GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES

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Gerunds and Infinitives  

We use gerunds (verb + ing):

• After certain verbs - I enjoy singing /  Imagine not having any friends!   
• 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
                                         - I want him to stay   / We agreed not to argue
• After many adjectives and adverbs - It's difficult to get up early
• After nouns and pronouns: Send somebody to help / It's time to go
• After question words- Tell me how to do it
• 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?

Verbs + gerund or infinitive

With ( almost) no difference in meaning: begin, start, like, dislike, hate, love, prefer

With some variation in meaning: remember, forget, regret, stop, try

I remember visiting Piaza Navona in Rome. (Recuerdo haber visitado la plaza Navona en Roma)

Remember to visit  my friend in Lisbon. ( Acuerdate de visitar a mi amigo en Lisboa)