to invite)
3. In the old days, gentlemen challenged their rivals __________________.
(fighting / to fight)
4. As the famous saying goes, there’s no use ____________________ over spilt
milk. (crying / to cry)
5. Jim stopped ____________________ his shoelace. Wait for him! (tying / to tie)
6. My wife always volunteers ____________________ cakes for her boss’s
meetings. (baking / to bake)
7. Don’t waste my time ___________________ about your salary. (complaining/ to
complain)
8. Eva is having trouble ____________________ on the exam. (concentrating / to
concentrate)
9. Please allow me _____________________ your Facebook page. (joining / to
join)
10. You won’t forget _____________________milk on your way home, will you?
(picking up /to pick up)
Material retrieved from different sources (mentioned below) and partly modified:
https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/gerunds-and-infinitives/
https://www.shertonenglish.com/es/gramatica/miscelaneos/verbo-gerundio
https://belingua.es/mean-try-stop-forget-remember-mas-ing-o-infinitivo/
http://sanjuandelacruzspeaksenglish.blogspot.com/2015/10/gerundinfinitive-with-change-in-
meaning.html
