Two ways to use a verb as a 'thing': When one verb follows another, English makes you choose between two forms of the second verb: the gerund or the infinitive.
The gerund is the -ing form used like a noun: swimming, reading, studying. The infinitive is to + base verb: to swim, to read, to study.
The tricky part isn't the forms — they're easy. It's knowing which one a particular verb wants after it: we say "I enjoy swimming" but "I want to swim".
- gerund
- the -ing form of a verb used as a noun: 'Swimming is fun.', 'I enjoy reading.'
- infinitive (full / to-infinitive)
- to + the base verb: 'I want to swim.', 'She hopes to win.'
- base verb
- the simplest form of a verb, with no ending: go, eat, study (the part after 'to')
- main verb
- the first verb, which decides what form the second verb takes: 'enjoy', 'want', 'decide'
- preposition
- a small word like at, in, of, about, before — always followed by a gerund, never an infinitive
- verb pattern
- the fixed structure a verb takes after it (e.g. 'enjoy + -ing', 'decide + to + verb')
Why it carries the marks: Choosing the right form is pure Criterion A (Language) accuracy — "I enjoy to read" or "I want going" is an error an examiner spots instantly. Get the common patterns right and your writing reads as natural, accurate English.
Three patterns to learn: There are really only three things to memorise:
1. Some main verbs take a gerund (verb + -ing): enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, practise, keep, miss, can't stand.
2. Some main verbs take an infinitive (verb + to): want, decide, hope, need, plan, promise, agree, learn, would like.
3. After a preposition, always use a gerund — never an infinitive: good at swimming, interested in learning, instead of waiting.
| Pattern | Common main verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb + GERUND (-ing) | enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, practise, keep, miss | I enjoy reading. · She avoided answering. |
| verb + INFINITIVE (to) | want, decide, hope, need, plan, promise, agree, learn, would like | I want to read. · We decided to leave. |
| preposition + GERUND | good at, interested in, before, after, instead of, think about | She is good at painting. · before leaving home |
| adjective + INFINITIVE | happy to, easy to, ready to, difficult to | I'm happy to help. · It's easy to learn. |
How to remember the gerund list
- Many gerund verbs are about NOT doing or STOPPING: avoid, finish, give up, mind, can't stand.
- Many infinitive verbs are about WANTING or PLANNING: want, hope, decide, plan, promise, agree.
- After ANY preposition, the verb is always -ing: 'after eating', 'good at cooking', 'tired of waiting'.
Same forms — only the choice changes: The gerund is always just verb + -ing (spelling: make → making, run → running, study → studying). The infinitive is always just to + base verb. You never have to change how you build them — you only have to choose which one the main verb wants.
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A few verbs take BOTH — but the meaning changes: A small group of verbs can be followed by either form, but the meaning is different. These are the ones examiners love to test, so learn them as pairs:
stop, remember, forget and try are the big three you must know.
verb + GERUND
- stop doing — finish / quit an activity: 'He stopped smoking.' (he no longer smokes)
- remember doing — recall a past action: 'I remember locking the door.' (I did it, and I recall it)
- try doing — experiment to see if it works: 'Try turning it off and on.' (an experiment)
verb + INFINITIVE (to)
- stop to do — pause in order to do something: 'He stopped to smoke.' (he paused so he could smoke)
- remember to do — not forget a future task: 'Remember to lock the door.' (don't forget to do it)
- try to do — make an effort / attempt: 'Try to finish your homework.' (make the effort)
A quick test for 'stop': Ask what stopped? If the activity itself stops, use the gerund ("stopped eating meat" = no longer eats meat). If you pause in order to do a new thing, use the infinitive ("stopped to eat" = paused so you could eat). Same logic for remember (past memory = -ing; future task = to) and try (experiment = -ing; effort = to).
A short paragraph, pattern by pattern: Here is a short personal paragraph built one sentence at a time. Each sentence chooses the gerund or the infinitive correctly. The verb forms are shown in bold — notice how the main verb (enjoy, decide, keep, suggest, agree, hope, stop) decides which form follows.
IB-style task — gerunds & infinitives in action
One paragraph, sentence by sentence
- I really enjoy learning languages, so last year I decided to start an online course.
- At first I kept forgetting new words, and I wanted to give up after only a week.
- But my teacher suggested keeping a small notebook and practising for ten minutes a day.
- Now I'm good at remembering vocabulary, and I've even agreed to help a classmate to revise.
- I'll never stop studying, because I hope to live abroad one day.
Steal this for your own writing: Build a personal sentence bank: I enjoy …-ing, I've decided to …, I'm good at …-ing, I hope to …. Drop your own activities into these frames and you have accurate, natural sentences ready for the oral or a writing task.
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The slips to watch for: Three mistakes dominate: using the infinitive after a gerund verb ("enjoy to read"), using the infinitive after a preposition ("good at to cook"), and mixing up the meaning-change verbs ("remember locking" vs "remember to lock"). Compare the right version with the typical mistake and the fix becomes obvious.
Correct
- I enjoy reading before bed.
- She is interested in learning Spanish.
- Remember to bring your passport tomorrow.
Common mistake
- I enjoy to read before bed. (✗ — 'enjoy' takes a gerund: enjoy reading)
- She is interested in to learn Spanish. (✗ — preposition 'in' needs a gerund: in learning)
- Remember bringing your passport tomorrow. (✗ — a future task needs the infinitive: remember to bring)
Ask: what's the main verb, and is there a preposition?: Before you write the second verb, do two quick checks. 1. Look at the main verb — is it on the gerund list (enjoy, avoid, suggest, finish) or the infinitive list (want, decide, hope, plan)? 2. Is there a preposition right before? If so, it must be a gerund. For stop/remember/forget/try, ask whether you mean a past/ongoing action (-ing) or a future task / effort (to).