Gerund vs infinitive: rules, examples & exercises | English Grammar B2

Gerund vs infinitive

B2 — Verbs

Which verbs take -ing, which take to, and the meaning-changing pairs (stop/remember/try doing vs to do)

I can pick gerund or infinitive by verb group and control the meaning-changing pairs.

Which verbs take -ing, which take to, and the meaning-changing pairs (stop/remember/try doing vs to do)

Examples

I stopped drinking coffee after lunch — now I stop to drink water instead. — I stopped drinking coffee after lunch — now I stop to drink water instead.
Remember to back up your files — I forgot doing it once and lost a thesis chapter... rather, I forgot to do it. — Remember to back up your files — I forgot doing it once and lost a thesis chapter... rather, I forgot to do it.

VerbsB2

Gerund vs infinitive

Which verbs take -ing, which take to, and the meaning-changing pairs (stop/remember/try doing vs to do)

Learning Goal

I can pick gerund or infinitive by verb group and control the meaning-changing pairs.

Exam Skills:B2 First Use of English

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

I stopped drinking coffee after lunch — now I stop to drink water instead.

I stopped drinking coffee after lunch — now I stop to drink water instead.

Remember to back up your files — I forgot doing it once and lost a thesis chapter... rather, I forgot to do it.

Remember to back up your files — I forgot doing it once and lost a thesis chapter... rather, I forgot to do it.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Three groups to internalize:

Group	Verbs	Example
+ -ing	enjoy, finish, avoid, suggest, mind, keep	I enjoy cooking.
+ to	want, decide, hope, promise, manage, refuse	She decided to stay.
meaning changes	stop, remember, forget, try	see below

The pairs: stop smoking (quit) × stop to smoke (pause in order to); remember locking (memory of doing) × remember to lock (don't forget); try restarting (experiment) × try to restart (effort).