Gerund and the Infinitive after the verb – no difference in

meaning
These verbs can be followed by a Gerund and an Infinitive without changing their
meaning:

Verb Examples

He began talking.

begin

He began to talk.

They continue smoking.

continue

They continue to smoke.

Do you hate working on Saturdays?

hate

Do you hate to work on Saturdays?

I like swimming.

like

I like to swim.
 Verb Examples

She loves painting.

love

She loves to paint.

Pat prefers walking home.

prefer

Pat prefers to walk home.

They start singing.

start

They start to sing.

These verbs can also be followed by a Gerund or an Infinitive without changing their
meaning. Mind the structure with the infinitive:

 Gerund: Verb + -ing

 Infinitive: Verb + Person (as object) + infinitive with to

Verb Examples

advise They advise walking to town.

 Verb Examples

They advise us to walk to town.

They do not allow smoking here.

allow

They do not allow us to smoke here.

They encourage doing the test.

encourage

They encourage us to do the test.

They do not permit smoking here.

permit

They do not permit us to smoke here.

When recommend is followed by an infinitive, put that after recommend, then

the object and then the infinitive without to.

Verb Examples

They recommend walking.

Recommend

They recommend that we walk.