Using Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and infinitives are verb forms that can take the place of a noun in a sentence. The following guidelines and lists will help you figure out whether a gerund or infinitive is needed.

Following a verb (gerund or infinitive)

Both gerunds and infinitives can replace a noun as the object of a verb. Whether you use a gerund or an infinitive depends on the main verb in the sentence. Consult the lists below to find out which form to use following which verbs.

I expect to have the report done by Friday.	[INFINITIVE]
I anticipate having the report done by Friday.	[GERUND]

Some common verbs followed by a gerund (note that phrasal verbs, marked here with *, always fall into this category):

acknowledge	She acknowledged receiving assistance.
* accuse of	He was accused of smuggling contraband goods.
admit	They admitted falsifying the data.
advise	The author advises undertaking further study.
anticipate	He anticipates having trouble with his supervisor.
appreciate	I appreciated having a chance to read your draft.
avoid	He avoided answering my question.
complete	I finally completed writing my thesis.
consider	They will consider granting you money.
defer	She deferred writing her report.
delay	We delayed reporting the results until we were sure.
deny	They denied copying the information.
discuss	They discussed running the experiments again.
entail	This review procedure entails repeating the test.
* look after	He will look after mailing the tickets.
* insist on	He insisted on proofreading the article again.
involve	This procedure involves testing each sample twice.
justify	My results justify taking drastic action.
mention	The author mentions seeing this event.
* plan on	They had planned on attending the conference.
postpone	The committee has postponed writing the report.
recall	I cannot recall getting those results before.
resent	He resented spending so much time on the project.
recommend	She recommends reading Marx.
resist	The writer resists giving any easy answers.
risk	She risks losing her viewing time.
sanction	They will not sanction copying without permission.
suggest	I suggest repeating the experiment.
* take care of	He will take care of sending it to you.
tolerate	She can’t tolerate waiting for results.

Some common verbs followed by an infinitive:

afford	We cannot afford to hesitate.
agree	The professors agreed to disagree.
appear	The results appear to support your theory.
arrange	They had arranged to meet at noon.
beg	I beg to differ with you.
care	Would you care to respond?
claim	She claims to have new data.
consent	Will you consent to run for office?
decide	When did he decide to withdraw?
demand	I demand to see the results of the survey.
deserve	She deserves to have a fair hearing.
expect	The committee expects to decide by tomorrow.
fail	The trial failed to confirm his hypothesis.
hesitate	I hesitate to try the experiment again.
hope	What do you hope to accomplish?
learn	We have learned to proceed with caution.
manage	How did she manage to find the solution?
neglect	The author neglected to provide an index.
need	Do we need to find new subjects?
offer	We could offer to change the time of the meeting.
plan	They had planned to attend the conference.
prepare	He was not prepared to give a lecture.
pretend	I do not pretend to know the answer.
promise	They promise to demonstrate the new equipment.
refuse	She refused to cooperate any longer.
seem	Something seems to be wrong with your design.
struggle	We struggled to understand her point of view.
swear	He swears to tell the truth.
threaten	The team threatened to stop their research.
volunteer	Will you volunteer to lead the group?
wait	We could not wait to hear the outcome.
want	She did not want to go first.
wish	Do you wish to participate?

Following a preposition (gerund only)

Gerunds can follow a preposition; infinitives cannot.

Can you touch your toes without bending your knees?

He was fined for driving over the speed limit.

She got the money by selling the car.

A corkscrew is a tool for taking corks out of bottles.

Note: Take care not to confuse the preposition “to” with an infinitive form, or with an auxiliary form such as have to, used to, going to

He went back to writing his paper.	[PREPOSITION + GERUND]
I used to live in Mexico.	[AUXILIARY + VERB]
I want to go home.	[VERB + INFINITIVE]

Following an indirect object (infinitive only)

Some verbs are followed by a pronoun or noun referring to a person, and then an infinitive. Gerunds cannot be used in this position.

Some common verbs followed by an indirect object plus an infinitive:

ask	I must ask you to reconsider your statement.
beg	They begged her to stay for another term.
cause	His findings caused him to investigate further.
challenge	Wilkins challenged Watson to continue the research.
convince	Can we convince them to fund our study?
encourage	She encouraged him to look beyond the obvious.
expect	They did not expect us to win an award.
forbid	The author forbade me to change his wording.
force	They cannot force her to reveal her sources.
hire	Did the department hire him to teach the new course?
instruct	I will instruct her to prepare a handout.
invite	We invite you to attend the ceremony.
need	They need her to show the slides.
order	He ordered the group to leave the building.
persuade	Can we persuade you to contribute again?
remind	Please remind him to check the references.
require	They will require you to submit an outline.
teach	We should teach them to follow standard procedures.
tell	Did she tell him to make three copies?
urge	I urge you to read the instructions before you begin.
want	I do not want you to have an accident.
warn	Why didn’t they warn me to turn down the heat?

Follow this link to HyperGrammar at the University of Ottawa for a review of the parts of speech.