How to Use Gerund and Infinitive

Gerund is noun made of verb plus 'ing'. Whenever we put 'ing' after an infinitive, it will be a gerund automatically. For example: see + ing (seeing) in "I avoid seeing Vanya because I owe her fifty thousand rupiahs."

There are some verbs that can only be added by gerund. They are: 

avoid, miss, practise, (don't) mind, keep, stand, feel like, enjoy, go, and so on.

Examples:

1. Setya can't stand sitting down near the door for it's too windy.
2. We keep visiting FT once a week.
3. I don't mind being hated by my friends as long as you are still with me.
4. Eva feels like flying every time he says that he loves her.
5. Dina enjoyed reading 'Siti Nurbaya' and 'Roro Mendut'.

Meanwhile, infinitive is a pure verb, verbs that come in original form. Read, walk, find, stay, dig, etc. are examples of infinitive. There are also some verbs that can only followed by infinitive. These verbs are:

 hope, want, promise, expect, afford, offer, decide, etc.

Examples:

1. They hope to find the treasure before the dawn.
2. I want to tell you the truth about the reason why I move to Porong.
3. He promised to take me to the dentist this evening.
4. We didn't expect to win the Robotic competition.
5. I can't afford to buy you I-Phone 5 this week. Let's save money for it.

You can look for other verbs and try to apply it in sentences to help you understand it. Mail me at Reese_jc7@yahoo.com whenever you want to ask questions. (Sidoarjo, 21 March 2013)