Gerunds and infinitives

Gerunds vs infinitives

I hate to drive dowtown

A. Do you like to drive / driving downtown?

B. No, I can't stand to drive / driving downtown. I avoid driving downtown whenever I can.

A. Do you like to watch TV?

B. Yes, I enjoy watching TV very much.

A. Do you like listening to music?

B. Yes, I love to listen to music

A. Does Valerie like to browse the web?

B. Yes, She likes browsing the web

What is it used for?

• turn verbs into subjects

• turn verbs into adjectives

Rules

• When a verb follows another verb, we always need to use the infinitive or the gerund.

• We can use the gerund or the infinitive as the object, subject or complement of a sentence, but in general, it is much more common to use the gerund as the subject.

•  With some verbs, when we use the gerund and the infinitive, the meaning changes: I forgot writing that email.(olvidé que escribí ese correo electrónico.) : I forgot to write that email.(Me olvidé de escribir el correo electrónico.

• The infinitive is used after adjectives : I’m glad to see you.(Me alegro de verte.)

• After prepositions we can only use the gerund : I always read before going to bed.(Siempre leo antes de acostarme.)

• The gerund is used after nouns: His problem finding a new job was his lack of experience.(Su problema para encontrar un nuevo empleo era su falta de experiencia.)

• The gerund is used after phrasal expressions or phrasal verbs : I can’t help falling in love.(No puedo evitar enamorarme.)