What the infinitive is
The infinitive is the basic form of a verb. In English, it comes in two forms:
- the to-infinitive: to go, to eat, to learn
- the bare infinitive (without to): go, eat, learn
You use the bare infinitive after modal verbs (can, must, should) and in some other patterns, such as let someone go and make someone laugh. The to-infinitive is used after many verbs and adjectives, and to express purpose (She went out to buy milk).
The tricky part for many learners is choosing between the to-infinitive and the gerund (the -ing form used as a noun) after a verb. The choice depends on the first verb.
Verbs followed by the infinitive, the gerund, or both
These lists are not complete, but they cover common verbs.
Usually followed by a to-infinitive: agree, decide, hope, learn, manage, need, offer, plan, promise, refuse, seem, want, expect, afford.
- She decided to move.
- We can’t afford to buy a car.
Usually followed by a gerund: avoid, enjoy, finish, keep, mind, miss, practise, suggest, consider, admit, deny.
- He avoided answering the question.
- Would you mind closing the window?
Followed by either, with little change in meaning: begin, start, continue, like, love, hate, prefer.
- It started to rain. / It started raining.
Followed by the bare infinitive: modal verbs, let, make (in the active), and had better.
- She made me repeat the story.
- You’d better see a doctor.
Check a good dictionary when you are unsure about a particular verb, because some verbs have additional patterns.
Verbs that change meaning
A few verbs can take either form, but the meaning changes.
| Verb | + to-infinitive | + gerund |
|---|---|---|
| stop | stop to buy water (stop in order to do something) | stop buying sweets (end the activity) |
| remember | remember to lock the door (do not forget the task) | remember locking the door (recall a past action) |
| forget | forget to call (fail to do it) | forget calling (not recall that you did it) |
| try | try to open it (attempt something difficult) | try opening it (test an approach) |
| regret | regret to inform you (formal; sorry for what I am about to say) | regret saying that (sorry about what I did) |
Exercise: infinitive or gerund?
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- She decided ___ (move) to Canada.
- We enjoyed ___ (walk) along the beach.
- He avoided ___ (answer) the question.
- They agreed ___ (meet) at noon.
- Would you mind ___ (close) the window?
- I can’t afford ___ (buy) a new laptop.
- She made me ___ (repeat) the story.
- He stopped ___ (talk) when the teacher came in.
- Please remember ___ (lock) the door when you leave.
- They keep ___ (ask) the same question.
- He hopes ___ (win).
- You’d better ___ (see) a doctor.
Answers
- to move (decide + to-infinitive)
- walking (enjoy + gerund)
- answering (avoid + gerund)
- to meet (agree + to-infinitive)
- closing (mind + gerund)
- to buy (afford + to-infinitive)
- repeat (make someone + bare infinitive)
- talking (he ended the activity of talking)
- to lock (a task to do in the future)
- asking (keep + gerund)
- to win (hope + to-infinitive)
- see (had better + bare infinitive)
Activities for classes and self-study
1. Verb sorting. Write 20 verbs on cards. Sort them into three piles: followed by infinitive, followed by gerund, and either. Check against a reference list, then make a sentence with each card.
2. Error hunt. Write ten sentences, five of which contain an infinitive or gerund mistake (for example, She enjoys to dance). Swap with a partner and correct them.
3. Meaning-change pairs. Write two sentences for each of stop, remember, try, one with the infinitive and one with the gerund, and explain the difference in your own words.
4. Chain story. The first student begins: I want to… The next student must continue with a verb that takes an infinitive or a gerund correctly. This works as a quick, spoken warm-up.
5. Personal sentences. Complete these about yourself: I enjoy…, I hope to…, I’d like to avoid…, I’m planning to…, I can’t stand… Share with a partner and check each other’s forms.
6. Adjective extension. Move on to the related pattern in infinitives after adjectives, such as glad to help and easy to use.
A note on the infinitive in French
In French, the infinitive is a single word ending in -er, -ir or -re, such as parler (to speak), finir (to finish) and vendre (to sell); our guide to irregular verbs in French shows how these groups behave. English has no such ending, which is why English uses to before the verb. If you are a French speaker learning English, note that the two languages do not always use infinitives in the same places, so it is worth checking each verb’s pattern.
For mixed practice that includes these forms, see the sentence correction exercises.