Infinitives and Gerunds

In this blog post I will be looking at when and how to use infinitives and gerunds. When to use the infinitive form or when to use the gerund form can be a little confusing, so this blog post is going to look at some tips to help you remember when to use infinitives and gerunds. 

What are infinitives and gerunds?

Infinitives

An infinitive is a word that is a form of a verb.
Infinitives often have 'to' in front of it, for example
to eat, to go, to see, to swim, to play

Gerunds

A gerund is when we add '-ing' to a verb so it can act like a noun.

Using infinitives and gerunds with "state" verbs

State verbs are verbs that describe how we feel about something. These verbs express an emotional state, for example like, love, hate

When we use infinitives with state verbs, we put an emphasis on the habit or routine of the action. Look at these examples ...

When we use the gerund form we turn the action of the verb into a noun. This puts emphasis on the whole experience of the action. Look at these examples ...

Using the gerund form turns the verbs 'to swim' and 'to eat' into noun phrases. With the gerund form we can use it as the object of a sentence –

To Summarise ...

Now let's move on and look at some more differences between the infinitive and the gerund.

When to use infinitives

Use of the infinitive without 'to'

When to use the gerund (verb + ing)

Additional tips on gerunds and infinitives

Practice activities

For this activity you need to complete the sentences with the gerund or infinitive. Use the verb in the brackets at the end of each sentence. You can check your answers below.

For example:

Smoking is banned in all public places. (smoke)

1. It's very expensive _______________ a flat in the centre. (rent)

2. Are you afraid of _______________? (fly)

3. I called the restaurant ________________ a table for tonight. (book)

4. Be careful _______________ a noise when you come home tonight. (not make)

5. She's worried about _______________ the exam. (fail)

6. Everybody went on _______________ until after midnight. (dance)

7. _______________ an only child is a bit boring. (be)

8. It's easy _______________ the way if you look at the map. (find)

9. He's terrible at _______________ languages. (learn)

10. A: Why are you learning Spanish?
      B: _______________ talk to my in-laws. They're Argentinian and they don't speak English. (be able to)

Answers Key

1. renting
2. flying
3. to book
4. not to make
5. failing
6. dancing
7. Being
8. to find
9. learning
10. Being able to

Thank you for visiting the Solas English blog. We hope you found this helpful. 
You can download notes from this blog HERE

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Thank you
Dee

Solas English