Gerund and Infinitive

On this page, we will learn about gerunds and infinitives, verbs followed by either infinitives or gerunds, and the difference between gerunds and infinitives.

Gerund and Infinitive

For English language learners, choosing between the gerund and the infinitive when they are the sentences object can be very challenging.

If they are the sentence's object, the verb comes before them. To learn which gerund or infinitive to use after which verb, refer back to the earlier lectures on gerunds and infinitives.

In those courses, you learned that some verbs can only be followed by the gerund (instead of the infinitive) and that some verbs can only be followed by the infinitive (not the gerund).

Here are a few examples, but for more, see the lessons on gerunds and infinitives:

Examples of verbs that are followed by a gerund Examples of verbs that are followed by an infinitive
I kept to call the peon.

I kept calling the peon.

He appreciates to hear from me.

He appreciates hearing from me.

She denies to make a phone call.

She denies making the phone call.

We avoid to debate on that topic.

We avoid debating on that topic. 		He agreed dealing with it.

He agreed to deal with it.

She expected winning.

She expected to win.

She managed getting a profit.

He managed to get a profit.

We pretended crying.

He pretended to cry.

Verbs followed by either infinitives or gerunds

The gerund or the infinitive is acceptable in some situations, though. These common verbs can be followed by either of the two:

VERB EXAMPLE SENTENCE

attempt		 We attempted to walk every morning.
We attempted walking every morning.

begin		 He generally begins to feel fresh at 10am.
He generally begins feeling fresh at 10am.

cease		 The government ceased to drive on that road.
The government ceased driving on that road.

continue		 The cops continued to chase him.
The police continued chasing him.

hate		 He hates to go to walk.
He hates going to walk.

like		 Majority of people like to travel around the world.
Majority of people like traveling around the world.

love		 We love to eat at roof-top restaurants.
We love eating at roof-top restaurants.

prefer		 The election committee prefers to vote in October.
The election committee prefers voting in October.

propose		 Our company proposed to delay the company amalgamation last year.
Our company proposed delaying the company amalgamation last year.

start		 He will start to make the house next week.
He will start to make the house next week.

try		 My parents tried to reduce their intake of calories.
My parents tried reducing their intake of calories.