Grammar: gerund and infinitive

gerund and infinitive

The gerund is the noun form of the verb. We form it by adding -ING to the verb.

BE CAREFUL! Don't confuse the gerund with the continuous tense.

Smoking is bad for you. GERUND

He is smoking. PRESENT CONT.

After some verbs...

Likes and dislikes...

When do we use the gerund?

After prepositions, phrasal verbs and expressions ending in prepositions...

As a subject or object...

BARE INFINITIVE

FULL INFINITIVE

When do we use the infinitive?

It can often be tricky trying to remember which verbs are followed by the infinitive of the verb and which are followed by the gerund.

Of course, confusion often arises when learning the difference between the two, but it's good to keep in mind that gerunds sound more natural than infinitives when used as a subject of a sentence, and if you remember this it will lead to less mistakes.

An important change in meaning

A small change in meaning

Some verbs take both the infinitive or the gerund with little change in meaning. Others have an important change in meaning.

Remembering which verbs are followed by a gerund and which are followed by an infinitive is often difficult, because simply by reading through a list won't always help you remember. It's more effective to write your own list as you come across these verbs.

And then there's practice! Well, you're in luck, because in your book you'll find exercises to practise... Let's take a look!