Gerunds and infinitives

• 11 Gerunds and infinitives

  11.1

  Verb + -ing

  

  

  Some verbs are followed by a gerund (verb-ing). Common examples include: enjoy, like, love, hate, finish, stop, mind, suggest, avoid.

  我I 喜欢enjoy 阅读reading.

  I enjoy reading.

  她She 完成finished 做doing 她的her 作业homework.

  She finished her homework.

  Note A gerund functions as a noun; its form is verb-ing.

  11.2

  Verb + Infinitive

  Other verbs are followed by an infinitive (to + base form). Common examples include: want, need, decide, hope, promise, learn, would like, plan.

  我I 想want （不定式）to 学learn 英语English.

  I want to learn English.

  他们They 决定decided （不定式）to 留下stay.

  They decided to stay.

  Note Some verbs accept both forms with similar meanings: like, love, start, begin. I like swimming. = I like to swim.

  11.3

  -ing after Prepositions

  After a preposition (in, on, at, of, about, for, good at, interested in…), the verb must take the -ing form:

  她She's 擅长good at 画画drawing.

  She is good at painting.

  谢谢Thank you 因为for 帮助helping 我me.

  Thank you for helping me.

  Note The base form of a verb never follows a preposition: ~~good at draw~~ ✗ → good at drawing ✓.

  Common Errors

  • ❌ ~~I enjoy to read.~~ / ~~I want reading.~~ → ✓ I enjoy reading. / I want to read. — Which verb takes which form is fixed; memorize the collocations, do not swap them.
  • Distinguish the two meanings of stop: He stopped smoking. (Quit smoking) vs. He stopped to smoke. (Stopped what he was doing to go smoke)— The meanings are completely different.
  • ❌ ~~I look forward to see you.~~ → ✓ I look forward to seeing you. — Here, to is a preposition and is followed by -ing.
  • ❌ ~~Swim is good exercise.~~ → ✓ Swimming is good exercise. — When a verb acts as the subject, use the -ing form.

All topics · English Grammar · B1