Gerund or infinitive? The rules, the verb lists — and the five verbs that change meaning.

The quick answer: three groups of verbs

After one verb, English often needs a second verb — and the second verb takes one of two forms: the gerund (swimming) or the infinitive (to swim). Which one depends entirely on the first verb. There are three groups:

1. Verbs + gerund — I enjoy swimming.
2. Verbs + infinitive — I want to swim.
3. Verbs that take both — sometimes with no change in meaning (start, begin, continue), and sometimes with a complete change in meaning (stop, remember, forget, try, regret). That last set is where the exam questions live.

Verbs followed by the gerund (-ing)

These verbs always take the -ing form. There's no deep logic — they simply pattern this way, which is why lists plus repetition beat rules here:

Also in this group: consider, imagine, deny, admit, give up, risk, involve, fancy.

Verbs followed by the infinitive (to + verb)

These verbs always take to + verb. Many of them point forward — to plans, intentions and decisions about the future:

Verbs that take both — with (almost) no change

Start, begin and continue accept either form, and the meaning stays the same:

• It started to rain. = It started raining.
• She continued to talk. = She continued talking.

Like, love, hate and prefer also take both, with a subtle nuance: the gerund leans toward enjoying the activity in general (I like swimming — it's fun), while the infinitive leans toward a habit or choice you consider good (I like to swim before work — it's my routine). In everyday English the difference is small; after would, though, only the infinitive works: I'd love to come, I'd love coming.

The five verbs that change meaning — the part worth mastering

With stop, remember, forget, try and regret, both forms are grammatical — but they mean different things. This is the classic exam trap and the number-one source of confusion in gerund or infinitive exercises. The pattern behind all five: the gerund looks back at an action that happened (or was happening), while the infinitive looks forward to an action that comes next.

stop doing vs stop to do

• I stopped drinking coffee. — I quit. The coffee habit ended.
• I stopped to drink a coffee. — I paused my walk (or work) in order to have a coffee.

Gerund = the activity that ends. Infinitive = the purpose of the pause. So "He stopped smoking" is good news from a doctor; "He stopped to smoke" means he lit up a minute ago.

remember doing vs remember to do

• I remember locking the door. — I have a memory of it. It happened; I can picture it.
• I remembered to lock the door. — I didn't forget my task. First I thought of it, then I did it.

Gerund = memory of the past. Infinitive = a duty you kept. If you're arguing about whether the door is locked, the first sentence is your evidence; the second is your reassurance.

forget doing vs forget to do

• I'll never forget seeing the Northern Lights. — the memory of that experience will stay with me.
• I forgot to send the email. — the task never happened. It slipped my mind.

The mirror image of remember. Gerund = an experience you can't erase (almost always in never forget sentences). Infinitive = a job you failed to do.

try doing vs try to do

• Try restarting the router. — an experiment. It's easy to do; do it and see if it solves the problem.
• I tried to open the window, but it was stuck. — an effort. The action itself was difficult, and it may have failed.

Gerund = "test this method." Infinitive = "attempt this difficult thing." Tech support says try turning it off and on; a climber tries to reach the summit.

regret doing vs regret to inform

• I regret telling her my secret. — I did it in the past, and now I wish I hadn't.
• We regret to inform you that your flight is cancelled. — formal bad news. I'm sorry about what I'm about to say.

Gerund = remorse about the past. Infinitive = the polite prelude to bad news, almost always with inform, tell, say, announce — the fixed formula of rejection letters everywhere.

After a preposition: always the gerund

This rule has no exceptions and quietly resolves hundreds of cases: any verb that follows a preposition takes -ing.

• interested in learning, good at cooking, tired of waiting
• She left without saying goodbye. Thanks for coming.
• I'm looking forward to hearing from you — yes, this to is a preposition, so looking forward to hear is wrong.

And one small group goes the other way: make, let and (optionally) help take the bare infinitive — no to at all: She made me wait, Let him go, Help me carry this. She made me to wait.

Traps that catch almost everyone

• I enjoy to read. → I enjoy reading. — enjoy never takes the infinitive.
• He suggested to go home. → He suggested going home. — suggest is gerund-only, even though it feels future-pointing.
• I'm looking forward to see you. → …to seeing you. — that to is a preposition.
• She made me to cry. → She made me cry. — make + bare infinitive.
• I stopped to smoke last year. → I stopped smoking last year. — unless you paused your jog for a cigarette.
• Don't forget locking the door. → Don't forget to lock the door. — a task ahead needs the infinitive.

Gerund or infinitive exercises: 12-question quiz

Pick the correct form. You'll get instant feedback with a one-line reason — and yes, the meaning-change verbs are in here, because that's where the real test is.

Question 1 / 12

Want the full gerund/infinitive deck with progress tracking?

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Knowing the rule and producing the right form mid-sentence are two different skills — a gap we unpack in why you know the rules but still make mistakes. The fix is short, repeated retrieval practice, and that's exactly what Engsy is built for.

Gerund or infinitive is one of Engsy's Vocabulary decks: the same verbs and meaning-change pairs from this page, served as quick multiple-choice drills with an instant explanation on every answer. Three modes push the rule from "understood" to "automatic":

1. Study mode teaches — take your time, read every explanation.
2. Assist mode nudges — fewer hints, more recall.
3. Timer mode adds speed pressure — so enjoy swimming comes out correctly even when you're not thinking about it.

Engsy is free on iPhone and iPad, with 60+ drills covering the other confusions in this family too: make vs do, say vs tell, and in / on / at prepositions.

Quick answers

What's the difference between "stop doing" and "stop to do"?

Stop doing means you quit the activity: I stopped smoking — the habit ended. Stop to do means you paused something else in order to do it: I stopped to smoke — you interrupted your walk for a cigarette. The gerund is what ends; the infinitive is the purpose of the pause.

Which verbs are followed by the gerund?

The core list: enjoy, finish, avoid, mind, suggest, keep, practise, miss, can't help, plus consider, imagine, deny, admit, give up and risk. And every preposition takes the gerund too: interested in learning, good at cooking, without saying.

Is it "I remember locking" or "I remember to lock"?

Both exist. I remember locking the door = I have a memory of doing it. I remembered to lock the door = I didn't forget the task. Gerund looks back at a past action; infinitive looks forward to a duty.

Do "start" and "begin" need the gerund or the infinitive?

Either — it started raining and it started to rain mean the same thing. Same for begin and continue. The verbs to watch are the meaning-changers: stop, remember, forget, try, regret.