Gerund or infinitive: Verb patterns

Exercises: 1 2 3 4

Exercise 2

Choose the correct gerund or infinitive form to complete the sentences below.

Exercises: 1 2 3 4

When to use gerund or infinitive

In the table below, you can see when to use gerund or infinitive.

A grammar chart explaining the use of infinitives and gerunds with various verb patterns. It includes sections on "Use to + infinitive," "Use infinitive without to," and "Use -ing verb," with multiple examples for each section.

Verbs that take gerund or infinitive with a change of meaning

Some verbs, such as forget, remember, try, stop and need, can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive, but the meaning changes.

Forget

Forget to do something: Used to talk about things that we need to do, and we forget to do them.

I think I forgot to lock the door when we left.
Don’t forget to call me when you finish.

Forget doing something: It’s normally used in negative sentences. Used to talk about memories, normally about things that we did in the past and that we will not forget.

I’ll never forget walking on that amazing beach for the first time.

Remember

Remember to do something: You remember first, and then you do something. Used to talk about things we need to do.

He didn’t remember to turn off the heating after class.
Will you please remember to close the windows if you leave?

Remember doing something: Used to talk about memories. We remember things from the past.

I remember eating on this same chair the day I graduated.
I remember mentioning the issue to Elisabeth last week.

Try

Try to do something: When we try to do something, we make an effort to achieve something that maybe we will or will not accomplish.

Could you please try to be a bit less rude?
I’ll try to convince him, but I’m not sure that’s going to change anything.

Try doing something: Used when we want to achieve something and try something as an experiment to see if it helps us achieve what we want. We try a method (one of the many we could try) to achieve something.

A: “I need to sleep, but I can’t.” B: “Why don’t you try drinking a glass of hot milk?”
I can’t contact Jane. I‘ve tried calling her home number and also on her mobile, but nothing.

Stop

Stop to do something: Used when we stop doing an activity so as to start doing a different one.

We had been driving for hours, so we had to stop to eat something and go to the toilet.

Stop doing something: It means to finish doing something that we are doing.

Could you stop biting your nails?
I need to stop smoking once and for all.

Need

Need to do something: It’s necessary to do something

I need to see you immediately.

Something needs doing: It has a passive meaning. It means that something needs to be done.

Your car needs cleaning. (=Your car needs to be cleaned.)