Gerund or Infinitive? When to Use -ing and To + Verb

“I enjoy swimming” and “I want to swim” refer to the same activity, but enjoy and want require different patterns. In these examples, swimming is a gerund and to swim is a to-infinitive.

Learn a verb together with the form that follows it. Some verbs select one pattern, while others accept both with either a small difference in emphasis or a substantial change of meaning.

Common verbs followed by -ing

Use an -ing form after enjoy, avoid, finish, consider, and suggest. “She suggested going to the museum” is correct; “She suggested to go” is not the usual pattern.

An -ing form can also act as a subject: “Reading helps me relax.” In “She is reading,” however, reading belongs to a continuous verb phrase; not every word ending in -ing is a gerund doing a noun-like job.

Common verbs followed by a to-infinitive

Want, decide, plan, hope, learn, and promise commonly take to + base verb. “They plan to travel next summer” describes an intended action.

Some verbs allow a person before the infinitive: “I want you to check this” and “She asked me to wait.” The complete pattern matters because inserting or removing the person can change who performs the action.

Like doing, like to do, and would like to do

Like, love, hate, and prefer can often take either an -ing form or a to-infinitive. “I like walking” emphasises enjoyment of the activity; “I like to walk after lunch” can emphasise a habit or preferred choice. In many contexts the meanings overlap.

With would like, use a to-infinitive: “I’d like to join the class.” Do not transfer the ordinary like pattern to “I’d like joining” when expressing a wish or polite request.

With prefer, keep comparisons parallel: “I prefer walking to driving” or “I prefer to walk rather than drive.” Mixing the two patterns can make the comparison awkward.

When the form changes the meaning

These pairs deserve practice in context. The second verb form changes the relationship between the actions, rather than simply changing the style.

“Try to open the window” is useful when it is stuck. “Try opening the window” suggests opening it as a possible solution, perhaps because the room is too warm.

After prepositions, use -ing

An -ing form commonly follows a preposition: “She’s interested in learning,” “Thank you for helping,” and “He left without saying goodbye.” This includes expressions in which to is a preposition.

“I look forward to meeting you” uses prepositional to, so meeting is correct. Compare “I hope to meet you,” where to marks the infinitive. The same written word can serve a different grammatical function.

Practice: choose for grammar and meaning

Complete the sentences with the form in brackets. Read the whole situation before deciding, especially with remember, stop, and try.

1. We enjoy _____ together. (cook)
2. She promised _____ before six. (call)
3. I’d like _____ a question. (ask)
4. Remember _____ your passport. You will need it tomorrow. (bring)
5. I remember _____ this building as a child. (visit)
6. We stopped _____ lunch halfway through the journey. (have)
7. The screen is frozen. Try _____ the application. (close)
8. Correct: “I’m looking forward to see you.”
9. Correct: “She suggested to take a break.”
10. Is “I like to read before bed” necessarily wrong?

Answers and explanations

1. Cooking. Enjoy takes an -ing form.
2. To call. Promise commonly takes a to-infinitive.
3. To ask. Would like takes a to-infinitive.
4. To bring. The action is a responsibility to remember before it happens.
5. Visiting. The speaker recalls a past experience.
6. To have. The travellers paused their journey in order to eat.
7. Closing. This tests a possible solution to the frozen screen.
8. I’m looking forward to seeing you. To is a preposition in look forward to.
9. She suggested taking a break. Use -ing after suggest in this pattern.
10. No. Like can take either form here; the infinitive can present a preferred routine.