The gerund and the infinitive compared

The gerund and the infinitive have much in common since they both have some nominal and some verbal features. However, in the infinitive the verbal nature is more prominent, whereas in the gerund the nominal one.

The basic difference in their meaning is that the gerund is more general, whereas the infinitive is more specific and more bound to some particular occasion. When they combine with the same verb the difference in their meaning and use should be fully realized.

 With the verbs to like, to hate, to prefer the gerund expresses a more general or a habitual action, the infinitive a specific single action:

I like swimming (I am fond of swimming).                I wouldn’t like to swim in this lake

I hate interrupting people.                                       I hate to interrupt you, but I have to

They prefer staying indoors when the weather is cold.

I’d prefer to stay at home in this cold weather.

With the verbs to begin and to start either form may generally be used, but again the gerund is preferable when the action is more general.

She began singing when a child.   She went over to the piano and began to sing.

No gerund is used:

when the finite verb is in the continuous form.

He is beginning to study French. 

It’s beginning to rain.

with the verbs to understand and to see (meaning to understand).

He began to understand how it was done.

when the subject denotes a thing, not a living being.

The doors began to creak. 

The clock began to strike.

The verb to remember is followed by a gerund when it means a prior action (to recall, to keep in one’s memory some past event), and by an infinitive when it means a simultaneous action (the working of one’s memory).

I remembered posting the letters.                 I remembered to post the letters. = I remembered and posted

(Я помнил, что опустил письмо)       (Я не забыл опустить письмо)

The same refers to the verb to forget.

I shall never forget hearing him sing.           Don’t forget to post the letters! 

(Я никогда не забуду, как он пел)                                                          (Не забудь опустить письма). 

                                                                            I didn’t forget to post the letters. 

                                                                            (Я не забыл опустить письма)

The verb to regret is followed by the gerund to suggest priority, whereas the infinitive suggests a simultaneous action.

I regret not having worked harder at the language as a boy.     I regret to inform you.

(Я сожалею, что не учил, как следует языка в детстве).    (С сожалением сообщаю вам это)

I regret following his advice.                                                      I regret to have to inform you.

(Я сожалею, что последовал его совету)             (Сожалею, что вынужден сообщить вам это)

a) after to stop the gerund is used when it suggests the end of the action denoted by the gerund, whereas the infinitive is used as an adverbial of purpose.

Stop arguing!                                                    I stopped to talk to a friend of mine

(Перестань спорить!)                                    (Я остановилась, чтобы поговорить с другом)

I stopped talking. 

(Я замолчал).

b) The phrasal verb to go on with a gerund suggests the continuation of the action, denoted by the gerund and forms part of a compound verbal predicate; an infinitive points out a new stage in the sequence of actions.

The teacher went on explaining the use of verbals (continued). 

(... продолжал объяснять ...)

The teacher went on to explain the use of the gerund after some verbs. 

(... объяснял одно правило за дру­гим .... т. е. употребление герун­дия после разных глаголов)

The verb to allow is used with a gerund when it is not followed by an indirect object.

They don’t allow smoking here.                                                    They allowed us to smoke. 

(Здесь курить запрещено).                                                       (Они разрешили нам курить).

In the English language there are verbs followed by infinitive (They agreed to come), other verbs followed by gerund (Did you enjoy flying?) and there are also verbs followed by infinitive and gerund (She began to work - She began working).

The verbs followed by infinitive only: 

agree, appear, arrange, ask, choose, decide, demand, encourage, fail, forbid, force, hope, instruct, invite, learn, manage, offer, order, permit, persuade, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, remind, seem, swear, warn

He decided to study at university. We hoped to find it. Did he seem to like it? I ordered my son to send it.

 2. The expressions and phrasal verbs followed by infinitive: 

be about, do one's best, make up one's mind, set out, turn out

                           

He was about to start. I did my best to learn it. I haven't made up my mind to start yet. It turned out to be your car. We set out to cut the tree.

3. The verbs followed by gerund only: 

admit, consider, delay, dislike, enjoy, escape, excuse,          finish, forgive, imagine, insist, keep, mind, miss, practise, prevent, risk, suggest, understand

She admitted telling him. Did you escape writing the test? I don't want to risk coming late.

Excuse, forgive and prevent are used with three different forms: 

Excuse my being late. Excuse me being late. Excuse me for being late.

4. The expressions and phrasal verbs followed by gerund:

be against, be interested in, can't stand, can't help, care for, give up, look forward to, it's no use/good, it's worth

I can't stand waiting for hours. I can't help laughing. Don't give up studying this chapter. It's no use working so late. Is the film worth seeing?

5. The verbs followed by infinitives and gerunds.

  

A. With the same meaning: 

begin, advise, allow, can't bear, continue, intend, it requires, it needs, it wants, permit, recommend, start

Did you continue driving/to drive? He can't bear smoking/to smoke.

If the verbs advise, allow, permit, recommend are used with the indirect object, they are followed by infinitive. If not, gerund must be used.

They didn't allow us to eat there. They didn't allow eating there.

She recommended John to read this book. She recommended reading this book.

After the expressions it needs/requires/wants gerund is more common than infinitive.

The car needs washing/to be washed. The flower wants watering/to be watered.

B. The verbs that have a different meaning with gerund or infinitive.

Remember

I remember watching the match. It was fantastic. (We use gerund to talk about earlier actions).

I remembered to watch the match. And so I sat down and switched on the TV. (The infinitive is used to talk about following actions).

Try

I tried calling him because I needed to test my new mobile phone. (I made an experiment with my mobile).

I tried to call him because I needed to meet him. (I made an attempt to get in touch with him).

The infinitive is used when we want to describe an activity that follows a previous action and is somehow connected to it.

Mean

I didn't mean to hurt you. I say that I didn't do it on purpose.

We can go to Spain. But it means spending more money. In this sentence we describe the consequences.

Be afraid

She was afraid of getting married. Any marriage is something that frightens her.

She was afraid to marry Bill. She doesn't mind getting married, but the marriage with Bill frightens her.

I'm sorry

I'm sorry for telling you. I apologize for a previuous action.

I'm sorry to tell you that your flight will be delayed. I apologize for something that will happen.

The infinitive with this expression can also mean sorrow.

I'm sorry to hear that your wife is ill.                            

Note

There are a lot of verbs and expressions that are used with gerunds and infinitives. In this chapter we only tried to mention the most frequently used ones.

Elementary level

Exercise1 Choose the correct form (infinitive with or without to)

Exercise2 Complete the sentences with the gerund form of the verbs in parentheses

Exercise3 Complete the sentences with the gerund form of the verbs in parentheses

Exercise4 Choose the correct form (infinitive with or without to or gerund)

Intermediate level

 Exercise 1Correct the verb forms. If the form is OK, copy it.

Exercise2 Choose the correct form.

Exercise3 Complete the correct verb forms.

Exercise4 Infinitive or gerund?

  

Exercise5 Put the verb into either the gerund (-ing) or the infinitive (with 'to')

Exercise6 Put in the verbs in brackets in the Gerund or the to-infinitive.

Exercise7 Choose the correct form (infinitive with or without to or gerund)

Advanced level

Exercise1 Write down expressions that are followed by gerund. Keep the same order as you can see in the list.

Exercise2 Write down expressions that are followed by gerund. Keep the same order as you can see in the list.

Exercise3 Infinitive or Gerund? - Which is correct?

Exercise4 Decide whether to use Infinitive (with/without to) or Gerund

Exercise5 Test

Exercise6 Choose the correct form (infinitive with or without to or gerund).

Exercise7 In each gap, type either the gerund or the infinitive form of the verb in parentheses

Exercise8 Decide whether each verb is followed by gerunds, infinitives or both

Exercise9 Use the cues to make simple past tense sentences, using the correct form of the second verb (gerund or infinitive).

Exercise10