Using Gerunds or infinitives

One of the difficulties of the English language is to know whether to use

a gerund (ex : doing) or an infinitive(ex : to do).

Generally speaking we can use the following rules:

Examples Rules Explanations

Verb + 1. I enjoy playing Often we use the 1. I enjoy myself at

gerund gerund for an action the time of playing.
that
happens before or at
the same time as the
action of the main
verb.

Verb + 1. I decided to visit Often we use the 1. Visiting my uncle

infinitive my uncle infinitive for actions was an action of my
2. I want to go out that follow the action decision. It comes
of the main verb. after.
2. What I want (now)
is to go out
(after/later)

These rules are helpful but DO NOT always explain all uses of gerunds and
infinitives.

Verbs commonly followed by a gerund

1- After verbs that express likes/dislikes :

 like
 love
 enjoy
 dislike
 hate

Example:

" I like playing football but I hate swimming."

Note "like/love/hate..." can be also followed by an infinitive:

Example:
I like to watch TV in the evening.

3- After prepositions

 aim at
 keep on
 interested in
 good at
 before ...
 after ...

Example:

"I am interested in collecting stamps."

"After playing football I drank orange juice".

Verbs that can be followed by an infinitive

1- After verbs that generally refer to a future event:

Verbs Examples
agree She agreed to help him.
aim They aim to win the competition.
choose He chose to stay at home.
decide They decided to go to the movies.
fail He failed to do all his homework by midnight.
She helped me to do the exercise. (Note, help is also followed by a
help
bare infinitive: She helped me do the exercise.)
hope I hope to join you soon.
learn He learned to play the piano when he was young.
manage He managed to do his homework without his mother's help.
need I need to find a job.
plan He plans to revise one month before the exams.
seem He seemed to be unhappy.
want I want to finish my work early.
would He would hate to lose.
hate
would He would like to drink a cup of tea.
like
 would I would love to meet you.
love

Verbs that can be followed by both an infinitive and a gerund:

Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive. Here are some
examples:

 start
 begin
 stop
 remember...

Example:

"I started learning Chinese when I was young."

"I started to learn Chinese when I was young."