Questions tagged [infinitive-vs-gerund]
For questions about the difference in meaning or grammaticality between using a gerund or an infinitive in a particular context.
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"to resolve" or "to resolving"?
What is the difference between these two sentences:
I have a good reason to resolving my question.
I have a good reason to resolve my question.
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Working / To work at Google taught me how to work efficiently. - which one?
Scenerio:
I used to work at Google. When I was an employee at Google, I learned how to work efficiently. Now I am not a Google employee.
Example 1
Working at Google taught me how to work efficiently.
...
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The research he devoted himself to [blank] the farmers have a better harvest is very important
My question is which answer is correct to fill in the blank?
The research he devoted himself to [ ] the farmers have a better harvest is very important.
A.helping
B.to help
I think an easier way to ...
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Is 'What I prefer is to spending time with you' correct grammatically? [duplicate]
I have seen a promotional video for Beyond the Future in Mr Love: Queen's Choice, I copied its lines and want to rewrite them to practice my expression and grammar.
Here is the one confused me of the ...
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I don't know the difference between to infinitive and gerund in terms of nuance
I like to sing.
I like singing.
I don't know the difference in meaning.
please tell me the difference. I am talking about nuance.
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Why is "becoming" a gerund and not a to-infinitive in "pertinent to becoming a polished engineer"?
I cannot figure out why "become" is used as a gerund and not as a to-infinitive in this sentence:
He wanted to bolster his problem-solving abilities, which, as he well knew, are pertinent ...
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Which one is better sentence? "...a class for becoming/to become a tour guide"
I took a class for becoming a tour guide.
I took a class to become a tour guide.
Which one is more natural of saying?
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"He called me to repair the computer" or "for repairing the computer" [duplicate]
Could you please tell me which are grammatically correct
Whether To+verb or for+ verb+ing?
He called me to repair the computer or ... for repairing the computer"
"I am here to repair the ...
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It was good meeting versus It was good to meet [duplicate]
If I have just met my friend's girlfriend, which of these would be more idiomatic?
It was good meeting your girlfriend.
It was good to meet your girlfriend. She seems nice.
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Is it possible to change gerund to infinitive in here?
Can I change the gerund in the following sentence: "Being an activist means using your voice" to the infinitive?
That is, the sentence would look like: "To be an activist means using ...
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Why does this sentence use "to writing" instead of "to write"?
This is a quote by Hemingway.
Don't get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing.
Should not the sentence be the following one?
Don't get discouraged because there’s a lot of ...
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Continue to provoke vs continue provoking [duplicate]
Do both forms of the verb "continue" have the same meaning in these sentences? Did I even use "to continue" correctly?
He taunts the player from the opposing team. Since he did ...
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took him two months building/to build a house
Are the following sentences both okay? If so, what's the difference?
It took him two months to build a house.
It took him two months building a house.
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Is (have + object) followed by 'infinitive', 'gerund' or 'past participle' in this context?
I want to know which is appropriate one to fill the gap in.
Leslie had a very strange thing __(happen) when she was in Romania.
happen
happening
happened
Oxfor Grammar explains that I can use ...
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We watched the workman
We watched the workman to repair the machine.
1.repairing
2.repair
3.no change
To me, 1st is correct. What's your opinion ?
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ease off followed by a gerund or an infinitive
I eased off studying English.
or
I eased off to study English.
I think 2 is wrong but 1 is possible.
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Undertake followed by a gerund or infinitive?
Do they mean the same or different?
**
1 We might undertake going forward. 2 We might undertake to go forward.
**
Additional info.
Dictionaries say that: 1 undertake + a noun means to do or begin to ...
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ASPIRED followed by the gerund or the infinitive? [closed]
What follows the verb ASPIRE?
1 BACK IN ENGLAND HE ASPIRED BECOMING AN ARTIST.
2 BACK IN ENGLAND HE ASPIRED TO BECOME AN ARTIST.
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'Forget + infinitive-to' or 'Forget + gerund'?
According to Cambridge dictionary, the word forget can be followed by either infinitive or gerund. These are the sentences I took from the dictionary:
She would never forget seeing the Himalayas for ...
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prefer to V rather than V/Ving
I'd like o know which form of verb should follow "rather than" in the following:
John prefers to watch TV rather than play/playing basketball.
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Why infinitive isn't used instead of "Contribute to + gerund"?
I can understand what does it mean but I don't know when to use gerund or infinitive. I have no problem about understanding. I just want to understand the sense. As far as I know some of these words ...
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Encourage followed be "possessive pronoun + gerund"
Are these grammatically acceptable?
1 He encouraged my working hard. (always)
2 He encouraged me to work hard. (always or one-off occurrence)
Is this wrong?
3 He encouraged my applying for the visa. (...
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Is it correct to say "She taught me drawing" and "She taught me to draw"?
When "teach" means to give lessons, we say "teach somebody something", for example, “He teaches them English”.
However, when “teach” means to show people how to do something, we ...
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Chicken out followed by an infinitive
Is it possible to use "infinitive" after chicken out?
She chickened out to go there by herself.
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Are "start/begin [infinitive]" and "start/begin [gerund] really interchangeable?
Many agree that there's no difference "between start/begin + infinitive" and "start/begin + gerund."
But in sentences like "When we first started to talk/started talking,"...
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The verb "arrange" followed by an infinitive or gerund
A lot of books say that "arrange" is followed by an infinitive. But can it be followed by a gerund?
Dolly arranges singing at church.
Molly arranged staying at her flat.
Molly arranged ...
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Difference between "to develop" vs "developing"
What is the difference between:
The objective of the project is to develop a framework
Versus:
The objective of the project is developing a framework
Is any of them incorrect?
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Being treated vs to be treated
An outpatient is a patient _____ at a hospital during the thay but not staying overnight
Which one is correct, being treated or to be treated?
I think it's being, though. But I don't know why.
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Some grammar questions from the test
I'm doing a random test from the internet, and need help with clarifying grammar structures in several sentences.
The test is on "gerund vs infinitive"
1.I prefer getting up early to ______ ...
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Please help identify subject/noun/verbs?
Can anyone help me to identify what the subject, nouns, and verbs are in this sentence?
Recognizing and pursuing only your interests results in a selfish, collapsing world order.
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Which sentence is correct and why? (Gerund vs infinitive)
It was driving me crazy not knowing what they were.
It was driving me crazy not to know/ to not know what they were.
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to + ing form. as an example, "to connecting people
In this sentence:
Lincoln Park Zoo is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a family-oriented...
Can I write "dedicated to connect people with nature"? If not, why do I ...
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"What is fun for you?" "It is to play baseball."
I'm an ESL teacher, and I'm having a difficult time deciding if these sentences are grammatically correct or natural:
A: "What is fun for you?"
B: "It is to play baseball."
A: &...
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Is it correct to say "I saw Tom opening the door"? [duplicate]
Or should I say
I saw Tom open the door.
I want to know if there is a difference in meaning between using "verb + noun + infinitive" and "verb + noun + gerund" in case both are ...
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What is the difference between "to play" or "to be playing" [closed]
I need to be playing in Europe
I need to play in Europe
Which sentence is more correct or is there any difference at all?
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Still confused to differentiate try+to and try+gerund
What I learned from try-to-do-something-vs-try-doing-something, to+do is used to attempt to do or accomplish and to+gerund is used to test the effect or result or an effort based on more of a guess ...
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Helping or Help?
Could the word "help" be used instead of "helping" in this sentence? Would the meaning be the same either way?
Money will also go to helping the pink iguana and the Floreana
...
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Is it correct to change "Would you mind if I..." to "Don't mind me..."?
Suppose this is the original sentence:
Would you mind if I changed the channel?
What I learned from here, I assume that we have to use past verb after "I". Otherwise, we use a gerund after ...
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What kind of verb is "is" in this sentence?
She is crying for help.
What kind of verb is the verb "is" in this sentence? Whether it is finite or helping verb or both?
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Can infinitive-to and gerund be alternated in a sentence if it contains more than 2 "to"?
Sally reminded me to ask you to tell Bob to remember to
bring his soccer ball to the picnic.
The sentence above, somehow seems unnatural and not good to me. Can I alternate with gerunds as follows?
...
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Gerund or Infinitive? (an example sentence)
Which sentence is true?
I think there is a hidden agenda in the proposal to reduce the staff in order to make the company more efficient.
I think there is a hidden agenda in the proposal reducing ...
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'end up to find' or "end up finding"? Gerund vs Infinitive?
What is the reason for using "finding" in this sentence and not "to find"?
"These newcomers often end up not (to find)/(finding) the opportunities they are looking for."
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Feel comfortable to do or doing
I come across some opinions of native English speakers that "I don't feel comfortable to do something" is not idiomatic and should be replaced with "I don't feel comfortable doing ...
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"You must not forget ..... (turn) off your stove, it's very dangerous."
I saw this fill in the blanks question on my practice book and it left me confused
You must not forget ..... (turn) off your stove, it's very dangerous.
For the book, answer is to turn. My answer ...
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“to find a friend to practice speaking with" or "finding a friend to practice speaking with"?
In the following conversation:
--- Did you have any problems in your English study?
--- Yes, _____ a friend to practice speaking with.
Is it correct to fill in the blank with "to find” Or "...
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Extend vs Extending
We are also working with our customers as they make changes, including in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, such as aviation, shipping, road freight, and industry. We will contribute to '...
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Watching or to watch. Which one is correct in these two sentences? [duplicate]
Is it ok to say:
Then, I started watching an episode of...
or should I say
Then, I started to watch an episode of...
Which one is correct or are both correct? Can you explain me what's the ...
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"Begin to" or "Begin v.-ing"
It seems that "Begin/start to do something" is generally the correct form, as opposed to "Begin/start doing". Are there situations in which the latter is correct?
I've just come ...
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What I hope for is to V/Ving
I'd like to know "what someone hopes for is" should be followed by a to-infinitive or a gerund:
What Peter hopes for is to buy/buying a sports car.
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"started to get", "started getting" or "started to getting" - which is correct?
From that point things started to get complicated.
From that point things started getting complicated.
From that point things started to getting complicated.
Which of these sentences would be correct,...
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