gerunds and infinitives

Una explicación con audio

http://www.shertonenglish.com/resources/es/miscelaneous-topics/verbs-infinitives-or-gerunds.php

En este enlace una lista de verbos para saber si van con gerundio o infinitivo

http://www.curso-ingles.com/recursos/cheat-sheets/verbs-and-verb-tenses/the-gerund-and-infinitive

En esta página un montón de ejercicios:

http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/infinitive_gerund-exercises.html

Gerunds and Infinitives

El inglés tiene dos tipos de sustantivos verbales, el infinitivo (con o sin "to") y el gerundio (la terminación -ing). La mayoría de los verbos que toman un sustantivo verbal pueden estar seguidos de uno u otro (un gerundio o un infinitivo, pero no ambos). Sin embargo, existen determinados verbos a los que puede seguirle indistintamente un gerundio o un infinitivo. A ellos nos referiremos aquí...

VERBOS
A algunos verbos puede seguirles el gerundio o el infinitivo y es sólo una cuestión de estilo cómo y cuándo utilizarlos. Tres de estos verbos son continue (continuar), start (arrancar, comenzar) y begin (comenzar, iniciar).

The fans continued to shout / shouting at the referee.
Helen started to cough / coughing because of her bad cold.
It began to rain / raining.

Otros verbos pueden tomar el gerundio o el infinitivo en la mayoría de los tiempos verbales (aunque el inglés británico prefiere el gerundio, el infinitivo es muy común en inglés americano), pero sólo se los usa con el infinitivo cuando se encuentran en condicional. Estos verbos son: hate (odiar, no gustar), love (amar), can't bear (no soportar), like (gustar), dislike (disgustar) y prefer (preferir).

I hate talking to her.
I like to get up early on Sunday mornings and go riding.

... but:

I like getting up early on Sunday mornings to go riding.
I couldn't bear to live in that country.
I'd prefer to see the manager early tomorrow.

CUANDO EL SIGNIFICADO CAMBIA
Sin embargo, con algunos verbos el significado de las oraciones se altera, si se utilizan gerundios o infinitivos. Es interesante analizarlo:

Remember/Forget (recordar/olvidar)
Con los verbos remember (recordar) y forget (olvidar), el gerundio hace referencia a una acción que ocurrió ANTES QUE el hecho de recordar u olvidar. Veamos...

I remember giving him the key   significa...
I remember having given him the key o lo que es lo mismo...
I remember the moment in which I gave him the key.

I will never forget going water rafting in Africa   significa...
I will never forget the occasion on which we went water rafting in Africa.

Sin embargo, con remember y forget, el infinitivo hace referencia a una acción que ocurrió DESPUES QUE surgiera el hecho de recordar u olvidar. Veamos...

I remember to feed the cat   significa...
I remember that it was my responsibility to feed the cat and I fed her.

I forgot to post that letter   significa...
I did not post the letter because I forgot.

Regret (lamentar/se)
El verbo regret (lamentar/se) es similar. La estructura regret + gerund (ing) hace referencia mientras que regret + infinitive se usa para prsentar malas noticias (I regret to say..., I regret to tell you..., I regret to inform you...). Por lo tanto, decimos...

I regret telling him the secret   significa
I regret having told him the secret   o lo que es lo mismo
I wish I hadn't told him the secret.

I regret to say that I just ran over your dog!   significa
I'm very sorry but I just killed your dog with my car.

I regret to inform you that your car is missing   significa
It is my sad responsibility to inform you that your car is missing.

Stop (dejar de)
La estructura stop + gerund (ing) expresa que se ha interrumpido la acción mencionada en el gerundio. Veamos...

You must stop smoking.

Sin embargo, stop + infinitive expresa que se interrumpel la actividad que se está realizando para llevar a cabo la actividad mencionada en el infinitivo. Observa...

The window-cleaners stopped to smoke.   significa
They stopped cleaning the windows in order to have a cigarette.

Go on (seguir, continuar)
La estructura go on + gerund expresa lo mismo que continue + gerund/infinitive:

He went on talking about himself, even though nobody was listening.

Sin embargo, go on + infinitive significa to start something new:

He went on to talk about his children   significa
He was talking about one thing and then he changed the subject and started to talk about his children.

Try (tratar, intentar)
Existe una ligera diferencia entre try + infinitive y try + gerund. La estructura try + infinitive sugiere que la acción del infinitivo es difícil y posiblemente la persona no llegue a realizar la acción:

Try to open the window. I can't because I'm not very strong and it has recently been painted.
He tried to climb the cliff.

Sin embargo, try + gerund sugiere que la acción del gerundio no es compleja pero desconocemos si la consecuenciade esa acción será lo que buscamos o deseamos. Se utiliza la estructura try + gerund cuando realizamos algo para descubrir cuáles serán las consecuencias. Observa...

A: Phew! It's hot in here!
B: Try opening the window. Although it's probably just as hot outside!

Need (necesitar, tener necesidad de)
Con el verbo need, el infinitivo adquiere un significado activo y el gerundio uno pasivo.

I need to talk to you   significa    I must talk to you.
My shoes need cleaning significa    My shoes need to be cleaned.
The car needed servicing significa    The car needed to be serviced.

Gerunds and Infinitives

We use gerunds (verb + ing):

After certain verbs - I enjoy singing
After prepositions - I drank a cup of coffee before leaving
As the subject or object of a sentence - Swimming is good exercise

We use 'to' + infinitive:

After certain verbs - We decided to leave
After many adjectives - It's difficult to get up early
To show purpose - I came to London to study English

We use the bare infinitive (the infinitive without 'to'):

After modal verbs - I can meet you at six o'clock
After 'let', 'make' and (sometimes) 'help' - The teacher let us leave early
After some verbs of perception (see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense) - I watched her walk away
After expressions with 'why' - why go out the night before an exam?

Gerunds and Infinitives with Verbs Part 1

Here are some of the most common verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

enjoy	I enjoyed living in France
fancy	I fancy seeing a film tonight
discuss	We discussed going on holiday together
dislike	I dislike waiting for buses
finish	We've finished preparing for the meeting
mind	I don't mind coming early
suggest	He suggested staying at the Grand Hotel
recommend	They recommended meeting earlier
keep	He kept working, although he felt ill
avoid	She avoided talking to her boss

And here are some common verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive:

agree	She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting
ask*	I asked to leave early / I asked him to leave early
decide	We decided to go out for dinner
help*	He helped to clean the kitchen / he helped his flatmate to clean the kitchen
plan	She plans to buy a new flat next year
hope	I hope to pass the exam
learn	They are learning to sing
want*	I want to come to the party / I want him to come to the party
would like*	I would like to see her tonight / I would like you to see her tonight
promise	We promised not to be late

*We can use an object before the infinitive with these verbs.

(Note that 'help' can also be followed by the infinitive without 'to' with no difference in meaning: 'I helped to carry it' = 'I helped carry it'.)

Gerunds and Infinitives with Verbs Part 2

Here are some more verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

miss	She misses living near the beach
appreciate	I appreciated her helping me.
delay	He delayed doing his taxes.
postpone	He postponed returning to Paris
practise	She practised singing the song.
consider	She considered moving to New York.
can't stand	He can't stand her smoking in the office.
can't help	He can't help talking so loudly.
risk	He risked being caught.
admit	He admitted cheating on the test.

And here are some more verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive:

can afford	We can't afford to go on holiday.
manage	He managed to open the door without the key.
prepare*	They prepared to take the test / the teachers prepared the students to take the test.
demand	He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris.
choose	I chose to help.
offer	Frank offered to drive us to the supermarket.
wait	She waited to buy a movie ticket.
would hate*	I'd hate to be late / I'd hate you to be late.
would love*	I'd love to come / I'd love him to come.
seem	Nancy seemed to be disappointed.

*We can use an object before the infinitive with these verbs.

Gerunds and Infinitives with Verbs Part 3

Here are some more verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

deny	He denied committing the crime.
mention	He mentioned going to that college.
imagine	He imagines working there one day.
tolerate	I tolerated her talking.
understand	I understand his quitting.
involve	The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.
complete	He completed renovating the house.
report	He reported her stealing the money.
anticipate	I anticipated arriving late.
recall	Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

And here are some more verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive:

expect*	They expect to arrive early / they expect Julie to arrive early
intend	We intend to visit you next spring.
pretend	The child pretended to be a monster.
refuse	The guard refused to let them enter the building.
tend	He tends to be a little shy.
would prefer*	I'd prefer to do it / I'd prefer him to do it.
deserve	He deserves to go to jail.
appear	His health appeared to be better.
arrange	Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.
claim	She claimed to be a princess.

*We can use an object before the infinitive with these verbs.

Gerunds and Infinitives with Verbs Part 4

These verbs can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive with a change in meaning.

Remember + gerund

This is when you remember something that has happened in the past. You have a memory of it, like being able to see a movie of it in your head.

I remember going to the beach when I was a child. (= I have a memory of going to the beach).
He remembers closing the door. (= He has a memory of closing the door).

Remember + to + infinitive

This is when you think of something that you need to do. (And usually, you then do the thing).

I remembered to buy milk. (= I was walking home and the idea that I needed milk came into my head, so I bought some).
She remembered to send a card to her grandmother.

Forget + gerund

This is the opposite of remember + gerund. It's when you forget about a memory, something that you've done in the past.

Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about it.
I told my brother that we'd spent Christmas at Granny's house in 1985, but he'd forgotten going there.

Forget + to + infinitive

This is the opposite of remember + to + infinitive. It's when you want to do something, but you forget about it.

I forgot to call my mother. (= I wanted to call my mother, but when it was a good time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking about something else, and the idea to call my mother didn't come into my head).
She keeps forgetting to bring his book back.

Try + gerund

This is when you do something as an experiment. The thing you do is not difficult, but you want to see if doing it will have the result that you want.

I wanted to stop smoking, so I tried using nicotine patches. (= Using nicotine patches was easy, but I wanted to know if it would help me stop smoking).
She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight. (It was easy for her to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see if it would help her lose weight, but it didn't).

Try + to + infinitive

This is when the thing you do itself is difficult and you don't succeed in doing it.

I tried to lift the suitcase, but it was too heavy.
She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.

Look at the difference:

I tried giving up chocolate (it was no problem to stop eating chocolate) but it didn't make me feel more healthy.
I tried to give up chocolate, but it was too hard. I always ate some when my friends offered it to me.

It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window (it was easy to open the window). It didn't help though, because it was very hot outside too.

• I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck.

Stop + gerund

When we stop doing something it means the verb in the gerund is the thing that we stop. It can mean 'stop forever' or 'stop at that moment'.

I stopped working when I was expecting a baby. (Working is the thing I stopped).
My grandmother stopped driving when she was 85. (Driving is the thing she stopped).

My boss came into the room, so I stopped browsing the internet.
There was a fire alarm, so I stopped eating and went outside.

Stop + to + infinitive

In this case, we stop something else in order to do the verb in the infinitive.

I stopped to eat lunch. (I stopped something else, maybe working or studying, because I wanted to eat lunch.
She was shopping and she stopped to get a cup of coffee. (She stopped shopping because she wanted to get a cup of coffee).

Look at the difference:

I stopped smoking. (I gave up cigarettes OR I threw away my cigarette at that moment).
I stopped to smoke. (I stopped doing something else because I wanted to have a cigarette).

Regret + gerund

This is when you are sorry about something you did in the past and you wish you hadn't done it.

I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today.
She regrets leaving school when she was sixteen. She wishes that she had studied more and then gone to university.

Regret + to + infinitive

We use this construction when we are giving someone bad news, in quite a formal way. The verb is almost always something like 'say' or 'tell' or 'inform'.

I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.
The company regrets to inform employees that the London office will close next year.

En el siguiente enlace la página anterior en el que podrás ver un video de 11 minutos con la explicación del tema:

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/gerunds-and-infinitives.html

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