Gerunds & Infinitives
Learn which verbs are followed by a gerund, which are followed by an infinitive, and how a few verbs change meaning depending on which one follows.
Two ways to use a verb like a noun
A gerund and an infinitive can both act like a noun, but not interchangeably.
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used like a noun. An infinitive is to plus the base form, also used like a noun. Which one follows a particular verb depends on that verb specifically, rather than on any general rule.
In She enjoys reading., enjoy is followed by the gerund reading. In She wants to read., want is followed by the infinitive to read. Both sentences are correct; each simply follows the pattern its own main verb requires.
This lesson groups verbs by the pattern they follow, covers verbs that change meaning depending on the choice, and looks at gerunds after prepositions and adjectives.
The central idea
The main verb decides which pattern follows.
Compare two verbs, each followed by its own required pattern.
01
Gerund
She enjoys reading.
02
Infinitive
She wants to read.
The useful question is: which pattern does this specific verb require?
There is no shortcut that predicts this from meaning alone. Enjoy and want both describe an attitude toward reading, but each pairs with a different structure by convention.
Verbs followed by a gerund
These verbs are followed directly by the -ing form.
enjoy → She enjoys painting.
avoid → He avoids driving at night.
finish → They finished eating.
mind → Do you mind waiting?
suggest → She suggested leaving early.
consider → He is considering moving abroad.
practice → She practices singing every day.
Verbs followed by an infinitive
These verbs are followed directly by to plus the base form.
want → She wants to leave.
need → He needs to rest.
decide → They decided to stay.
hope → I hope to visit soon.
plan → She plans to apply next year.
promise → He promised to call.
refuse → She refused to answer.
Verbs followed by either, with the same meaning
A small group of verbs accept both patterns interchangeably.
like → She likes swimming. / She likes to swim.
love → He loves cooking. / He loves to cook.
hate → I hate waiting. / I hate to wait.
begin → It began raining. / It began to rain.
continue → She continued working. / She continued to work.
Verbs followed by either, with a different meaning
For a few verbs, the choice actually changes what the sentence means.
Stop
She stopped smoking. (she no longer smokes)
She stopped to smoke. (she paused another activity in order to smoke)
Remember
I remember locking the door. (a memory of the past action itself)
I remembered to lock the door. (I didn’t forget to do it)
Try
Try restarting the computer. (as an experiment, to see if it helps)
She tried to open the jar. (she made an effort, possibly unsuccessful)
Forget
I’ll never forget meeting her. (a memory that stays with you)
I forgot to call her. (a task that didn’t get done)
After a preposition
A preposition is almost always followed by a gerund, not an infinitive.
interested in → She is interested in learning French.
good at → He is good at solving puzzles.
afraid of → They are afraid of losing the match.
look forward to → I look forward to seeing you.
A frequent trap: look forward to
Although it ends with the word to, this phrase is followed by a gerund, not an infinitive, since to here functions as a preposition rather than part of an infinitive.
After certain adjectives
Many adjectives are followed by an infinitive instead.
happy to → I’m happy to help.
difficult to → It’s difficult to explain.
ready to → She’s ready to leave.
Adjective versus preposition
An adjective directly followed by to, such as happy to, typically takes an infinitive. A preposition, such as in or at, typically takes a gerund instead.
A useful decision guide
Ask what the main verb, preposition, or adjective typically requires.
01
Is the main verb one that typically takes a gerund, or an infinitive?
Check its typical pattern rather than guessing from meaning.
02
Is this one of the verbs that changes meaning depending on the choice?
Verbs like stop, remember, try and forget need extra care.
03
Does a preposition come directly before this verb?
A preposition is almost always followed by a gerund.
04
Does an adjective come directly before this verb?
Many adjectives are followed by an infinitive instead.
Common mistakes
Each verb, preposition and adjective has its own required pattern.
Enjoy is followed by a gerund, not an infinitive.
Not: She enjoys to read.
Correct: She enjoys reading.
Look forward to is followed by a gerund, not an infinitive.
Not: I look forward to see you.
Correct: I look forward to seeing you.
Stop plus a gerund and stop plus an infinitive are not interchangeable.
Meaning shift: She stopped smoking. (she quit) versus She stopped to smoke. (she paused to smoke)
Choosing the wrong one here changes the meaning, rather than simply sounding awkward.
Check your understanding
Which pattern correctly completes each sentence?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
Which sentence is correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! “Avoid” is followed by a gerund.
❎ Not quite. “Avoid” does not take a to infinitive.
Compare this to “enjoy” and “finish”.
Which sentence is correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! Here, “to” functions as a preposition, so a gerund follows.
❎ Not quite. In this phrase, “to” is a preposition, not part of an infinitive.
Compare this to “interested in” and “good at”.
Which sentence means she paused another activity in order to smoke?
✅ Exactly! The infinitive here describes the purpose of stopping.
❎ Not quite. This version means she quit smoking altogether.
Which version describes a purpose, and which describes quitting?
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the choice correctly.
Why does “I remember locking the door.” mean something different from “I remembered to lock the door.”?
✅ Exactly! “Remember” is one of the verbs where the choice genuinely changes the meaning.
❎ Not quite. Both sentences are grammatically correct here.
Why is “She enjoys to paint.” not correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! “She enjoys painting.” is the correct pattern.
❎ Not quite. Compare this to the correct pattern shown earlier for “enjoy”.
Quick review
The main verb, preposition, or adjective decides which pattern follows.
Verbs like enjoy, avoid and finish are followed by a gerund.
Verbs like want, need and decide are followed by an infinitive.
Verbs like like and begin accept either, with no change in meaning.
Verbs like stop, remember, try and forget genuinely change meaning depending on the choice.
A preposition is almost always followed by a gerund; many adjectives are followed by an infinitive instead.
Remember
Check the word right before the verb, not just the meaning you want.
The pattern that follows a verb is decided by that verb, preposition, or adjective specifically. When in doubt, checking the exact word that comes before is more reliable than guessing from meaning alone.