Gerund vs. Infinitive: What’s the difference?
Do you say:
“I enjoy to read”…
or “I enjoy reading”?
“I decided going”…
or “I decided to go”?
If you’re not sure and you’re guessing… you’re not alone.
Gerunds (ending with -ING) and infinitives (starting with “to”) are one of the most confusing parts of English grammar.
But today I’ll make it clear when to use which one – so you can be correct and confident.
A gerund is a verb with an -ing ending, which functions as a noun in the sentence
👉 “reading,” “going,” “eating”
An infinitive = to + verb
👉 “to read,” “to go,” “to eat”
The problem is that when we have two verbs in a row,
👉 Sometimes the second verb ends in -ing
👉 Sometimes we use to + verb
👉 Sometimes both are possible
Let’s look at each case step by step.
Verbs + Gerund
Here are some common verbs that are followed by the gerund:
- enjoy – I enjoy reading.
I enjoy to read.
I enjoy read. - avoid – She avoids talking about it.
- finish – They finished eating.
- consider – We haven’t considered moving.
- suggest – He suggested leaving earlier.
- recommend – Do you recommend visiting Tokyo?
- keep – My computer screen keeps freezing.
- practice – I need to practice speaking English.
- mind – I don’t mind waiting.
- miss – I really miss playing soccer with my friends.
- quit – He’s trying to quit smoking.
- imagine – Imagine living in a mansion – wouldn’t that be great?
- risk – I don’t like to bet because I can’t risk losing my money.
- delay – She keeps delaying getting her vision checked
- deny – They deny knowing anything about the scandal.
Again, you’ll find all these sentences inside the downloadable PDF lesson.
Verbs + Infinitive
These verbs are often about plans, decisions, or goals.
- decide – I decided to start piano lessons.
- plan – She plans to travel.
- want – They want to leave.
- hope – We hope to see you soon.
- need – You need to eat healthier food.
- agree – He agreed to pick up the kids tomorrow.
- refuse – They refused to help.
- promise – I promise to tell you the truth.
- offer – She offered to give me a ride.
- choose – He chose to drop out of school.
- expect – I expect to get a raise soon.
- learn – We’re learning to ski.
- manage – He managed to finish all the work on time.
- prepare – I’m preparing to give a talk at a conference.
- seem – This machine seems to be broken.
Verbs + Gerund OR Infinitive (same meaning)
start/begin
- I started working.
- = I started to work.
- The baby began crying
- = The baby began to cry.
continue
- They continued studying.
- = They continued to study.
like/love
- I like reading.
- = I like to read.
- She loves cooking.
- = She loves to cook.
However, “would like” and “would love” are ALWAYS followed by “to”:
- I’d like to order a pizza.
- I’d love to join you for lunch.
hate
- I hate waiting. (this is probably a little more common)
- = I hate to wait.
prefer
- I prefer working alone.
- = I prefer to work alone.
Now we’re ready for the trickiest category:
Verbs + Gerund OR Infinitive (different meaning)
This is where many learners get confused.
stop
- “Stop doing something” = quit the activity
- “Stop to do something” = pause one thing to do another
Example:
- “I stopped smoking.”
- = I quit, I don’t smoke anymore
- “I stopped to smoke.”
- I paused something else, like “I stopped working to smoke a cigarette”
remember
- “Remember doing” = memory from the past
- “I remember meeting her last year.”
- “Remember to do” = don’t forget (something in the future)
- “Remember to call her.”
try
- “Try doing” = experiment, used for suggestions, see if it works
- “Try restarting your computer.”
- “Have you tried stretching in the morning?”
- “Try to do” = make an effort
- “I tried to open the door.”
- “I tried to lift the box, but it was too heavy.”
🔥 Top tip to remember gerunds vs. infinitives:
Now that you’ve seen a lot of examples, here’s my top tip for actually remembering them:
Download the PDF, then take each of the verbs and try writing your own example sentences with every single one. This is what will really help them stay in your mind. The more you practice them, the more natural it becomes to use the correct form.
You can get lots of practice like this inside my Advanced English Grammar Course.
Throughout every single lesson, I help you take the grammar you’re learning and USE it successfully. This is a fantastic course for anyone who really wants to master English grammar!
