Gerund and Infinitive

Choose between -ing forms and to-infinitives when they function as subjects or objects.

1. Warm-up from B1

I have been studying all morning.
She has finished her homework.

Those sentences use -ing forms to show actions in progress or completed actions. At B2 we focus on -ing and to-infinitive forms as subjects and objects.

2. Gerunds as Subjects and Objects

Function	Example
Subject	Studying regularly improves your confidence.
Object	She enjoys reading case studies.
Preposition + gerund	They talked about starting a podcast.

Common verbs followed by gerunds: enjoy, avoid, consider, deny, suggest, finish, keep.

3. Infinitives as Subjects and Objects

Function	Example
Subject (formal)	To lead a team requires patience.
Object	She hopes to travel next year.
After adjectives	It’s important to review the data.
Purpose	I wrote the agenda to keep the meeting focused.

Verbs followed by infinitives: agree, decide, hope, plan, promise, want, expect, refuse.

4. Verbs That Change Meaning

stop + gerund: end an activity. → He stopped smoking.
stop + infinitive: pause to do something else. → He stopped to buy water.
remember + gerund: recall past action. → I remember meeting her.
remember + infinitive: not forget future action. → Remember to send the email.

5. Practice

Write five sentences with gerunds as subjects, then rewrite them using infinitive subjects (where natural).
Match 10 verbs with either gerund or infinitive objects.
Describe a daily routine mixing both forms.

Quick Review

Use gerunds (-ing) after prepositions and verbs like enjoy, avoid.
Use to-infinitives after adjectives, with purpose, or after verbs like want, plan.
Watch verbs that change meaning depending on the form that follows.