Gerund vs infinitive
After a verb, English uses either a gerund ('enjoy reading') or an infinitive ('decide to read'); the first verb decides which. Gerunds follow enjoy, avoid, finish and suggest, and every preposition; infinitives follow want, decide, hope and plan. A few verbs (stop, remember, try, forget) take both with different meanings.
The rule
Gerund vs infinitive at a glance
Gerund (-ing)
Infinitive (to + verb)
- Follows these verbs
- enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, keep, consider, practise
- want, decide, hope, plan, agree, offer, refuse, manage
- After prepositions
- Always: interested in learning, good at drawing
- Never. Even 'to' as a preposition takes -ing (look forward to seeing)
- As the subject of a sentence
- Natural: Cycling saves money
- Usually moved after 'it': It is cheaper to cycle
- After adjectives
- Only in fixed phrases (busy revising, worth watching)
- Standard: easy to follow, happy to help
- To express purpose
- Not used; 'for + -ing' only names a function
- Standard: I called to complain
- After stop, remember, try, forget
- Looks back at an earlier action (stopped smoking)
- Looks forward to a task or purpose (stopped to smoke)
Inside a sentence
Isubjectenjoyenjoy, avoid, finishcookinggerund (-ing)for my friends.
Isubjectwantwant, decide, hopetotocookinfinitivefor my friends.
- subject
- main verb
- key word
Which one do I need?
Gerund or infinitive?
Every answer at a glance
-ing form (gerund)
Every preposition is followed by -ing, including the to in look forward to, be used to and object to.
Many students are used to studying late at night.
to + verb (infinitive)
Most adjectives take to + verb: easy to use, happy to help. The exceptions are fixed phrases such as worth and busy: worth visiting.
The new timetable is much easier to follow.
-ing form (gerund)
These verbs take only -ing, never to + verb. So do phrasal verbs (give up, carry on) and phrases like it's no use and can't help.
Have you considered taking a gap year before university?
to + verb (infinitive)
These verbs take to + verb. Many of them point ahead: an intention, a choice or a promise.
The council has agreed to build a new sports centre.
-ing form (gerund)
With stop, remember, forget and regret, -ing looks back at an action that already happened. Try + -ing means doing something as an experiment.
I'll never forget meeting my host family at the airport.
to + verb (infinitive)
To + verb looks ahead to a task or purpose: remember to do it (a duty still ahead), stop to do it (pause in order to). Try to means attempt.
Please remember to bring your passport to the test centre.
to + verb (infinitive)
After would like, would love, would hate and would prefer, only to + verb is possible.
I'd prefer to sit the computer-based test.
Either form
These verbs take -ing or to + verb with little change in meaning: it started raining, it started to rain.
The population of the city began to grow rapidly after 1990.
to + verb (infinitive)
To say why someone does something, use to + verb. For + -ing only names what a thing is used for.
Many students take part-time jobs to pay their rent.
-ing form (gerund)
As the subject of a sentence, the -ing form is the natural choice. To + verb usually moves after it: it is cheaper to cycle.
Living abroad teaches you a lot about your own culture.
to + verb (infinitive)
After verb + person, use to + verb: ask someone to, remind someone to, want someone to. Want never takes a that-clause.
My tutor encouraged me to apply for the scholarship.
How to use gerund vs infinitive
Which verbs are followed by the gerund?
A fixed set of common verbs takes the -ing form: enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, keep, suggest, consider, admit, deny, practise, imagine and miss. There is no rule to derive the list; it has to be learned, and these verbs reject the infinitive completely.
The gerund also follows every preposition (after eating, without asking, instead of driving), all phrasal verbs (give up, carry on), and fixed expressions such as it's no use, it's worth and can't help.
- I really enjoy cooking for friends at the weekend.
- She's thinking of applying to a university in Manchester.preposition 'of' → -ing
- The old cinema is worth visiting before it closes.fixed expression 'worth' + -ing
- He avoided to answer the journalist's question.avoid + -ing → avoided answering
Which verbs are followed by the infinitive?
Another set takes to + base verb: want, decide, hope, plan, agree, offer, refuse, learn, manage, afford and promise. Many describe intentions or future-pointing choices, which is a helpful memory hook even though it is not a perfect rule.
The infinitive also follows verb + object (ask somebody to, remind somebody to, want somebody to), most adjectives (difficult to explain, ready to order), and expresses purpose: 'She went outside to check the letterbox.'
- We decided to take the overnight train to Chiang Mai.
- It was difficult to hear the announcement over the noise.adjective + to-infinitive
- My manager reminded me to submit the timesheet.verb + object + to-infinitive
- I can't afford buying a new laptop this year.afford + to-infinitive → afford to buy
Stop doing vs stop to do: which verbs change meaning?
Five verbs (stop, remember, forget, try and regret) accept both forms but change meaning with each. The pattern behind them all: the gerund looks backwards at an action that happened (or was happening), while the infinitive looks forward to a purpose or task.
So 'he stopped drinking coffee' means the habit ended, but 'he stopped to drink a coffee' means he paused another activity in order to have one. 'Remember to lock' is a duty still ahead; 'remember locking' is a memory of something already done.
- Dad stopped drinking coffee after the doctor's warning.the habit ended
- On the way to Lagos we stopped to buy fuel.paused in order to do it
- Please remember to lock the studio when you leave.a task still to do
- I clearly remember locking the door that night.a memory of an earlier action
Which verbs take both forms with no real change?
Begin, start, continue, like, love, hate and prefer take either form with little or no difference: 'It started raining' and 'It started to rain' describe the same downpour. British English slightly prefers 'like + -ing' for enjoyment and 'like + to' for habits and sensible choices.
One firm exception: after would (would like, would love, would hate, would prefer) only the infinitive is possible.
- The crowd continued to sing long after the final whistle.
- I hate queuing for buses in the rain.hate + -ing or + to, both fine
- I'd love to visit São Paulo during carnival season.'would love' takes only the infinitive
- I would like going home early today.→ I would like to go home early today
Common mistakes with gerund vs infinitive
Find what is wrong in each one, then open it to check.
1I enjoy to play badminton on Fridays.What's wrong? Show the fix
I enjoy playing badminton on Fridays.
'Enjoy' belongs to the gerund-only list; it can never be followed by a to-infinitive.
2I'm looking forward to hear from you.What's wrong? Show the fix
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
In 'look forward to', the word 'to' is a preposition, so the -ing form must follow it.
3She suggested to visit the floating market.What's wrong? Show the fix
She suggested visiting the floating market.
'Suggest' takes -ing or a that-clause ('suggested that we visit'), never a to-infinitive.
4He wants that I join the team.What's wrong? Show the fix
He wants me to join the team.
'Want' cannot take a that-clause in English; the pattern is want + object + to-infinitive.
5It's no use to complain about the weather.What's wrong? Show the fix
It's no use complaining about the weather.
Fixed expressions like it's no use, it's no good and there's no point take the gerund.
6I stopped to eat junk food last month.What's wrong? Show the fix
I stopped eating junk food last month.
If the meaning is quitting a habit, stop needs the gerund; 'stopped to eat' would mean you paused in order to eat it.
Practise
Write your own
Write a sentence that uses gerund (-ing) or infinitive (to + verb), about you, your studies or your town.
Gerund vs infinitive in IELTS
Speaking
- Gerund subjects give Part 3 answers an academic shape without difficult vocabulary: 'Banning cars from city centres sounds attractive, but it punishes shift workers.' That single -ing subject reads as confident B2 control.
- Watch 'look forward to', 'be used to' and 'object to' in Part 1: 'I'm used to getting up before six' with the -ing form is exactly the kind of detail examiners use to separate Band 6 accuracy from Band 7.
Writing
- Purpose infinitives tighten Task 2 sentences: 'Governments raise tobacco taxes to discourage young smokers' says in one clause what 'for discouraging' says clumsily, precision the GRA criterion rewards.
- In Task 1, gerunds after prepositions keep process and trend language accurate: 'After being washed, the fruit is graded by size.' Slips like 'after to wash' are basic-form errors that cap the accuracy score quickly.