Gerunds and Infinitives

There is no quick and easy way to learn gerunds and infinitives. It takes years of practice and familiarity with the English language. Sorry about that! Over time, you will begin to use the right verb combination.

           Basically, some verbs are followed by gerunds, some verbs are followed by infinitives, and some verbs can be followed by gerunds or infinitives. Native speakers do not think about the difference. But English learners have to memorize the hundreds of different verb combinations. Here are a few tips.

Tip Number 1: you almost always find a gerund after a preposition. For example, “She is afraid of flying.” In this sentence “of” is the preposition and “flying” is the gerund. You cannot say “She is afraid of to fly.” An infinitive cannot be the object of a preposition, only a gerund can. You could say, “She is afraid to fly,” but in this sentence, the preposition “of” is gone.

Tip Number 2: When you are talking about an activity, you usually use a gerund. For example, “I stopped smoking.” You can describe many activities by using “go” before a gerund. “Let’s go shopping,” or “We went skiing.”

This is only a simple introduction to a complicated grammar topic. Take a look at the lists here and here.   

Let's see how much you know already.   Exercises