B2 grammar · teens and adults
Gerunds and infinitives
Enjoy doing or want to do? Which verbs take -ing, which take to, and the verbs whose meaning changes: stop, remember, try, forget.
Teens · AdultsCEFR B2 · Upper-intermediate
- Age
- Ages 14+
- Level
- B2
- Skill
- Grammar
- Format
- Teacher guide
The rule
- Verb + -ing after enjoy, mind, avoid, finish, suggest, keep, consider, imagine, miss and can't stand: I avoid driving at night.
- To + verb after want, need, decide, hope, plan, agree, refuse, promise, manage, afford and would like: We decided to rent a car.
- After every preposition, use -ing: interested in learning, good at drawing, before leaving. In look forward to and be used to, to is a preposition: I look forward to seeing you.
- To + verb also gives a purpose: I went to the bank to get some cash — not for get.
- Like, love, hate, prefer, start, begin and continue take either form with little change. After would like and would love, use to: I'd love to come.
- Some verbs change meaning: stop smoking (quit) vs stop to smoke (pause in order to); remember locking the door (a memory) vs remember to lock it (don't forget); try restarting it (an experiment) vs try to lift it (make an effort).
Form
| Use | Form |
|---|---|
| Verb + -ing | enjoy, mind, avoid, finish, suggest, keep + verb-ing |
| Verb + to | want, need, decide, hope, plan, manage + to + verb |
| After a preposition | in / at / of / about / before / after + verb-ing |
| Purpose | to + verb (not for + verb) |
| Meaning changes | stop / remember / forget / try + -ing or to |
Example sentences
Tap a sentence to hear it. The translation follows each one.
Quick check: choose the right form
Five sentences from this page, each with one gap. Choose the form that fits; when it is right, you hear the whole sentence.
We decided to blank a car.
Do you mind blank a few minutes?
She managed to blank the project on time.
I'm looking forward to blank you.
He went to the bank to blank some cash.
Common mistakes
What learners actually say, why, and which first language makes it typical.
Typical for Russian and Spanish speakers
I'm looking forward to see you.I'm looking forward to seeing you.
In look forward to, to is a preposition, so the verb takes -ing. It looks like an infinitive, which is why almost every learner writes see.
Typical for Spanish speakers
He went to the bank for get some cash.He went to the bank to get some cash.
Spanish «para sacar dinero» turns into for get. In English a purpose with a verb is to + verb (or in order to).
Typical for Russian and Spanish speakers
I enjoy to work with people.I enjoy working with people.
Enjoy is followed by -ing. Russian («нравится работать») and Spanish («disfruto trabajar» is common, too) both use an infinitive here, so learners copy it.
Typical for Russian speakers
I suggest you to take the train.I suggest taking the train.
Suggest does not take person + to. Use suggest + -ing, or suggest (that) you take the train. Russian «предлагаю тебе поехать» makes the wrong pattern feel natural.
How to teach it
- Sort, don't list: give twenty verbs on cards and two headings, -ing and to. Pairs sort them, then check by making a true sentence about themselves with each one.
- Personal questions carry the pattern: What do you avoid doing on Mondays? What have you decided to change this year? What can't you stand doing?
- Teach the meaning-change verbs as pairs with a picture each: a man who stopped smoking against a man who stopped to smoke. Two drawings explain more than a rule.
Questions teachers ask
Is there a rule for which verbs take -ing?
Only a tendency: to + verb often looks forward (want, plan, hope, decide), -ing often refers to an experience or an activity in general (enjoy, avoid, mind). In the end the common verbs have to be learnt as patterns.
Is this B1 or B2?
Common verb patterns (enjoy -ing, want to) are B1. The verbs that change meaning (stop, remember, try, forget) and patterns like suggest + -ing are B2.
Related resources
Presentation
Gerunds and Infinitives Presentation
Gerunds and Infinitives presentation (B2) for teens and adults: the rule, a form table, 10 examples and practice with answers. Free PPTX and PDF.
Worksheet
Gerunds and infinitives — worksheet
Put the verb in the right form, build the sentence, choose the correct one — answers at the bottom.
Lesson Plan
Relative clauses
Who, which, that, where, whose: adding information about a noun. Defining and non-defining clauses, when to drop the pronoun, and why commas matter.
Lesson Plan
Must, might and can't (deduction)
Guessing from evidence: She must be at work. He might be stuck in traffic. That can't be right. How sure you are, in one small word, now and in the past.