A comprehensive guide to gerunds, participles and infinitives, with clear explanations, many examples, common mistakes, comparisons, practice and an O Level-style self-check.
Article purpose: English verbs do more than show actions. Verb forms can also function as nouns, adjectives and parts of larger verb structures. Three forms that often confuse learners are the gerund, the participle and the infinitive. This article teaches you how to recognise them, understand their jobs in sentences, choose between them accurately and avoid common errors.
A useful starting point is to remember that these forms come from verbs, but they do not all behave like ordinary finite verbs.
GERUND → verb form working as a noun
PARTICIPLE → verb form working mainly as an adjective or as part of a verb phrase
INFINITIVE → to + base verb, or sometimes the bare base verb after a special verb pattern
Compare:
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun. It can therefore perform jobs normally performed by nouns.
Reading improves vocabulary.
Reading is the subject.
I enjoy reading.
reading is the object of enjoy.
Her favourite activity is reading.
reading completes the sentence after is.
A gerund can begin a sentence and act as its subject.
In each sentence, the -ing word names an activity. That is why it is functioning as a noun.
Many verbs are followed naturally by a gerund.
enjoy reading • avoid arguing • finish writing • consider moving • suggest waiting
Important: do not assume that every verb takes a gerund. Verb patterns must be learned with the verbs that govern them.
When a verb follows a preposition, it normally takes the -ing form, not to + base verb.
Incorrect: interested in to learn
Correct: interested in learning
The word to does not always introduce an infinitive. Sometimes it is a preposition, and a gerund follows it.
But:
A participle is a verb form that can help form a verb phrase or can function adjectivally to describe a noun or pronoun. The two major participles are the present participle and the past participle.
Present participle: usually the -ing form → running, singing, breaking, smiling.
Past participle: often an -ed form for regular verbs, but irregular verbs have many different forms → walked, broken, written, taken, seen.
The present participle ends in -ing, but an -ing word is not automatically a gerund. Its job in the sentence decides the classification.
Swimming is enjoyable. → noun function → gerund.
The swimming child waved. → describes a noun → present participle.
The child is swimming. → part of the verb phrase → present participle.
This is one of the most important distinctions in the whole topic: form alone is not enough; function matters.
A present participle can describe a person, animal, object or situation.
In an exciting match, exciting describes the match. It is not the subject or object of the sentence; it is functioning adjectivally.
Participles also combine with auxiliary verbs to form verb phrases.
Here, reading, waiting, finished, written and forgotten are participial forms within larger verb phrases.
Past participles are especially important in perfect and passive constructions, and they can also act as adjectives.
Regular: work → worked → worked; finish → finished → finished.
Irregular: write → wrote → written; break → broke → broken; take → took → taken.
When you see an -ing word, ask: What job is it doing?
1. Is it naming an activity? → likely a gerund.
2. Is it describing a noun? → likely a participle.
3. Is it helping an auxiliary verb form the verb phrase? → present participle.
Compare:
The most familiar infinitive is to + base form of the verb.
Examples in sentences:
An infinitive can explain why an action is performed.
Ask: Why did he/she/they do it? If the answer is an intended purpose, an infinitive is often appropriate.
Many common verbs are followed by an infinitive.
want to learn • decide to leave • hope to succeed • plan to study • promise to help • agree to wait • refuse to answer • manage to finish
A bare infinitive is the base verb without to. It occurs in several important patterns.
Incorrect: She can to swim.
Correct: She can swim.
Some verbs can take a gerund, some take an infinitive, and some can take either with a change or no major change in meaning. This is an area where learners should study common patterns rather than rely on one universal rule.
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| enjoy + -ing | I enjoy reading. |
| avoid + -ing | He avoided answering. |
| want + to + verb | I want to learn. |
| decide + to + verb | She decided to leave. |
| suggest + -ing | They suggested waiting. |
| hope + to + verb | We hope to succeed. |
Some verbs can be followed by either form, but the meaning may change.
I remember locking the door. → I have a memory of a past action.
Remember to lock the door. → Do not forget the action that you need to perform.
I forgot meeting him. → I did meet him, but I do not remember it.
I forgot to meet him. → I failed to perform the planned action.
He stopped smoking. → He ended the activity.
He stopped to smoke. → He stopped another activity in order to smoke.
The distinction is subtle but important. Always read the whole sentence before deciding what the form means.
A participial phrase contains a participle and other words connected to it. It can add information about a noun or describe an action or circumstance.
Walking through the forest, Maya heard a strange sound.
Exhausted after the journey, the travellers rested.
Having finished the experiment, the students recorded their results.
Shocked by the news, he remained silent.
The opening phrase should normally connect logically to the subject that follows. A mismatch can create a dangling participle.
Compare:
❌ Walking down the road, the rain began.
The sentence appears to say that the rain was walking.
✓ Walking down the road, I was caught in the rain.
The participial phrase Walking down the road needs a sensible person or thing to modify.
An infinitive can be expanded into a phrase containing its object or other modifiers.
Examples:
STEP 1: Find the verb form.
STEP 2: Ask what form it has: -ing, past participle, or to + base verb?
STEP 3: Ask what job it performs.
STEP 4: Check the word immediately around it and the whole sentence.
STEP 5: Explain the meaning, not just the label.
Look at the word reading in four sentences.
Lesson: the spelling is identical, but the grammatical function changes.
The same form can therefore participate in a verb construction or describe a noun, depending on context.
| Form / use | Main job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | Acts as a noun | Swimming is fun. |
| Present participle | Describes or helps form a verb phrase | The swimming boy waved. / He is swimming. |
| Past participle | Helps form perfect/passive constructions or describes | She has finished. / the broken chair |
| Infinitive | to + base verb; often expresses intention, purpose or complements a verb | I want to learn. |
| Bare infinitive | Base verb in special patterns | She can learn. |
When an examination question tests grammar, sentence transformation or accuracy, do not choose a form simply because it “sounds familiar”. Check the verb pattern, preposition, meaning and grammatical function.
Verb pattern → surrounding word → sentence meaning → grammatical function → final check.
Identify the bold form and explain its function.
1. Gerund — subject. 2. Present participle — describes instructor. 3. Present participle — part of the verb phrase. 4. Infinitive — complement of decided. 5. Gerund — object of the preposition for. 6. Past participle — adjectival description. 7. Past participle — part of a passive construction. 8. Infinitive — expresses purpose.
GERUND = -ING FORM DOING A NOUN'S JOB
PRESENT PARTICIPLE = -ING FORM DESCRIBING OR HELPING A VERB PHRASE
PAST PARTICIPLE = PARTICIPLE FORM USED IN PERFECT/PASSIVE STRUCTURES OR AS A DESCRIPTION
INFINITIVE = TO + BASE VERB
BARE INFINITIVE = BASE VERB WITHOUT TO IN SPECIAL PATTERNS