Gerund or Infinitive? When to Use -ing and To + Verb

Why do we say 'I enjoy reading' but 'I'm happy to help'? Both sentences have a second verb, yet one takes -ing and the other takes to + verb. Learners at every level mix them up, and the reason is simple: English has no single rule that covers everything. The good news is that the choices follow patterns, and once you know the patterns, most sentences start to feel natural.

The basic idea: gerund and infinitive

The gerund is the -ing form of a verb used like a noun: reading, cooking, travelling. The infinitive is the base verb, usually with to: to read, to cook, to travel. Which one you need depends mostly on the word that comes before it. The verb, adjective or preposition in front decides the form.

Verbs followed by the gerund

Some verbs are always followed by the -ing form. Common ones are enjoy, finish, avoid, mind, keep, suggest, consider, miss, practise and imagine.

• I enjoy reading before bed.

• She finished writing the report at six.

• Do you mind opening the window?

• We suggested meeting on Friday.

A useful memory trick: many of these verbs describe something real, ongoing or already happening in your mind, such as enjoying, finishing, avoiding or imagining an activity.

Verbs followed by the infinitive

Other verbs need to + verb. These often point forwards, towards a goal, a plan or a decision: want, decide, hope, plan, need, learn, promise, agree, manage, refuse and afford.

• I want to improve my speaking.

• They decided to move to Manchester.

• He promised to call me back.

• I can't afford to miss this class.

Notice that be going to works in the same way: it points to the future and is followed by the infinitive, as we explain in our comparison of will and going to.

After adjectives and prepositions

Adjectives are usually followed by the infinitive: I'm happy to help, She's ready to start, It's easy to use, We're glad to be here.

Prepositions, however, are always followed by the gerund, never the infinitive: good at cooking, interested in learning, thinking of moving, before leaving, after eating.

This includes the tricky to that is really a preposition. In I look forward to seeing you, to belongs to the expression, so the verb that follows takes -ing. The same happens with be used to and get used to. Many of these expressions are phrasal verbs, so learning them as whole chunks helps a lot.

Verbs that take both forms

Some verbs accept either form with little or no change in meaning: like, love, hate, prefer, start and begin. 'It started raining' and 'It started to rain' are both fine.

A few verbs, though, change meaning completely:

• stop: He stopped smoking (he quit) vs He stopped to smoke (he paused in order to smoke).

• remember: I remember locking the door (I have the memory) vs Remember to lock the door (don't forget to do it).

• forget: I'll never forget meeting her vs I forgot to call her.

• try: Try restarting the app (an experiment) vs I tried to restart it, but it wouldn't open (an attempt that was difficult).

Common mistakes to avoid

• I enjoy to read → I enjoy reading

• I want going home → I want to go home

• She suggested to go → She suggested going

• I look forward to see you → I look forward to seeing you

• I'm interested to learn Spanish → I'm interested in learning Spanish

Don't try to memorise a giant list in one go. Learn verbs in small groups, write down each new verb together with its pattern, and say example sentences out loud until they sound right.

If you'd like to practise these patterns in real conversation, a tutor can spot mistakes as they happen and give you instant feedback. With JennyLingo, you can book a 1-to-1 lesson and turn this grammar into something you say without thinking.