Gerund and Infinitive Exercises
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Gerund or infinitive?
After one verb, English may require the -ing form (enjoy swimming), the to-infinitive (decide to go), or either — sometimes with a change of meaning (stop smoking vs stop to smoke).
- Gerund after:
- enjoy, finish, avoid, suggest, mind, practice, keep, can't stand + -ing
- Infinitive after:
- decide, want, hope, plan, promise, agree, refuse, learn + to + verb
- Either, same meaning:
- start, begin, continue, like, love (I like reading / to read)
- Either, different meaning:
- stop, remember, forget, try: I stopped smoking ≠ I stopped to smoke
- After prepositions:
- always the gerund: good at drawing, interested in learning
Examples
She enjoys hiking in the mountains.
enjoy + gerund
We decided to postpone the trip.
decide + to-infinitive
He stopped smoking two years ago.
stop + gerund = quit the habit
He stopped to smoke outside the office.
stop + infinitive = pause in order to do it
I'm interested in learning Japanese.
after a preposition, always -ing
Practice exercises
Choose the correct form
Select the correct option to complete each sentence.
1.They decided ___ a new house next year.
2.Please remember ___ the door when you leave.
3.She's very good ___ complex ideas simply.
4.He avoided ___ the difficult question.
Complete the sentences
Type the correct form (gerund or to-infinitive) of the verb in brackets.
Put the words in order
Click the words in the correct order to build the sentence.
10. Build the sentence:
11. Build the sentence:
12. Build the sentence:
13. Build the sentence:
True or false?
Decide if each statement is true or false.
14.'Stop doing something' and 'stop to do something' mean different things.
15.After prepositions, verbs always take the -ing form.
16."I forgot posting the letter" means I didn't post it.
Gerunds and infinitives: making sense of verb patterns
When one verb follows another in English, the second verb's form is not free — it is dictated by the first verb. 'Enjoy' demands -ing, 'decide' demands to-infinitive, and there is no deeper logical rule that predicts which verb takes which pattern. This is why gerunds and infinitives frustrate learners: it feels like memorisation because, to a large extent, it is.
That said, useful tendencies exist. Verbs pointing forward in time — want, hope, plan, decide, promise, expect — overwhelmingly take the to-infinitive, which itself carries a sense of purpose and futurity. Verbs describing the activity itself or an attitude toward it — enjoy, avoid, mind, finish, keep, practice — prefer the gerund, which behaves like a noun naming the activity. These tendencies won't cover every verb, but they turn blind memorisation into educated guessing.
One rule, however, is absolute: after a preposition, always the gerund. Good at drawing, tired of waiting, interested in learning, before eating, without thinking. This rule explains the notorious 'look forward to hearing' — the 'to' there is a preposition, not an infinitive marker. Any time you can put a noun after the word (look forward to the weekend), a verb in that position must wear -ing.
The meaning-changing verbs are the advanced layer. With stop, remember, forget and try, both forms are grammatical but say different things. 'I stopped drinking coffee' ends the habit; 'I stopped to drink a coffee' interrupts a journey. 'Remember to send the invoice' is an instruction; 'I remember sending it' is a defence. Exam writers love these pairs precisely because they test meaning, not just form.
The most efficient way to learn verb patterns is in chunks: record each new verb together with its pattern and a personal example sentence — 'suggest doing: She suggested going out.' The exercises above cover the highest-frequency verbs from each group plus the classic meaning-change pairs, so completing them builds exactly the pattern bank you need for fluent, accurate English.
Frequently asked questions
What is a gerund?
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun: "Swimming is great exercise", "I enjoy reading." It can be a subject, an object, or follow a preposition.
Which verbs are followed by the gerund?
Common ones: enjoy, finish, avoid, suggest, mind, keep, practice, consider, imagine, miss, can't stand, give up. Example: "She finished writing the report."
Which verbs are followed by the to-infinitive?
Common ones: want, decide, hope, plan, promise, agree, refuse, learn, offer, expect, manage, afford. Example: "He agreed to help us."
Which verbs change meaning between gerund and infinitive?
The big four are stop, remember, forget and try. Stop doing = quit; stop to do = pause in order to do. Remember/forget + to-infinitive looks forward to a duty; + gerund looks back at a memory. Try + to-infinitive = attempt something difficult; try + gerund = experiment with a method.
Why is it 'I look forward to hearing from you' and not 'to hear'?
Because in 'look forward to', the word 'to' is a preposition, not part of an infinitive — and prepositions are always followed by the -ing form. The same applies to 'be used to' and 'object to'.
Answer key
1. They decided ___ a new house next year.
Answer: to buy
'Decide' always takes the to-infinitive: decided to buy.
2. Please remember ___ the door when you leave.
Answer: to lock
'Remember + to-infinitive' = don't forget to do it (future duty). 'Remember locking' would mean you recall having done it.
3. She's very good ___ complex ideas simply.
Answer: at explaining
After a preposition ('at'), the verb takes -ing: good at explaining.
4. He avoided ___ the difficult question.
Answer: answering
'Avoid' always takes the gerund: avoided answering.
5. She suggested ___ the meeting to Thursday.
Answer: moving
'Suggest' takes the gerund: suggested moving.
6. We hope ___ you again soon.
Answer: to see
'Hope' takes the to-infinitive: hope to see.
7. Do you mind ___ the window? It's hot in here.
Answer: opening
'Mind' takes the gerund: mind opening.
8. He promised ___ me with the report.
Answer: to help
'Promise' takes the to-infinitive: promised to help.
9. I'm looking forward to ___ from you.
Answer: hearing
In 'look forward to', 'to' is a preposition — so the gerund follows: hearing.
10. swimming / enjoys / she / in the sea
Answer: she enjoys swimming in the sea
Enjoy + gerund + place.
11. to travel / want / they / next summer / abroad
Answer: they want to travel abroad next summer
Want + to-infinitive + adverbials.
12. smoking / stopped / my uncle / last year
Answer: my uncle stopped smoking last year
Stop + gerund = quit the habit.
13. learning / interested / she / in / is / Arabic
Answer: she is interested in learning Arabic
Adjective + preposition + gerund: interested in learning.
14. 'Stop doing something' and 'stop to do something' mean different things.
Answer: True
True — 'stop smoking' = quit the habit; 'stop to smoke' = interrupt what you're doing in order to smoke.
15. After prepositions, verbs always take the -ing form.
Answer: True
True — good at drawing, tired of waiting, before leaving, without asking.
16. "I forgot posting the letter" means I didn't post it.
Answer: False
False — 'forgot posting' means I posted it but don't remember doing so. "I forgot to post the letter" means it never got posted.