GERUND OR TO-INFINITIVE
1. General vs. Specific
Following certain verbs, the infinitive is used when we are speaking about a
specific situation, and the gerund is used when we are making a general
statement.
With the verb like:
I like to drink coffee when I wake up in the morning. (Specific
situation: when I wake up in the morning.)
I like drinking coffee, but I also sometimes drink tea. (General
statement: the time of drinking is not specified.)
With the verb prefer:
Thanks for offering to give me a lift [or "a ride" in US English], but I
prefer to walk. (I prefer it in this specific situation. I might accept a
ride from someone else, or at some other time, but not now.)
I prefer walking to work, but I occasionally take the bus, especially if
the weather is bad. (I prefer it as a general rule.)
With the verb start:
I started to speak, but she interrupted me and wouldn't let me get a
word in edgeways [or "edgewise" in US English]. (I started the action
of speaking in that specific situation.)
I started speaking at the age of one, much to the surprise and delight
of my parents. (I started the activity of speaking generally in my life
at this age —a very early age by normal standards.)
There are several other verbs that follow this pattern.
2. Actual (real) vs. Hypothetical (imagined)
The gerund is used for actual (or real) events or states, and the infinitive is
used for imagined (or hypothetical) events or states. For example:
Taking five courses this term is extremely unwise in my opinion. (The
person you are speaking to is actually taking five courses.)
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To take five courses this term would be extremely unwise in my
opinion. (The person is considering taking five courses or is
planning to do so, but has not actually done so yet.)
On the children's TV show "Sesame Street", Kermit the Frog sings a song, "It's
not easy being green." This is because Kermit is actually green. If someone
said, "It is not easy to be green" that person is imagining what it might be
like to be green or is trying to be green, but is not actually green, at least
not yet.
If a person says, "It is difficult being a single parent" you can be pretty sure
that that person is actually a single parent. However, if a person says, "It is
difficult to be a single parent," that person is speaking hypothetically rather
than from personal experience, and you can guess that the speaker is not
actually a single parent.
We have a number of sayings and proverbs in English that use the infinitive
rather than the gerund. For example:
To err is human, to forgive divine.
To know him is to love him.
We use the infinitive rather than the gerund in these statements because we
are speaking hypothetically and are not referring to someone who is
actually doing the action of erring or knowing. The meaning in these two
cases is something like:
If you err, you are human; if you forgive, you are divine.
If you know him, you will (automatically) love him.
Notice how the word if brings out the imagined or hypothetical nature of
the statement. We would not use the gerund in these saying precisely because
we want to speak about imagined or hypothetical actions rather than actions
that have already been done by some person in reality.
3. Active vs. Passive
The infinitive is used to convey the active idea, and the gerund is used to
convey the passive idea. (The situations for this particular usage are rather
limited.)
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With the verb need:
I need to clean the bathroom. (Active: I am doing the action of
cleaning.)
The bathroom needs cleaning. (Passive: The bathroom is receiving
the action of cleaning.)
With the verb require:
You are required to renew your driver's licence every five years.
(Active: You do the action of renewing.)
Your driver's licence requires renewing every five years. (Passive:
The licence receives the action of renewing).
4. Past/Present vs. Future
Following certain verbs, the infinitive points to the future, but the gerund
points to the past.
With the verb remember:
I remembered to lock the front door. (First I remembered, then I
locked. The action of locking is in the future with regard to the action
of remembering. The action of remembering is directed forwards,
towards a future event.)
I remember locking the front door, but I have no recollection of what
happened after that. (The action of locking the front door took place
before the act of remembering. The action of remembering is
directed backwards, towards a past event.)
With the verb forget:
I forgot to give you my phone number. (I did not give you my phone
number. The action of not giving is in the future with respect to
the action of forgetting)
I forgot giving you my phone number. (I actually gave you my phone
number, but I later forgot that I did so. The action of giving is in
the past with respect to the action of forgetting.) [NOTE: This is
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not a very common construction. It would be more natural to say: "I
forgot that I gave you my phone number."]
With the verb regret:
I regret to inform you that your visa has expired. (The action of
informing is in the future with respect to the action of
regretting. I feel regret before I inform.)
I regret informing you that your visa had expired. (The action of
informing is in the past with respect to the action of regretting.
First, I informed you, then I regretted the action of informing you. In
other words, I am saying that I should never have informed you about
it.)
5. Action that is intended to be done vs. Action that is done
Following some verbs, the infinitive denotes action that is intended to be
done, while the gerund denotes action that is done.
With the verb stop:
She stopped to talk to her next-door neighbour. (She stopped what
she was doing in order to talk. The action of stopping her current
activity was done because she intended to talk to the next-door
neighbour).
She stopped talking to her next-door neighbour. (She used to talk
to her next-door neighbour, but she stopped this previous
activity of talking, perhaps because they had a fight or some sort of
disagreement.)
With the verb try:
She tried to lie down, but couldn't because of the pain in her back.
(She intended to lie down, but was unable to do so. The pain
prevented her from lying down, even though she intended to do so.)
She tried lying down, but that did not help ease the in her back. (She
actually did lie down, but this possible solution to the problem
of the pain in her back did not work.)
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There are many other points that could be made about the differences in the
use of infinitives and gerunds, but this will have to do for the present.
