8.3: Gerunds and Infinitives

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Gerunds

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A gerund is a form of a verb that is used as a noun. All gerunds end in -ing.

Since gerunds function as nouns, they occupy places in a sentence that a noun would, such as the subject, direct object, and object of a preposition. You can use a gerund in the following ways:

As a subject
Example: Traveling is Cynthia's favorite pastime.
As a direct object
Example: I enjoy jogging.
As an object of a proposition
Example: The librarian scolded me for laughing.

Often verbs are followed by gerunds. Examine the following table for examples.

Table of Gerunds and Verbs

Gerund	Verb Followed by a Gerund
moving	Denise considered moving to Paris.
cleaning	I hate cleaning the bathroom.
winning	Nate imagines winning an Oscar one day.
worrying	Mom says she has stopped worrying.
taking	She admitted taking the pumpkin.

Infinitives

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An infinitive is a form of a verb that includes the word to and acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

to + verb = infinitive

Examples of infinitives include:

to move,
to sleep,
to look,
to throw,
to read
to sneeze

Often verbs are followed by infinitives.

Table of Infinitives and Verbs

Infinitive	Verb Followed by Infinitive
to help	Jessica offered to help her move.
to arrive	Mick expects to arrive early.
to win	Sunita wants to win the writing contest.
to close	He forgot to close the curtains.
to eat	She likes to eat late.

You may wonder which verbs can be followed by gerunds and which verbs can be followed by infinitives. With the following verbs, you can use either a gerund or an infinitive.

Table of Infinitives and Gerunds Verbs

Base Form of Verb	Sentences with Verbs Followed by Gerunds and Infinitives
continue	He continued listening to the news. He continued to listen to the news.
like	I liked leaving messages. I liked to leave messages.
prefer	I prefer baking. I prefer to bake.
start	I will start recycling immediately. I will start to recycle immediately.
begin	John began crying. John began to cry.
love	Josh loves diving. Josh loves to dive.
hate	Marie hated talking on the phone. Marie hated to talk on the phone.
try	Mikhail will try climbing the tree. Mikhail will try to climb the tree.
forget	Wendell forgot paying the bills. Wendell forgot to pay the bills.

Exercise: Infinitives and Gerunds

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Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct infinitive or gerund:

I meant ________ (to kiss, kissing) my kids before they left for school.
The children hoped (to go, going) to a restaurant for dinner.
Do you intend ________ (to eat, eating) the entire pie?
Crystal postponed ________ (to get dressed, getting dressed) for the party.
When we finish ________ (to play, playing) this game, we will go home.

Key Takeaways

Verb Tenses

Verb tenses tell the reader when the action takes place.
Actions could be in the past, present, or future.
There are six main verb tenses in English: simple present, simple past, simple future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.
Verbs in English can have active forms and passive forms.
Verbs can be followed by either gerunds or infinitives.other pages.