TO-INFINITVE OR GERUND?

To-infinitive or gerund (verb+ing)?

It is important to know how to choose between the to-infinitive and the gerund of the verb.
Change the verbs below to the appropriate form.
1.

4.
5.

2.

I enjoy go
to strange places.

I plan go around the

world .

Im worried about
lose my money.

Stay in hotels is exciting.

Its important go
with someone.

3.

I like visit
museums.

6.

Use gerund

Use the to-infinitive

1. I enjoy going to strange places.

1. I plan to go around the world.

2. Im worried about losing my money.

2. Its important to go with someone.

3. Staying in hotels is exciting.

Use the gerund or the to

infinitive___________________
1. I like to visit museums/ I like visiting museums

PRACTICE
Read the letter and underline the correct verb form.

VERB PATTERNS

PRACTICE
Complete the following text with the gerund or to-infinitive form of the verbs in
parentheses.
Ill have a Big Mac, a large fries and a medium soda. The language may change, but you can
expect __to hear__________ (hear) this order in more than 100 countries all over the world.
Fast food has become almost synonymous with McDonalds, the best known of all multinational
fast-food restaurant chains. At the moment, Antarctica is the only continent that doesnt (yet!)
have a McDonalds. And the numbers keep _____growing_______________ (grow). In the
United States alone, most McDonalds customers need ___to travel________
(travel) less than four minutes to arrive at the next golden arch.
____Dining_______ (dine) on fast food has become a way of life for millions
and millions of people, from Illinois, U.S.A. (the first McDonalds location) to
Colombo, Sri Lanka (a more recent opening). What is it about
___eating________ (eat) on the run that so many people find appealing? Of
course, the most obvious answer is that, true to its name, fast food is fast. In
todays hectic society, people dont want _________to waste___ (waste) time.
But apart from the speed of __ordering__________ (order) and
____getting__________ (get) served, satisfied customers talk about
convenience, price, and, yes, even good taste.
Many people also like the familiarity and reliability that fast-food chains provide.
You can be sure of ___getting_______ (get) the same thing every time, every place.

To-infinitive or gerund?
Underline the verb form which you need to use..
1.
2.
3.
4.

when the verb is the subject

after prepositions
after certain adjectives
(such as easy and important)
after phrasal verbs

After the verbs

5.
Recommend
6.
Warn
7.
Would like
8.
Enjoy
9.
Love
10.
Plan
11.
Advise
12.
Start
13.
Finish
14.
Cant stand
15.
Stop
16.
Keep
17.
Hope
18.
Need
19.
Ask
20.
Require

gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive

gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive
gerund / to-infinitive

Food for thought

Complete the statements with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
Use the bar graph to find the number of calories.

1.

____Ordering_____ (order) a Big Mac will cost you about ___560___ calories.

2.

______Having______ (have) a Taco Bell is much less fattening. It has only about
__150___calories.

3.

If you want ___to lose__________ (lose) weight, you should probably avoid
_______eating____ (eat) an Arnys giant roast beef sandwich.

It contains

around___550__ calories.

4.

Youre likely _____to gain_________ (gain) weight if you eat half of a medium
pepperoni pizza. A single slice at Pizza Hut has about _650____ calories.

5.

Stop _________consuming________ (consume) so many french fries! An order at

Wendys contains about __350___ calories.

6.

Think about _______choosing________ (choose) an eggroll instead of fries. Leeann

Chins has
just a little over ____200___ calories.

7.

Nutritionists advise people _____to stay away_________ (stay away) from fried
chicken. A two-piece order at KFCs contains about ____660____ calories.

MATCHING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Its dangerous..
Its easy..
Its impolite
Its wrong..
Its a good idea..
Its very difficult..
Its a bad idea..
It takes a lot of time..

a. ..to interrupt when someone is talking.(3)

b. ..to finish doing the grammar exercises(8).
c. ..to encourage students to use a dictionary(2
d. ..to put off doing things all the time.(4)
e. ..to give up smoking(6)
f. ..to walk alone late at night.(1)
g. ..to visit new places.(5)
h. ..to ask someone to lie for you.(7)

PRACTICE
Complete the sentences with to-infinitive forms of appropriate verbs.
1. I was glad to get a letter from you.
2. I was relieved to find out that I had passed the exam.
3. Sue is lucky _________ alive after the accident.
4. The soldiers were prepared ______________ .
5. The children are anxious _____________ to the circus.
6. Dick didnt feel like going anywhere.

He was content ___________ home and

_____________ a book.
7. The teacher is always willing _____________ us.
8. The students are motivated ______________ English.
9. Be careful not _________________ on the icy sidewalks!
10. Tom was hesitant _____________ home alone on the dark street.
11. Sall is afraid _____________ home alone.
12. Ann is proud _________________ the top student in her class.
13. I was surprised ______________ Mr. Yamamoto at the meeting.
14. We were sorry _____________ the bad news.

Verbs that can be followed by either to-infinitive or gerund,

with a change of meaning.
Some verbs can be followed by to-infinitive or gerund, but there is a change in meaning.
Complete the rules by circling the correct word in bold font italics.
We use remember or forget + gerund
when we remember or forget something
before/after we do it.
(its a memory)
Example: I remember ______ (go) to Lima and
Ill never forget ______ (see) it.

We use remember or forget + to-infinitive

When we remember or forget something
before/after we have to do it.
(its a duty/something you have to do)
Example: I remembered _____ (go) to Lima to
get my visa done - I didnt forget ____ (do) it!

We use regret + gerund

to say we regret something we have already
done/we have to do now.
Example: I regret ________ (spend) all my
money.

We use regret + to-infinitive

To say we regret something we have already
done/we have to do now.
Example: I regret _____ (tell) you that I cant
come.

We use try + gerund/to-infinitive

to mean make an experiment do something
and try different methods to see what happens.
Example: I couldnt sleep so I tried ______
(read)
We use stop + gerund
to talk about something we do before we stop/
why we stop.
Example: Im a vegetarian. I stopped ______

We use try + gerund/to-infinitive

To mean make an effort see if you can do
something.
Example: I tried ______ (sleep) but it was too
noisy.
We use stop + to-infinitive
to talk about something we do before we stop/
why we stop.
Example: After working for 2 hours, I stopped

(eat) meat 2 years ago.

_________ (have) lunch.

PRACTICE
Complete the sentences with the correct form(s) of the verbs in parentheses.
1. I always remember (turn) _________to turn______ off all the lights before I leave my house.
2. I can remember (be) ______being_____________ very proud and happy when I graduated.
3. Did you remember (give) _____to give__________ Jake my message?
4. I remember (play) ________playing_____________ with dolls when I was a child.
5. What do you remember (do) ___to do__________ before you leave for class every day?
6. What did you forget (do) ________to do________ before you left for class this morning?
7. Ill never forget (carry) ______carrying___________ my wife over the threshold.
8. I cant ever forget (watch) ______watching_________ our team score the winning goal in
the last
seconds of the game to capture the national championship.
9. Dont forget (do) ________to do______________ your homework tonight!
10. I regret (inform) _______to inform________________ you that your loan application wasnt
approved.
11. I regret (listen, not) ___not listening_________________ to my fathers advice. He was
right.
12. When a

student

asks a

explain_________ clearly.

question,

the

teacher always

tries (explain)

____to