Gerunds and infinitives rules

1. ENGLISH C1 – SESSION 10
Gerunds and infinitives rules
We use gerunds (verb+ing):
• After prepositions – I was exhausted after working all day.
• As the subject or object of a sentence – Doing regular exercise is an
essential part of a healthy lifestyle.
• After certain verbs (see list) – Leire enjoys listening to music in the
car.
We use infinitives with to (to + verb):
• After most adjectives – It’s not always easy to break a bad habit.
• To indicate purpose – Sarah left her job to start a business.
• After certain verbs (see list) – Jimmy promised to do his homework
after dinner.
We use the bare infinitive (verb without “to”):
• After modal verbs – She can’t believe her luck!
• After “why” expressions – Why bother if it’s all for nothing?
• After certain verbs (see list) – My parents never let me stay out late
Gerunds and infinitives list
Verbs followed by gerund (verb+ing)
anticipate – We didn’t anticipate winning this match.
avoid – Let’s avoid being late.
can’t help – I can’t help counting those calories.
complete – He completed baking the apple pie.
consider – She never considered moving to England.
delay – We delayed moving to the new house until spring.
deny – He will deny stealing that car.

2. despise – She despises asking for favours.
discuss – We discussed buying a bigger apartment.
dislike – She dislikes cooking and baking.
enjoy – She enjoys reading.
fancy – I fancy having chicken for dinner.
finish – She finished eating before everyone else.
forgive – Can you forgive me for not fixing the car?
imagine – Can you imagine living on the moon?
involve – The new project involves writing many reports.
keep – She keeps coming late!
mention – I never mentioned meeting him.
mind – Will he mind switching rooms?
miss – I miss chatting with you.
postpone – Let’s postpone going out of town.
practise – He practises playing the guitar daily.
recommend – The doctor recommends resting in bed.
report – They reported seeing her leave with a stranger.
resent – He resents doing it all by himself.
resist – I can’t resist liking him.
resume – They resumed talking after the teacher left.
risk – Would you risk losing everything?
suggest – I suggest not taking him too seriously.
tolerate – We can’t tolerate being screamed at.
understand – He couldn’t understand her leaving so suddenly.
worth – It’s worth visiting the cathedral if you have time.
Verbs followed by infinitive (with “to”)
afford – He has no money so he can’t afford to buy a car.
agree – They agreed to give him a try.
appear – He appeared to know everything.
arrange – I have arranged to meet him on Monday.
ask – She asked to see her doctor.
choose – We chose to ignore it.
claim – He claims to be an expert.
decide – She decided not to go to the party.
demand – I demand to see the person in charge!
deserve – He deserves to win the contest.
expect – He expected to be home sooner.
fail – They failed to follow the instructions.

3. get – It’s not fair that she gets to see him first.
happen – I happened to pass by, so we had a chat.
hesitate – Don’t hesitate to call.
hope – I hope to see you soon.
intend – She didn’t intend to hurt you.
learn – He learned to speak Spanish very quickly.
manage – We managed to finish everything on time.
offer – He offered to go for a walk.
prepare – We were preparing to leave when he arrived.
pretend – She pretended not to hear a word.
promise – She promised to take us with her next time.
refuse – I refuse to cooperate.
seem – It seems to be broken.
swear – He swore to take revenge.
tend – These plants tend to grow slowly.
threaten – He has threatened to hurt us.
wait – The runners were waiting to start.
want – I want to speak with you in private.
wish – I wish to change my address.
would like – I would like to make a comment
Verbs followed by bare infinitive (without “to”)
can – I can help you if you have any problems.
could – When I was young I could play the piano.
had better – You had better finish your homework before it’s too late.
let (+object +verb) – My parents never let me go out late when I was young.
make (+object +verb) – The boss made her employees stay late.
may – I may go to the party, but I’m not sure.
might – They might make money with the new business plan.
must – You must renew your passport before travelling abroad.
should – You should try the new restaurant in the centre.
would rather – I would rather cook at home than eat out.
Verbs followed by both gerund and infinitive with no change in meaning
can’t stand
She can’t stand sitting in the sun when it’s hot.
She can’t stand to sit in the sun when it’s hot.

4. continue
He continued talking when I asked him to stop.
He continued to talk when I asked him to stop.
prefer
We prefer eating dinner early.
We prefer to eat dinner early.
Verbs followed by both gerund and infinitive with different meaning
B. Verbs where there is a clear difference in meaning:
Verbs marked with an asterisk* can also be followed by a that-clause.
come
forget*
go on
mean*
regret*
remember*
stop
try
Come:
Come + gerund is like other verbs of movement followed by the gerund, and
means that the subject is doing something as they move:
• She came running across the field.
Come + to-infinitive means that something happens or develops, perhaps
outside the subject’s control:
• At first I thought he was crazy, but I’ve come to appreciate his sense of
humour.
• How did you come to be outside the wrong house?
• This word has come to mean something quite different.
Forget, regret and remember:
Go on:
Go on + gerund means to continue with an action:
• He went on speaking for two hours.
• I can’t go on working like this – I’m exhausted.
Go on + to-infinitive means to do the next action, which is often the next stage
in a process:
• After introducing her proposal, she went on to explain the benefits for the
company.

5. • John Smith worked in local government for five years, then went on to
become a Member of Parliament.
Mean:
Mean + gerund expresses what the result of an action will be, or what will be
necessary:
• If you take that job in London it will mean travelling for two hours every
day.
• We could take the ferry to France, but that will mean spending a night in a
hotel.
Mean + to-infinitive expresses an intention or a plan:
• Did you mean to dial this number?
• I mean to finish this job by the end of the week!
• Sorry – I didn’t mean to hurt you.
Stop:
Stop + gerund means to finish an action in progress:
• I stopped working for them because the wages were so low.
Stop tickling me!
Stop + to-infinitive means to interrupt an activity in order to do something else,
so the infinitive is used to express a purpose:
• I stopped to have lunch. (= I was working, or travelling, and I interrupted
what I was doing in order to eat.)
• It’s difficult to concentrate on what you are doing if you have to stop to
answer the phone every five minutes.
Try:
Try + gerund means to experiment with an action that might be a solution to
your problem.
• If you have problems sleeping, you could try doing some yoga before you
go to bed, or you could try drinking some warm milk.
• ‘I can’t get in touch with Carl.’ ‘Have you tried e-mailing him?’
Try + to-infinitive means to make an effort to do something. It may be
something very difficult or even impossible:
• The surgeons tried to save his life but he died on the operating table.
• We’ll try to phone at 6 o’clock, but it might be hard to find a public
telephone.
• People have to try to live together in harmony.

6. EXERCISES
This exercise concentrates on those verbs that can take both the infinitive or the
gerund but with a change in meaning. e.g stop, remember, regret, try, etc, etc. Fill
each space with either the gerund or the infinitive form of the verb that is given in
brackets after each gap.
1. We had worked hard all morning, so at midday we stopped _________________
(have) a coffee and a sandwich.
2. Did you remember _________________ (buy) that bag of apples I asked you to get.
We need those apples for the cake this evening.
3. If you are getting so many headaches, you should try _________________ (see) a
specialist at the hospital. It could be something serious.
4. We regret _________________ (inform) you that you have failed the first part of the
test. You can go home now if you wish.
5. If you go on _________________ (listen) to music that loud, you'll be deaf before
you're twenty!
6. You should stop _________________ (go) to that biker club. It's taking up too much
of your time.
7. It's strange that I remember _________________ (go) to school the first time when I
was five but I don't remember when we moved house a year later.
8. I tried _________________ (stop) the thieves but they were both on motorbikes and
it was useless running after them.
9. You must regret _________________ (tell) your sister about her husband now. She
has never been the same since.
10. I meant _________________ (phone) you last night but I completely forgot. So sorry!
11. After graduating in law from Cambridge, she went on _________________
(become) a famous lawyer.
12. I want to work abroad but not if it means _________________ (have to learn) another
language. I am terrible at learning languages!

7. EXERCISES
Gerund or Infinitive?
1- He made us _________for hours (WAIT)
2- We could _________ to a concert unless you prefer ________ a museum (GO,
VISIT)
3- Yes, I used _______ here (LIVE)
4- He gave up __________ because he didn't have any money (GAMBLE)
5- Try to avoid _______ him angry (MAKE)
6- Is there anything here worth _________? (BUY)
7- He hates ________ the phone and sometimes he just lets it ________ (ANSWER,
RING)
8- I advise you __________ for a flat at once! (START, LOOK)
9- I have no intention of __________ that film. I couldn't stand ________ such a
horrible actor. (SEE, WATCH)
10 - I am looking forward to __________ you next week (SEE)