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determination. Most students find the endless list of verbs to memorize daunting, to say the least! Also, most
textbooks don’t cover the fact that there ARE a few helpful rules for deciding whether to use a gerund or an
infinitive in a sentence. The next time you’re doing gerunds and infinitives in class, try teaching the rules below—
your students will thank you!
The Basics
A gerund is the present participle (-ing) form of the verb. An infinitive is to + the base verb (the verb with no
ending). Both gerunds and infinitives are action words (i.e., verbs) in meaning, but they act like nouns in the
sentence. They always take a noun position: a subject or an object of the main verb. A gerund or infinitive is never
the main verb (e.g., I hiking and I to study are incorrect).
Skiing is fun.
I like hiking.
I need to study.
Even when the gerund or infinitive is the object of a sentence, it is common for a second object follow the gerund
or infinitive because of their “verb” meaning.
1. Subject = Gerund
When you need an action as a subject, use a gerund. Infinitives are possible, but they are very formal and not very
common in this position.
2. Preposition + Gerund
After a preposition, use a gerund. This is true for prepositions that are part of phrasal verbs, too.
3. Verb + Gerund
A gerund or an infinitive can be used after a main verb. It depends on the verb, and there isn’t an easy rule for this
case. Memorizing the most common verbs that take a gerund, such as advise, avoid, enjoy, finish, practice, quit,
and suggest, is helpful.
1. Adjective + Infinitive
After an adjective, it is common to use an infinitive verb. A gerund is possible in some cases, but an infinitive is
usually the better choice.
2. Noun + Infinitive
If the main verb has an object that is a noun or a pronoun, it is almost always followed by an infinitive verb instead
of a gerund.
*Note: This rules is very helpful, because it is stronger than the “verb + gerund” rule. For example, the verb advise
normally takes a gerund (She advised studying for the test), but a noun/pronoun object will override this rule (She
advised her students to study for the test).
3. Verb + Infinitive
A gerund or an infinitive can be used after a main verb. It depends on the verb, and there isn’t an easy rule for this
case. Memorizing the most common verbs that take a infinitive, such as ask, choose, decide, get, need, plan,
promise, and want, is helpful.
*Try typing in “gerunds and infinitives verb list” into a search engine to see lists of common verbs that take a
gerund or an infinitive.
Notes
Students often get confused by the other functions of -ing words in English. It’s worth pointing out that Be + -ing
verb can also be a progressive verb form, and that -ing adjectives are possible after the Be verb or before a noun.
A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as a noun that names an activity rather than a
person or thing. Any action verb can be made into a gerund.
Spelling Tip
Verbing (Present Participle)
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
Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a subject:
1. Jogging is a hobby of mine.
Note: The same spelling rules that apply to the progressive tenses also apply to gerunds.
Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change in meaning:
1. Some people prefer getting up early in the morning.
2. Some people prefer to get up early in the morning
Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning:
1. He remembered sending the fax. (He remembered the act of send the fax)
2. He remembered to send the fax. (He remembered the fax and sent it.)
Infinitive Examples
Infinitives can be used as:
an object following the verb:
1. Jim always forgets to eat
Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by an infinitive:
1. I convinced Catherine to become vegetarian.
2. He advised me to sell all my shares of stock.
Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without causing a change in meaning:
1. Will you continue working after you give birth?
2. Will you continue to work after you give birth?
Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a change in meaning:
1. He stopped drinking coffee. (He never drank coffee again.)
2. He stopped to drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing and drank some coffee.)
Choose the correct gerund or infinitive from the parenthesis at the end of the sentence.
Common verbs that can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive without causing a change in
meaning
begin hate like prefer
continue intend love start
Common verbs that can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a change in meaning
forget
remember
stop
These rules are helpful but DO NOT always explain all uses of gerunds and infinitives.
like
love
enjoy
dislike
hate
Example:
Example:
3- After prepositions
aim at
keep on
interested in
instead of
good at
before ...
after ...
Example:
"I am interested in collecting stamps."
"After playing football I drank an orange juice".
2- After adjectives
be determined
be disappointed
be glad
be happy
be pleased
Examples:
First Conditional
We use the First Conditional to talk about future events that are likely to happen.
If I go to New York again, I'll buy you a souvenir from the Empire State Building.
If he's feeling better, he'll come.
If she hasn't heard the bad news yet, I'll tell her.
The "future clause" can contain 'going to' or the future perfect as well as 'will'.
If I see him, I'm going to tell him exactly how angry I am.
If we don't get the contract, we'll have wasted a lot of time and money.
The "future clause" can also contain other modal verbs such as 'can' and 'must'.
When When the “condition” will When I die, I’ll leave all my money to charity.
definitely happen.
As soon as To emphasize immediacy This situation is very urgent. I’ll call you as soon
as I have more information.
Unless In place of “if not” You’ll fail the test unless you study.
= You’ll fail the test if you don’t study.
If I see Sam, I’ll give him your message. (I’m not sure if I will see him or not)
When I see Sam, I’ll give him your message. (I will definitely see Sam)
Main clause
We can use modals other than will in the main clause of a sentence in the first conditional:
If-clause
In the if-clause, willingness can be expressed by will and refusal by won't. In this sense will and won't are
always stressed in speech and cannot be contracted with the subject in writing:
If you will take me to the airport tomorrow, I won't have to take a taxi.
If Greg won't answer the phone, I'll speak to his roommate.
We can also use will in the if-clause to express a polite request. Sometimes the main clause is omitted: