Practice with Examples | Infinitive and Gerund Forms | English Grammar Guide for French Students

• 1 Contextually relevant to real-life situations
• 2 Demonstrate specific grammar rules in action
• 3 Include both correct and incorrect examples for contrast
• 4 Progress from simple to complex structures

1 After verbs requiring infinitive: "I want to go home"
2 After adjectives: "It's important to study"
3 After question words: "I don't know what to do"
4 Expressing purpose: "I came here to learn"

1 After verbs requiring gerund: "I enjoy reading novels"
2 After prepositions: "I'm thinking about going to France"
3 As subject: "Swimming is good exercise"
4 After expressions: "It's worth trying again"

1 Start: "I started to read" OR "I started reading"
2 Begin: "She began to cry" OR "She began crying"
3 Continue: "He continued to work" OR "He continued working"
4 Like: "I like to swim" OR "I like swimming"

1 Remember: "I remember to do it" (remember to do in future) vs "I remember doing it" (remember past action)
2 Forget: "I forgot to do it" (forgot to do) vs "I forgot doing it" (forgot past action)
3 Stop: "I stopped to smoke" (stopped in order to smoke) vs "I stopped smoking" (quit smoking)
4 Try: "I tried to open it" (attempted) vs "I tried opening it" (experimented)

Usage Type	Examples	Context	Meaning
Infinitive only	decide, plan, promise, want, hope	"I decided to go"	Future intention
Gerund only	enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, mind	"I enjoy swimming"	Present experience
Both (similar meaning)	start, begin, continue, like	"I started to read" / "I started reading"	Beginning of action
Both (different meaning)	remember, forget, stop, try	"Remember to do" vs "Remember doing"	Different timing/aspect

1 Perfect infinitive: "I expected to have finished"
2 Perfect gerund: "I regret having said that"
3 Passive infinitive: "I want to be invited"
4 Passive gerund: "I don't mind being criticized"
5 Progressive infinitive: "I seem to be learning quickly"

• 1 Using gerund after verbs that require infinitive: "I decided going" (incorrect)
• 2 Using infinitive after verbs that require gerund: "I enjoy to swim" (incorrect)
• 3 Not recognizing when meaning changes: "I stopped to smoke" vs "I stopped smoking"
• 4 Using "to" with gerund: "I'm thinking of to go" (incorrect)

1 ✓ Correct: "I decided to go"
2 ✗ Incorrect: "I decided going"
3 ✓ Correct: "I enjoy swimming"
4 ✗ Incorrect: "I enjoy to swim"
5 ✓ Correct: "I stopped smoking" (quit smoking)
6 ✓ Correct: "I stopped to smoke" (stopped to smoke)

1. I love _______ (to read/reading) mystery novels.

2. She wants _______ (to travel/traveling) to England.

3. We finished _______ (to eat/eating) dinner early.

4. He plans _______ (to start/starting) a new job next month.

5. I remember _______ (to lock/locking) the door before I left.

6. _______ you like _______ (to help/helping) me with this project?

7. She suggested _______ (to take/taking) a different route.

8. I'm thinking about _______ (to move/moving) to a new city.

9. He decided _______ (to quit/quitting) smoking for health reasons.

10. I avoid _______ (to eat/eating) too much junk food.

11. In formal writing, it's better to use _______ (infinitive/gerund) forms.

12. For expressing purpose, we typically use _______ (infinitive/gerund).

13. After prepositions, we use _______ (infinitive/gerund).

14. "Try _______" means to experiment with something.

15. "Try _______" means to make an effort to do something.

1 English: Uses distinct patterns for infinitive vs gerund after verbs
2 French: Uses infinitive after most verbs (j'aime lire, je veux partir)
3 English: Clear distinction between "remember to do" and "remember doing"
4 French: Uses "se souvenir de" + infinitive for both concepts

• 1 English has more complex patterns than French for verb + verb combinations
• 2 Pay attention to meaning changes with different forms
• 3 Some French verbs that use infinitive require gerund in English
• 4 Practice memorizing patterns for each specific English verb

1 Group by meaning: Decision verbs (infinitive), experience verbs (gerund)
2 Remember patterns: "Enjoy doing" but "Decide to do"
3 Think of time: Gerunds for past/habitual, infinitives for future intentions
4 Practice with real examples: Use verbs in actual sentences daily
5 Create flashcards: Verb + pattern + example sentences

• 1 Practice with real conversation scenarios
• 2 Read English texts to see natural usage patterns
• 3 Focus on verbs that change meaning with different forms
• 4 Use spaced repetition for memorization
• 5 Practice with both positive and negative sentences

• Some verbs take only infinitive (decide, plan, promise)
• Some verbs take only gerund (enjoy, avoid, finish)
• Some verbs take both with similar meanings (start, begin, continue)
• Some verbs take both with different meanings (remember, stop, try)
• Patterns must be memorized for each specific verb
• Context and meaning often determine the choice

Remember: Decision verbs take infinitive, experience verbs take gerund!

• Start with the most common verbs in each category
• Focus on meaning differences first
• Practice with real-life examples
• Pay special attention to verbs that change meaning