Gerund and Infinitive (no difference in meaning)
| We use the Gerund or the Infinitive after the following verbs: | |
|---|---|
| begin | He began talking. He began to talk. |
| continue | They continue smoking. They continue to smoke. |
| hate | Do you hate working on Saturdays? Do you hate to work on Saturdays? |
| like | I like swimming. I like to swim. |
| love | She loves painting. She loves to paint. |
| prefer | Pat prefers walking home. Pat prefers to walk home. |
| start | They start singing. They start to sing. |
| We use the Gerund or the Infinitive after the following verbs. There are two possible structures after these verbs. Gerund: verb + -ing Infinitive: verb + person + to-infinitive |
|
|---|---|
| advise | They advise walking to town. They advise us to walk to town. |
| allow | They do not allow smoking here. They do not allow us to smoke here. |
| encourage | They encourage doing the test. They encourage us to do the test. |
| permit | They do not permit smoking here. They do not permit us to smoke here. |
We use the following structures with the word recommend:
| recommend | They recommend walking to town. They recommend that we walk to town. |
Gerund and Infinitive – difference in meaning
Some verbs have different meaning. (when used with Gerund or Infinitive)
| GERUND | INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| forget | He’ll never forget spending so much money on his first computer. | Don’t forget to spend money on the tickets. |
| GERUND | INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| go on | Go on reading the text. | Go on to read the text. |
| GERUND | INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| mean | You have forgotten your homework again. That means phoning your mother. | I meant to phone your mother, but my mobile didn’t work. |
| GERUND | INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| remember | I remember switching off the lights when I went on holiday. | Remember to switch off the lights when you go on holiday. |
| GERUND | INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| stop | Stop reading the text. | Stop to read the text. |
| GERUND | INFINITIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| try | Why don’t you try running after the dog? | I tried to run after the dog, but I was too slow. |


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