Grammar: Gerunds and Infinitives

 

We use gerunds (verb + ing):

• After certain verbs - I enjoy singing
• After prepositions - I drank a cup of coffee before leaving
• As the subject or object of a sentence - Swimming is good exercise

We use 'to' + infinitive:

• After certain verbs - We decided to leave
• After many adjectives - It's difficult to get up early
• - I came to London to study English

We use the bare infinitive (the infinitive without 'to'):

• After modal verbs - I can meet you at six o'clock
• After 'let', 'make' and (sometimes) 'help' - The teacher let us leave early
• After some verbs of perception (see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense) - I watched her walk away
• After expressions with 'why' - why go out the night before an exam?

Verbs that take the gerund or 'to + infinitive' with examples and exercises:

• Verbs with gerunds and infinitives part 1
• Verbs with gerunds and infinitives part 2
• Verbs with gerunds and infinitives part 3
• Verbs with gerunds and infinitives part 4
• Gerunds and Infinitives Part 1
  
• Gerunds and Infinitives Part 2
• Gerunds and Infinitives Part 3

Gerund and Infinitive Reference Lists

• Verbs Followed by Gerunds
• Verbs Followed by Infinitives
• Verbs Followed by Nouns + Infinitives
• Verbs Followed by Either Gerunds OR Nouns + Infinitives
• Go + Gerund List
• Adjective + Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds
• Noun + Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds
• Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives (Different Usage)
• Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives (Similar Meaning)
• Be + Adjective Combinations Followed by Infinitives
• Nouns Followed by Infinitives
• Expressions followed by VERB+ing
• Location Verbs Followed by VERB+ing