gerund and infinitive

• Gerund


  A verb that ends in -ing and acts as a noun
• Infinitive


  The simplest form of a verb, with 'to' in front of the base verb
• Gerunds always act as nouns or noun phrases, never as verbs
• Infinitives can sometimes be used as the subject of a sentence, but this sounds formal and old-fashioned
• Verbs that allow both gerunds and infinitives after them


  • Hate
  • Prefer
  • Start
• Verbs that only allow gerunds after them


  • Consider
  • Deny
  • Enjoy
  • Imagine
  • Suggest
• Gerunds can be used as the object of prepositions
• Common prepositions used with gerunds


  • Before
  • By
  • Since
  • Except
  • Without
  • After
• Verbs that take infinitives as direct objects


  • Agree
  • Demand
  • Manage
  • Plan
  • Want
• Infinitives can be used after certain verb and object combinations, in the pattern: subject + verb + object + infinitive
• Infinitives can also be used after adjectives
• If the first action leads to a second action, use an infinitive. If the first action is happening at the same time as the second action, use a gerund.