Gerund or infinitive?

Verb patterns

Use a gerund ... as the subject a sentence: Drinking 2 litres of water a day may help you lose some weight. (In more formal context, an infinitive is preferred)

after prepositions: After having the accident, I decided to visit a psychologist to help. Sometimes TO (as a preposition) is followed by a gerund: Peter is looking forward to going under the knife to have his appearance

improved. (confess to, object to, adapt to, adjust to, admit to, own up, resort)

after certain verbs:

admit delay imagine practiceadvise deny involve rejectallow dislike keep resistappreciate enjoy mention riskavoid escape mind stopcan’t help fancy miss suggestcan’t stand finish permit understandconsider go (swimming) postpone waste (time)

Verbs followed by a preposition and a gerund

admit to approve of apologize for argue aboutbe accused of

be excited about

be used to believe in

blame for care about complain about concentrate onconfess to count on depend on disapprove ofdiscourage from

dream about feel like forget about

famous for insist on instead of interested inkeep from look forward to object to plan onprevent from

profit from refrain from succeed in

take care about

talk about think about worry about

Other uses of gerunds

Use an infinitive ... After adjectives and adverbs: Alternative medicine may be useful to avoid the overuse of drugs. Mary is too young to take sleeping pills every night.

After enough: My first visit to the chiropractor wasn’t enough to relieve the pain

in my back.

Infinitive of purpose: Some people think that herbal medicine is only taken to prevent

colds in winter. *After some verbs, FOR + Object is needed before the infinitive: I asked for an ambulance to come home.

After certain verbsagree consent have offer startaim continue hesitate ought stopappear dare hope plan strivearrange decide hurry prefer swearask deserve intend prepare threatenattempt detest leap proceed trybe able dislike leave promise usebeg expect like propose waitbegin fail long refuse wantcare forget love remembe

rwish

choose get mean saycondescend

happen neglect shoot

After nouns formed from verbs which take the infinitive

Agreement, plan, hope ,..

After something, anywhere, nothing,...

There’s nothing to do to prevent depression.

After question words (except WHY)

I don’t know what to do to help you get better.

After superlatives and first, second, last, ...

She is the first person I know to be diagnosed with anorexia.

Present or perfect? Active or passive? To eat Eating To have eaten Having eaten To be eaten Being eaten

Passive gerunds and infinitives to describe actions which are done to the subject.

Perfect gerunds and infinitives to emphasize that the action is completed or in the past.

Gerund or infinitive with no difference in meaningBegin, hate, like, start, love, prefer, continue, can’t stand /bear, attempt, cease, deserve, fear, intend

Gerund or infinitive with a change in meaning

Other considerations Make, let , help + Object + bare infinitive However: I was made to rest for a month I help Peter (to) find a good specialist.

Dare + to or bare infinitive BUT Dare + Object + to infinitive

Hear, feel, notice, observe, see, overhear, watch,.. + gerund (part of the action) or bare infinitive (completed action, from start to finish). Compare:

I saw her crossing the road I saw her cross the road

Verb + that clause accept, admit, agree, announce, argue, believe, boast, complain, conclude, confess, declare, exclaim, insist, suggest, imagine, reveal, report, recommend, ...

Verb + object + that clause

advise, assure, inform, reassure, remind, tell, warn

Verb + object + to infinitive

ask, beg, expect, want, advise, allow, challenge, command, encourage, forbid, force, invite, permit, remind, request, urge, warn

Verb + object + gerund dislike, hate, imagine, involve, keep, mind, prevent, remember, risk, stop

Verb + object + preposition + gerund

Accuse somebody of, blame somebody for, congratulate somebody on, thank somebody for