Gerund or Infinitive.- Grammar tips

Do you know how to use infinitive or gerund correctly in your sentences?
Today we are going to help you understand it with these grammar tips.

Oh! and at the end of the post you have a video of our teacher Trini explaining it 😉

Gerunds

A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding “-ing.” The gerund form of the verb “read” for example is “reading.”

Uses
You can use a gerund (verb+ ing):
-After prepositions:
Give your homework before leaving.

-As the subject or object of a sentence

Eating vegetables is good for your health.

-After certain verbs:
I enjoy cooking.

-Some of the verbs followed by –ing are:
Admit, appreciate, avoid, celebrate, consider, delay, deny, dislike, enjoy, feel, like, finish, imagine, involve, keep, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off, regret, risk, stop, suggest.
I have finished reading the book.

-We also use a verb+-ing after these expressions:
It’s not good, it’s not worth, it’s no use, it’s a waste of time, can’t stand, can’t bear, can’t help.
It’s a waste of time entering the competition if you are not a professional
sportsman.

-We can use these verbs from the list above in reported speech:
Admit, deny, regret, suggest.

*Gerunds can be made negative by adding “not.” Gerunds can often be modified with possessive forms such as his, her, its, your, their, our, John’s, Mary’s, the machine’s, and so on. This makes it clearer who or what is performing the action. Example: I can´t stand her smoking in the office.

Infinitives with To

Infinitives are the “to” form of the verb. The infinitive form of “learn” is “to learn.”

Uses
-After many adjectives and adverbs:
It is easy to use.

-To show purpose:
I study to pass the exam.

-After certain verbs:
She wants to buy a dress.

-We use infinitive in the following verb patterns:
*Verb + to infinitive:
Agree, appear, bother, decide, demand, fail, hope, learn, manage, offer, plan, refuse, seem, be supposed.
He agreed to meet her after school.

*Verb + (somebody/something) + to infinitive:
Ask, choose, expect, help, intend, promise, want.
He expected to win the competition.
They expect him to take part in the contest.

*Verb + somebody/something + to infinitive:
Advise, allow, enable, encourage, forbid, force, invite, order, permit, persuade, recommend, remind, teach, tell, warn.

-We use these verbs from the list above to report speech:
Advise, agree, allow, ask, decide, encourage, forbid, invite, offer, order, permit, persuade, promise, recommend, refuse, remind, tell, threaten, warn.

*Infinitives can be made negative by adding “not.” Some verbs are followed by a noun plus an infinitive. In some situations, the noun is required. In other situations, the noun is optional.
Examples: The police ordered the woman to stop. (The noun is required).
She asked me to leave. (The noun is optional)

After these verbs you can use both, infitinive or gerund with the same meaning: 

*There are other verbs that can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive, BUT the difference in meaning is very little or don’t have a difference. These verbs are like, hate, love, prefer, begin, continue and start:
Example: I like cooking Japanese food.
I like to cook Japanese food.

After these verbs you can use infinitive or gerund but the meaning of the sentence changes: 

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive, but with a difference in meaning. These verbs are: remember, forget, regret, try and stop.
Remember: Remember to post the letter (an action you have to do).
She remembered kissing her boyfriend on the beach (a memory of
something in the past).

Forget: Don’t forget to take the jacket (an action you have to do).
I’ll never forget going to Euro Disney with my aunt (a memory of
something in the past).

Regret: I regret to tell you that there are no more tickets left (feel sorry about a situation).
I regret not studying harder before the exam (I’m sorry I didn’t do that).

Try: I’m trying to cut down on sugar (my aim is to eat less sugar).
Try painting the wall in grey to see if you like it (it is a way to achieve
something).

Stop: I stopped to buy bread on my way to the beach (in order to buy bread).
I stopped smoking 10 years ago (he didn’t continue).

Mean: Rose means to win the competition (this is her intention).
Rose wanted to be a professional runner, but it meant training everyday
(it involved).