Clauses & Phrases Intermediate

Gerunds and Infinitives

Master gerunds (-ing forms) and infinitives (to + verb) in English. Learn which verbs take which form, verbs that take both with different meanings, and how to avoid common errors in PTE and IELTS writing.

What is Gerunds and Infinitives?

English verbs can be followed by a gerund (verb-ing), an infinitive (to + verb), or both. The choice is often arbitrary and depends on the main verb. Some verbs change meaning depending on which form follows: "stop smoking" (quit) vs "stop to smoke" (pause in order to). Gerund/infinitive errors are among the most common grammar mistakes in PTE <a href="https://sunpte.com/pte-write-essay" class="il-link">Write Essay</a>.

Rules & Formation

Verbs followed by gerund (verb-ing): enjoy, avoid, finish, consider, suggest, recommend, practise, deny, admit, risk, mind, miss, imagine, keep, delay, postpone.
Verbs followed by infinitive (to + verb): want, need, decide, plan, hope, expect, agree, refuse, offer, promise, fail, manage, tend, seem, appear, afford, learn, choose.
Verbs followed by both (same meaning): begin, start, continue, prefer, like, love, hate.
Verbs followed by both (different meaning): remember (remembering = in memory; to remember = not forget), stop (stopping = quit; to stop = pause in order to), try (trying = experimenting; to try = make effort), forget (forgetting = memory; to forget = task).
After prepositions, always use gerund: "She is interested in improving her score." / "Before taking the exam..."
As subjects: gerunds (more common): "Studying daily improves performance." Infinitives (formal): "To succeed requires dedication."

Examples

She enjoys practising speaking every morning. (gerund after "enjoy")

The government decided to introduce new regulations. (infinitive after "decide")

I remember locking the door. (gerund = I recall doing it)

Remember to lock the door. (infinitive = don't forget to do it)

He stopped smoking last year. (gerund = he quit)

He stopped to smoke. (infinitive = he paused in order to smoke)

🎯 Exam Tip — PTE & IELTS

In PTE Write Essay, the most common errors are: using infinitive after prepositions ("interested to improve" → "interested in improving") and using gerund after "decide/plan/want" ("decided studying" → "decided to study"). In IELTS Writing, both forms appear in academic collocations: "tend to increase", "involve identifying", "aim to reduce", "focus on developing". Memorise the verb + gerund/infinitive patterns for your most common academic verbs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the simplest way to remember which verbs take gerund vs infinitive?

A useful (imperfect) heuristic: gerund-taking verbs often involve "looking back" (enjoy, remember, regret, admit, deny, finish) while infinitive-taking verbs often involve "looking forward" (want, plan, hope, decide, expect, need, intend). This is not 100% accurate but helps with most common cases. For academic writing, memorise the highest-frequency academic verb patterns: "aim to", "tend to", "seek to", "result in + gerund", "involve + gerund", "contribute to + gerund".

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