INFINITIVES
GERUNDS
1 We use an infinitive to indicate
“purpose” in the same way as “in
order to” or “so as to”.
e.g. I followed him to find out
where he was going. = I followed
him in order to / so as to find out
… good.
e.g. He goes to the gym to keep
fit. =in order to / so as to keep
fit.
2 After different adjectives.
e.g. I’m happy to help.
e.g. Nice to meet you.
3 After nouns such as duty,
opportunity, permission, right,
time, etc.
e.g. It’s time to go.
e.g. People have a right to vote.
4 After certain verbs. (See Verb
Patterns below, groups 1,2,3,4,6
and 7)
1 We use a gerund when we use a
verb as a noun, especially as the
subject of the sentence.
e.g. Smoking is really harmful.
e.g. Working out makes him feel
2 After prepositions.
e.g. He’s tired of working as a
photographer.
e.g. Thanks for coming.
3 After certain expressions such as
it’s no good, it’s no use, there’s
no use, there’s no point, it’s
worth
e.g. It’s no good going there.
e.g. It’s worth visiting.
4 After certain verbs. (See Verb
Patterns below, groups 5, 6 and
7)
 VERB PATTERNS (VERBS + INFINITIVE/GERUND)
1. VERBS + TO + INFINITIVE:
The following verbs, among others, are followed by “to”+ infinitive:
To be about to estar a punto de
To ache/crave/itch/long, etc estar deseando
To agree estar de acuerdo en hacer algo
To appear parecer
To arrange disponer
To ask pedir
To beg rogar
To be burning/bursting estar deseando
Cannot afford no poder permitirse el lujo de
To choose resolver, decidir, escoger
To claim pretender, afirmar, asegurar
To consent consentir
To convince/persuade convencer/persuadir
To dare atreverse
To decide decidir
To decline declinar, negarse
To deign dignarse
To demand exigir
To deserve merecer
To expect esperar
To fail no conseguir, dejar de
To happen resultar por casualidad
To help ayudar
To hesitate dudar
To hope esperar
To know how to saber
To learn (how to) aprender (a)
To manage lograr, conseguir
To need necesitar
To offer ofrecer
Ought to debería
To prepare preparar
To pretend fingir
To promise prometer
To refuse rehusar, negarse a
To seek tratar de
To swear jurar
To teach (how to) enseñar (a)
To threaten amenazar
To trouble molestarse en
Used to soler
To want querer
To wish desear
e.g. He chose to go.
e.g. I refuse to do it.
e.g. I promise to ring you up.
e.g. I need to see you.
e.g. He deserves to be punished.
e.g. He managed to do it.
e.g. He threatened to kill her.
e.g. I’m longing to go to Paris.
e.g. I’m longing for her to arrive.
e.g. He’s sworn to kill them.
e.g. Who taught you to speak Chinese?
e.g. I happened to see him in Rio.
e.g. He’ll never learn to drive.

2. VERBS + OBJECT + TO + INFINITIVE:

To advise aconsejar
To allow permitir
To ask pedir
To beg rogar
To command ordenar
To encourage animar
To expect esperar
To forbid prohibir
To help ayudar
To implore implorar
To invite invitar
To need necesitar
To order ordenar, pedir
To recommend recomendar
To remind recordar a alguien que haga algo
To request pedir
To urge exhortar, incitar
To want querer
To warn advertir, avisar
Would like
Would love
Would prefer
Would hate

e.g. I want her to stay.

e.g. I forbid you to go out.
e.g. She asked me to do it.
e.g. We advised them to go ahead.
e.g. He told her to wait.
e.g. I persuaded him to buy it.
3. VERBS + INFINITIVES WITHOUT ‘TO’:
Most modal verbs except ‘ought, have and used’.
Will
shall
would
should
can
could
may
might
must
need
dare

e.g. I must go now.

e.g. Can you help me?
e.g. Do you think she might be joking?
e.g. She will probably be elected.
e.g. I will have finished by tomorrow morning.
e.g. They would have won if they had played better.

We must also use an infinitive without ‘to’ after these verb forms:
Had better será mejor que
Would rather preferir
Would sooner preferir
Need hardly Ni que (decir) tiene
Cannot but No puedo sino

e.g. You had better stop.

e.g. I’d rather stay.
e.g. I’d sooner die than betray her.
e.g. I need hardly tell you that you must be careful.
e.g. I cannot but complain about your odd behaviour.

4. VERBS + OBJECT + INFINITIVE WITHOUT ‘TO’:

To make hacer
To let permitir
To help ayudar

Also after verbs of the senses:

To hear oír
To see ver
To watch ver, contemplar, vigilar
To feel sentir
e.g. He made her cry.
e.g. Let it go.
 e.g. I helped him (to) cut the grass.
e.g. I saw him enter.
But in the passive voice we must use ‘to’+ infinitive:
e.g. He was seen to enter.

Note: Verbs of the senses can also be followed by a gerund when we want to
emphasize the duration of the action.
e.g. I saw them climbing to the hut. (Los vi escalando hacia la cabaña)
We must use, however, an infinitive if the action was carried out in an instant.
e.g. I saw her go out. (La vi salir).

5. VERBS + GERUNDS:

To admit (to) admitir haber hecho algo

To avoid evitar
To be fond of ser aficionado a
To be used to /to be accustomed to estar acostumbrado a
Cannot help no poder evitar
Cannot stand no poder soportar
To confess to confesar haber hecho algo
To consider onsiderer
To delay retrasar
To deny negar
To enjoy disfrutar, encantarle a uno
To fancy apetecer
To feel like apetecer
To finish terminar
To give up renunciar, dejar de hacer
To imagine imaginar
To keep (on) seguir haciendo, hacer constantemente
To look forward to estar deseando
(not) to mind (no) importar hacer algo
to miss echar de menos
to put off aplazar
to practise practicar
to quit dejar de
to repent arrepentirse
to resume reanudar
to risk arriesgarse
to suggest sugerir

e.g. He denied doing it.

e.g. She kept asking silly questions.
e.g. Do you mind opening the window?
e.g. I cannot help liking her.
e.g. You risk losing everything.
 6. VERBS + INFINITIVE OR GERUND WITH NO DIFFERENCE OF MEANING:

To advise1 aconsejar
To allow / permit1 permitir
To forbid prohibir
To begin/start 2 empezar
To continue continuar
To intend intentar, planear
To like3 gustar
To love encantar
To prefer4 preferir
To hate odiar
To recommend1 recomendar

Notes:

1. Advise, Allow, permit and recommend are followed by an infinitive if they have
an indirect object. Otherwise, they are followed by a gerund.
e.g. I allowed her to smoke.
e.g. We don’t allow smoking in the classroom.

2. Begin and start are not followed by a gerund when they are used in a
continuous tense.
e.g. I’m beginning to feel tired.
e.g. It’s starting to rain.

3. You can say ‘I like doing something’ or ‘I like to do something’. Often it doesn’t
matter which you use, so you can say:
e.g. I like getting up/to get up early.
In British English, there is sometimes a difference between ‘I like doing’ and ‘I
like to do’. ‘I like doing something’ means ‘I enjoy it’.
e.g. Do you like cooking? (=Do you enjoy it?)
e.g. I like living here. (=I enjoy it)
‘I like to do something’ means ‘I think it is good or right to do it’:
e.g. I like to clean the kitchen as often as possible. (This doesn’t mean that I
enjoy it; it means that I think it is a good thing to do.)

4. Pay attention to the following examples with the verb “prefer”:

e.g. I prefer driving to travelling by train.
e.g. I prefer to drive rather than travel by train.
7. VERBS + INFINITIVE OR GERUND WITH A DIFFERENCE OF MEANING:

To remember + infinitive Acordarse de hacer algo

To remember + gerund Recordar haber hecho algo
e.g. Remember to go to the chemist’s. Acuérdate de ir a la farmacia.
e.g. I remember going there once. Recuerdo haber ido allí alguna vez.

To forget + infinitive Olvidarse de hacer algo

To forget + gerund Olvidar haber hecho algo
e.g. Don’t forget to come. No te olvides de venir.
e.g. I’ll never forget hearing her sing Nunca olvidaré cuando la oí cantar
for the first time. por primera vez.

To regret + infinitive Lamentar (informar de algo)

To regret + gerund Lamentar haber hecho algo
e.g. We regret to inform you that … Lamentamos informarle de que …
e.g. I regret kissing her. Lamento haberla besado.

To try + infinitive Intento (Intentar hacer algo)

To try + gerund Experimento (Probar haciendo algo)
e.g. He tried to do it. Intentó hacerlo.
e.g. Have you tried cooking it in wine? ¿Has probado a guisarlo con vino?

To mean + infinitive Querer

To mean + gerund Significar, implicar
e.g. I meant to tell you. Quería decírtelo. (Tenía la
intención)
e.g. This will mean working overtime. Esto significará trabajar horas extras

To stop + infinitive Propósito (para …)

To stop + gerund Cese de actividad (dejar de hacer …)
e.g. He stopped to do it. Paró para hacerlo.
e.g. He stopped doing it. Dejó de hacerlo.

To go on + infinitive Pasar a ser/hacer (otra cosa

distinta)
To go on + gerund Seguir, continuar.
e.g. He went on to become a newsreader. Pasó a ser un presentador de telediarios.
e.g. He went on reading the news. Siguió leyendo las noticias.