Gerund and Infinitive

• A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing."  e.g. Play.. Playing

  The gerund is used after :

• Certain verbs:  avoid, admit , deny , like , dislike , enjoy , finish, hate , mind , recommend , keep , risk , suggest , stop, start ,spend , etc.

• Adjectives + prepositions: worried about , good at, sorry for , bored with , tired of , capable of , interested in , responsible for , bad at , keen on , fed up with, fond of, nervous about , clever at , afraid of , skilled at , terrified of , frightened of , etc.

• Verb+ preposition: apologize for, complain about , insist on , succeed in , look forward to , prevent from , reproach for, thank for , etc.

• Certain idiomatic phrases : it’s no use , can’t stand , there is no point in, can’t help , etc.

• The gerund is also used  as a subject or object of a sentence : e.g. Skiing is my favorite sport- I enjoy reading

• Negation: e.g. he likes not working on Saturday.

• Infinitive with “to” is used after:

• Certain verbs: forget , hope , seem , decide , intend , plan , choose , manage ,promise , fail, choose , plan , afford , etc.

•  After certain adjectives : difficult , hesitant , reluctant , etc.

           e.g. It is difficult to afford it.

               I was hesitant to accept the offer.

• Certain verbs can either take the “ing” form or infinitive with “to”  with a difference in meaning : stop : remember , try , go on , forget ,etc.

           e.g.   Jack stopped to talk to his friend.

                 Jack stopped talking to his friend .

First example Jack stopped in order to talk to his friend .In the second example Jack  used to talk to him but now he doesn’t any more.

e.g.  I didn’t remember locking the door. ( I have no recollection of the action).

        I didn’t remember to lock the door. ( I intended to lock it but I forgot)