Gerunds vs Infinitives

• Gerunds and infinitives are verb forms that act as nouns.
• Gerunds are verbs ending in "-ing" that function as nouns.
• Infinitives are the base form of a verb preceded by "to."

Verbs Followed By Gerunds

• Some verbs are consistently followed by gerunds.
• Examples of such verbs include: admit, appreciate, avoid, complete, consider, continue, delay, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, escape, finish, imagine, involve, keep, mind, miss, postpone, practice, quit, recall, recommend, resent, resist, risk, suggest, tolerate, and understand.
• Example: "I enjoy reading novels." ("reading" is a gerund)
• Example: "She avoided answering the question." ("answering" is a gerund)

Verbs Followed By Infinitives

• Certain verbs are typically followed by infinitives.
• Common verbs in this category are: agree, appear, arrange, ask, attempt, claim, decide, demand, deserve, expect, fail, forget, hesitate, hope, learn, manage, mean, need, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, tend, threaten, want, and wish.
• Example: "They decided to go to the beach." ("to go" is an infinitive)
• Example: "He wants to learn Spanish." ("to learn" is an infinitive)

Gerund Phrases

• A gerund phrase consists of a gerund and any modifiers or complements.
• The entire phrase acts as a noun.
• Example: "Reading books is my favorite hobby." ("Reading books" is the gerund phrase)
• Example: "She is good at playing the piano." ("playing the piano" is the gerund phrase)

Infinitive Phrases

• An infinitive phrase includes an infinitive and any modifiers or complements.
• The entire phrase functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
• Example (noun): "To travel the world is my dream." ("To travel the world" is the infinitive phrase acting as a noun/subject)
• Example (adjective): "I need a pen to write the letter." ("to write the letter" is the infinitive phrase modifying "pen")
• Example (adverb): "He studied hard to pass the exam." ("to pass the exam" is the infinitive phrase modifying "studied")

Gerund vs Infinitive

• Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive, sometimes with a change in meaning.
• Verbs with little to no change in meaning include: begin, continue, hate, like, love, prefer, and start.
• Example: "I like swimming" and "I like to swim" have similar meanings.
• Verbs with a change in meaning include: forget, remember, regret, and stop.
• "Forget"
  • "I forgot turning off the lights" (implies that the action was completed, but it's forgotten)
  • "I forgot to turn off the lights" (implies that the action was not completed)
• "Remember"
  • "I remember meeting him" (implies recalling a past event)
  • "I remembered to meet him" (implies remembering an obligation)
• "Regret"
  • "I regret saying that" (implies feeling sorry about something already said)
  • "I regret to say that" (introduces bad news)
• "Stop"
  • "I stopped smoking" (implies quitting the habit)
  • "I stopped to smoke" (implies pausing an activity to smoke)