Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and Infinitives

The verbs below are among the most common of those normally followed by the gerund.

• enjoy: I enjoyed living in France.
• fancy: I fancy seeing a film tonight.
• discuss: We discussed going on holiday together.
• dislike: I dislike waiting for buses.
• finish: We've finished preparing for the meeting.
• mind: I don't mind coming early.
• suggest: He suggested staying at the Grand Hotel.
• recommend: They recommended meeting earlier.
• keep: He kept working , although he felt ill.
• avoid: She avoided talking to her boss.
• miss: She misses living near the beach.
• appreciate: I appreciated her helping me.
• delay: He delayed doing his taxes.
• postpone: He postponed returning to Paris
• practise: She practised singing the song.
• consider: She considered moving to New York.
• can't stand: He can't stand her smoking in the office.
• can't help: He can't help talking so loudly.
• risk: He risked being caught.
• admit: He admitted cheating on the test.
• deny: He denied committing the crime.
• mention: He mentioned going to that college.
• imagine: He imagines working there one day.
• tolerate: I tolerated her talking.
• understand: I understand his quitting.
• involve: The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.
• complete: He completed renovating the house.
• report: He reported her stealing the money.
• anticipate: I anticipated arriving late.
• recall: Oscar recalled using his credit card at the store.

The following are common verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive.

• agree: She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting.
• ask*: I asked to leave early / I asked him to leave early.
• decide: We decided to go out for dinner.
• help*: He helped to clean the kitchen / he helped his flatmate to clean the kitchen.
• plan: She plans to buy a new flat next year.
• hope: I hope to pass the exam.
• learn: They are learning to sing.
• want*: I want to come to the party / I want him to come to the party.
• would like*: I would like to see her tonight / I would like you to see her tonight.
• promise: We promised not to be late.
• can afford: We can't afford span to go on holiday.
• manage: He managed to open the door without the key.
• prepare*: They prepared to take the test / the teachers prepared the students to take the test.
• demand: He demanded to speak to Mr. Whitfield.
• choose: I chose to help.
• offer: Hugo offered to drive us to the supermarket.
• wait: She waited to buy a movie ticket.
• would hate*: I'd hate to be late / I'd hate you to be late.
• would love*: I'd love to come / I'd love him to come.
• seem: Miriam seemed to be disappointed.
• expect*: They expect to arrive early / they expect Marina to arrive early
• intend: We intend to visit you next spring.
• pretend: The child pretended to be a monster.
• refuse: The guard refused to let them enter the building.
• tend: He tends to be a little shy.
• would prefer*: I'd prefer to do it / I'd prefer him to do it.
• deserve: He deserves to go to jail.
• appear: His health appeared to be better.
• arrange: Yolanda arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.
• claim: She claimed to be a princess.

The verbs below take either the gerund or the infinitive, and the choice changes the meaning.

Remember + gerund

This refers to recalling something that has already happened. The memory of the event is present to the mind.

• I remember going to the beach when I was a child. (= I have a memory of going to the beach).
• He remembers closing the door. (= He has a memory of closing the door).

Remember + to + infinitive

This refers to calling to mind something that still needs to be done, which is then normally carried out.

• I remembered to buy milk. (= I was walking home and the idea that I needed milk came into my head, so I bought some).
• She remembered to send a card to her grandmother.

Forget + gerund

This is the counterpart of 'remember + gerund'. The memory of a past action is lost.

• Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about it.
• I told my brother that we'd spent Christmas at Granny's house in 1985, but he'd forgotten going there.

Forget + to + infinitive

This is the counterpart of 'remember + to + infinitive'. The intention to act is there, but the action slips the mind.

• I forgot to call my mother. (= I wanted to call my mother, but when it was a good time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking about something else, and the idea to call my mother didn't come into my head).
• She keeps forgetting to bring his book back.

Try + gerund

This refers to doing something by way of experiment. The action itself presents no difficulty; the question is whether it will produce the desired result.

• I wanted to stop smoking, so I tried using nicotine patches. (= Using nicotine patches was easy, but I wanted to know if it would help me stop smoking).
• She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight. (It was easy for her to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see if it would help her lose weight, but it didn't).

Try + to + infinitive

Here the action itself is difficult. In the present or future, success is uncertain. In the past, the effort was made but did not succeed.

• I'll try to carry the suitcase, but it looks too heavy for me.
• She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.

Compare:

• I tried giving up chocolate (it was no problem to stop eating chocolate) but it didn't make me feel more healthy.
• I tried to give up chocolate, but it was too hard. I always ate some when my friends offered it to me.

• It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window (it was easy to open the window). It didn't help though, because it was very hot outside too.
• • I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck.

Stop + gerund

The gerund names the activity that comes to an end. The sense may be 'stop permanently' or 'stop at that moment'.

• I stopped working when I was expecting a baby. (Working is the thing I stopped).
• My grandmother stopped driving when she was 85. (Driving is the thing she stopped).

• My boss came into the room, so I stopped browsing the internet.
• There was a fire alarm, so I stopped eating and went outside.

Stop + to + infinitive

Here one activity is interrupted in order to perform the action named by the infinitive.

• I stopped to eat lunch. (I stopped something else, maybe working or studying, because I wanted to eat lunch.
• She was shopping and she stopped to get a cup of coffee. (She stopped shopping because she wanted to get a cup of coffee).

Compare:

• I stopped smoking. (I gave up cigarettes OR I threw away my cigarette at that moment).
• I stopped to smoke. (I stopped doing something else because I wanted to have a cigarette).

Regret + gerund

This expresses regret for a past action that the speaker wishes had not been taken.

• I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today.
• She regrets leaving school when she was sixteen. She wishes that she had studied more and then gone to university.

Regret + to + infinitive

This construction delivers bad news in a decidedly formal register. The verb is almost always 'say', 'tell' or 'inform'.

• I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.
• The company regrets to inform employees that the London office will close next year.