TO-INFINITVE OR GERUND?

To-infinitive or gerund (verb+ing)?

It is important to know how to choose between the to-infinitive and the gerund of the verb.
Change the verbs below to the appropriate form.

1. I enjoy going 2. I plan to go around the

to strange places. world .

Im worried about 3. Its important to go

4. losing my money. with someone.

5. Staying in hotels is exciting. I like

6. visiting /
to visit
museums.

Use gerund Use the to-infinitive

1. After certain verbs 1. After certain verbs

2. After expressions followed by 2. After certain adjectives

prepositions and phrasal verbs

3. When a verb is used as the subject

of the sentence
Use the gerund or the to infinitive___________________
1. After certain verbs (like, love, hate)
PRACTICE
Read the letter and underline the correct verb form.
VERB PATTERNS
PRACTICE
Complete the following text with the gerund or to-infinitive form of the verbs in
parentheses.

Ill have a Big Mac, a large fries and a medium soda. The language may change, but you can
expect to hear (hear) this order in more than 100 countries all over the world. Fast food has
become almost synonymous with McDonalds, the best known of all multinational fast-food
restaurant chains. At the moment, Antarctica is the only continent that doesnt (yet!) have a
McDonalds. And the numbers keep growing (grow). In the United States
alone, most McDonalds customers need to travel (travel) less than four
minutes to arrive at the next golden arch.

Dining (dine) on fast food has become a way of life for millions and millions
of people, from Illinois, U.S.A. (the first McDonalds location) to Colombo,
Sri Lanka (a more recent opening). What is it about eating (eat) on the run
that so many people find appealing? Of course, the most obvious answer is
that, true to its name, fast food is fast. In todays hectic society, people
dont want to waste (waste) time. But apart from the speed of ordering
(order) and getting (get) served, satisfied customers talk about
convenience, price, and, yes, even good taste.

Many people also like the familiarity and reliability that fast-food chains
provide. You can be sure of getting (get) the same thing every time, every place.

To-infinitive or gerund?
Underline the verb form which you need to use..

1. when the verb is the subject gerund / to-infinitive

2. after prepositions gerund / to-infinitive
3. after certain adjectives
(such as easy and important) gerund / to-infinitive
4. after phrasal verbs gerund / to-infinitive

After the verbs

5. Recommend gerund / to-infinitive
6. Warn gerund / to-infinitive
7. Would like gerund / to-infinitive
8. Enjoy gerund / to-infinitive
9. Love gerund / to-infinitive
10. Plan gerund / to-infinitive
11. Advise gerund / to-infinitive
12. Start gerund / to-infinitive
13. Finish gerund / to-infinitive
14. Cant stand gerund / to-infinitive
15. Stop gerund / to-infinitive
16. Keep gerund / to-infinitive
17. Hope gerund / to-infinitive
18. Need gerund / to-infinitive
19. Ask gerund / to-infinitive
20. Require gerund / to-infinitive
Food for thought
Complete the statements with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
Use the bar graph to find the number of calories.

1. ____Ordering_____ (order) a Big Mac will cost you about ___560___ calories.
2. Having (have) a Taco Bell is much less fattening. It has only about 200 calories.
3. If you want to lose (lose) weight, you should probably avoid eating (eat) an Arnys giant
roast beef sandwich. It contains around 550 calories.
4. Youre likely to gain (gain) weight if you eat half of a medium pepperoni pizza. A single
slice at Pizza Hut has about 700 calories.
5. Stop consuming (consume) so many french fries! An order at Wendys contains about
300 calories.
6. Think about choosing (choose) an eggroll instead of fries. Leeann Chins has
just a little over 200 calories.
7. Nutritionists advise people to stay away (stay away) from fried chicken. A two-piece
order at KFCs contains about 650 calories.

MATCHING

1. Its dangerous.. f a. ..to interrupt when someone is talking.

2. Its easy.. i b. ..to finish doing the grammar exercises.
3. Its impolite.. a c. ..to encourage students to use a dictionary.
4. Its wrong.. h d. ..to put off doing things all the time.
5. Its a good idea.. c e. ..to give up smoking.
6. Its very difficult.. b/e f. ..to walk alone late at night.
7. Its a bad idea.. d g. ..to visit new places.
8. It takes a lot of time..e/b h. ..to ask someone to lie for you.
9. Its fun.. g i. ..to forget new words.
PRACTICE
Complete the sentences with to-infinitive forms of appropriate verbs.

1. I was glad to get a letter from you.

2. I was relieved to find out that I had passed the exam.
3. Sue is lucky to be alive after the accident.
4. The soldiers were prepared to die .
5. The children are anxious to go to the circus.
6. Dick didnt feel like going anywhere. He was content to stay home and read a book.
7. The teacher is always willing to help us.
8. The students are motivated to study English.
9. Be careful not to run on the icy sidewalks!
10. Tom was hesitant to go/walk home alone on the dark street.
11. Sall is afraid to stay home alone.
12. Ann is proud to be the top student in her class.
13. I was surprised to see Mr. Yamamoto at the meeting.
14. We were sorry to hear the bad news.

Verbs that can be followed by either to-infinitive or gerund,

with a change of meaning.
Some verbs can be followed by to-infinitive or gerund, but there is a change in meaning.
Complete the rules by circling the correct word in bold font italics.

We use remember or forget + gerund We use remember or forget + to-infinitive

when we remember or forget something
before/after we do it.
(its a memory)
Example: I remember going (go) to Lima and
Ill never forget seeing (see) it.
When we remember or forget something
before/after we have to do it.
(its a duty/something you have to do)
Example: I remembered to go (go) to Lima to
get my visa done - I didnt forget to do (do) it!

We use regret + gerund We use regret + to-infinitive

to say we regret something we have already To say we regret something we have already
done/we have to do now. done/we have to do now.
Example: I regret spending (spend) all my Example: I regret to tell (tell) you that I cant
money. come.

We use try + gerund/to-infinitive We use try + gerund/to-infinitive

to mean make an experiment do something To mean make an effort see if you can do
and try different methods to see what happens. something.
Example: I couldnt sleep so I tried reading Example: I tried to sleep (sleep) but it was too
(read) noisy.

We use stop + gerund We use stop + to-infinitive

to talk about something we do before we stop/ to talk about something we do before we stop/
why we stop. why we stop.
Example: Im a vegetarian. I stopped eating Example: After working for 2 hours, I stopped
(eat) meat 2 years ago. to have (have) lunch.
PRACTICE
Complete the sentences with the correct form(s) of the verbs in parentheses.

1. I always remember (turn) to turn off all the lights before I leave my house.
2. I can remember (be) being very proud and happy when I graduated.
3. Did you remember (give) to give Jake my message?
4. I remember (play) playing with dolls when I was a child.
5. What do you remember (do) to do before you leave for class every day?
6. What did you forget (do) to do before you left for class this morning?
7. Ill never forget (carry) carrying my wife over the threshold.
8. I cant ever forget (watch) watching our team score the winning goal in the last
seconds of the game to capture the national championship.
9. Dont forget (do) to do your homework tonight!
10. I regret (inform) informing you that your loan application wasnt approved.
11. I regret (listen, not) not listening to my fathers advice. He was right.
12. When a student asks a question, the teacher always tries (explain) to explain clearly.