The Basics: Who are they? 🤔
Before we dive into the complex rules, let's meet our two main characters. Think of them as different "costumes" a verb can wear to act like a noun.
The Gerund
🏊♂️The Gerund acts like a noun. It creates a sense of "realness," an activity that is happening or has happened. It's grounded.
- ✔ Subject: Swimming is fun.
- ✔ After Prepositions: I'm good at drawing.
The Infinitive
🎯The Infinitive often points to the future or a purpose. It's abstract, potential, or explaining "why" we do something.
- ✔ Purpose: I went to the store to buy milk.
- ✔ After Adjectives: It is hard to learn.
The Rules of Attraction 🧲
Some verbs are picky! They only want to hang out with Gerunds, while others prefer Infinitives.
Use the tabs on the right to explore the lists. The chart below shows how English verbs are generally distributed across these rules.
Verb Distribution Frequency
Verbs followed by Gerunds
Pattern: Verb + doing
"I enjoy reading books."
Quick Tip: Use the acronym M.I.N.D. to remember some: Mind, Imagine, No use, Deny/Delay.
Verbs followed by Infinitives
Pattern: Verb + to do
"I decided to go home."
Quick Tip: These often relate to the future, plans, or potential. You "hope" for the future, you "plan" for the future.
The Flexible Verbs
Pattern: Either one works! No meaningful difference.
"It started raining." OR "It started to rain."
The Tricky Twins 👯♀️
These verbs change their meaning completely depending on which friend they bring along.
Click the buttons below to see the magic happen.
Grammar Dojo 🥋
Test your reflexes. Choose the correct form.
I enjoy _______ video games. (play)
Quiz Complete!
You scored out of 5.