something followed by something rules — [1]¶

Verbs and phrases followed by gerunds only¶

He admitted cheating on the test
I anticipated arriving late.
I appreciated her helping me.
He avoided talking to her.
He completed renovating the house.
She considered moving to New York.
The lawyer defended her making such statements.
He delayed doing his taxes.
He denied committing the crime.
She despises waking up early.
We discussed working at the company.
She dislikes working after 5 PM.
Fancy meeting you here!
She finished writing the letter.
go swimming
I don’t mind helping you. / Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes.
We enjoy hiking.
He imagines working there one day.
The job involves traveling to Japan once a month.
She kept interrupting me.
He mentioned going to that college.
She misses living near the beach.
He postponed returning to Paris.
She practiced singing the song.
Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.
He rejected working with them.
She recollected living in Kenya.
Tony recommended taking the train.
He reported her stealing the money.
Nick resented Debbie’s being there.
He resisted asking for help.
He risked being caught.
They suggested staying at the hotel.
I tolerated her talking.
I understand his quitting.

Also, gerund follows some expressions / phrases:

I can’t see paying so much money for a car.
It is no use quarrelling with him.
It’s no good thinking that girls in these days are as they used to be.
There’s no point in just trying to remake the past.
He can’t help talking so loudly.
It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

Gerund after prepositions¶

Prepositions are followed by gerunds (for example: I am looking forward to seeing you). See them here (Confusing prepositions).

Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives (slightly different meaning)¶

Verbs of the senses: feel, see, hear, watch someone¶

I heard him tell you about the letter. (you see or hear the whole action)
I saw her drinking a coffee in the bar. (you only see or hear part of the action)

Other verbs/situations¶

Using a gerund suggests that you are referring to real activities or experiences (and as they are real — they are in the past / have taken place). Using an infinitive suggests that you are talking about potential or possible activities or experiences (and as they are potential — they are in the future / have not taken place).

The British reporter likes living in New York (He lives in New York and he likes what he experiences there)
The British reporter likes to live in New York whenever he works in the United States. (He likes the option or possibility of living in New York when he works in the United States)
I like speaking French because it’s such a beautiful language. (I like the experience of speaking French, and the way it makes me feel when I speak the language)
I like to speak French when I’m in France. (I prefer the option of speaking French when I am in France)
I denied stealing. (I deny having stolen anything before.)
I denied to steal. (Someone offered me to steal something in the future and I refused. So no actual stealing was made.)

Such verbs below as forget, remember, stop and probably mean could be described with the logic above.

Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives (different meaning)¶

forget¶

When forget is used with a gerund, it means to forget that you have done something. The sentence below means that she read the book when she was a kid, and that she has forgotten that fact:

She forgot reading the book when she was a kid.

When forget is used with an infinitive, it means to forget that you need to do something. The sentence below means that she forgot that she needed to pay the rent:

She forgot to pay the rent this month.

remember¶

When remember is used with a gerund, it means to remember that you have done something. The sentence below means that I mentioned the meeting, and that I remember the fact that I did that:

I remember mentioning the meeting yesterday.

When remember is used with an infinitive, it means to remember that you need to do something. The sentence below means that he remembered that he needed to turn the lights off:

He remembered to turn off the lights before he left.

stop¶

Stop is normally used with a gerund:

He stopped smoking for health reasons.

When stop is used with an infinitive, the infinitive takes on the meaning of in order to. In the sentence below, he stopped in order to rest for a few minutes:

He stopped to rest for a few minutes.

try¶

tl;dr:

try to: you want to accomplish it but it is so difficult that it is 90% that you either have fail it or will fail in the future.
try + Ving: a lot of easy experimenting to see if one of them give desired result.

Try + gerund means to try or to experiment with different methods to see if something works.

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:

She can’t find a job. She tried looking in the paper, but there was nothing. She tried asking friends and family, but nobody knew of anything. She also tried going to shop, but nobody was hiring.

Try + gerund is often used when you experiment with something, but you do not really like it or want to do it again:

She tried eating the snake soup, but she didn’t like it.

When you try to do something, you want to do it, but you do not succeed in actually doing it.

This is when the thing you do itself is difficult. In the present tense or future tense, this means you might not succeed in doing it. In the past tense, it means that you made an effort to do the thing, but you did not succeed.

She tried to climb the tree, but she couldn’t even get off the ground. (an infinitive is used because she cannot successfully climb the tree)

An infinitive is also used if you are asking someone to try something they may or may not be able to accomplish:

Try not to wake the baby when you get up tomorrow at 5 AM.

go on¶

go on Ving: to continue with the same thing:

Go on reading the article. (Continue reading the article.)

go on to: to change the activity:

Whichever page you’re on, go on to read the next chapter. (Continue with the next chapter.)

mean¶

mean with the gerund means involve:

You can buy a new car, but it means spending a lot of money.
If you want to win, it will mean working hard.

mean with the infinitive shows intention:

He means to leave his job next month
I didn’t mean to make you angry.

need¶

When need is used with a gerund, it takes on a passive meaning. The sentence below means the house needs to be cleaned:

The house needs cleaning.

Need is usually used with an infinitive or an object + an infinitive:

He needs to call his boss.
He needs him to call his boss.

start (used with both)¶

When start is used in non-continuous tenses, you can either use a gerund or an infinitive:

Marge started talking really fast.
Marge started to talk really fast.

When start is used in continuous tenses, an infinitive is used:

Marge is starting to talk really fast.

In other situations, an infinitive means that you did not complete or continue an action:

I started to learn Russian, but it was so much work that I finally quit the class.

begin (used with both)¶

When begin is used in non-continuous tenses, you can either use a gerund or an infinitive:

She began singing.
She began to sing.

When begin is used in continuous tenses, an infinitive is used:

She is beginning to sing.

dread (usually used with a gerund)¶

Usually dread is followed by a gerund:

She dreaded taking the test.

Dread is sometimes used with infinitives such as think or consider. In the sentence below, dreaded to think means did not want to think:

He dreaded to think of the consequences of his actions.

keep (usually with a gerund)¶

Keep is normally used with a gerund to mean that you continue doing an action.

She kept talking.

Keep can also be used with an object followed by an infinitive, but then the infinitive takes on the meaning of in order to… . In the sentence below, the attackers kept hostages in order to prevent the police from entering:

The attackers kept hostages to prevent the police from entering.

regret (usually used with a gerund)¶

Regret is normally used with a gerund:

I regretted being late to the interview.

Regret is sometimes used with infinitives such as to inform. In the sentence below, We regret to inform you means We wish we did not have to tell you (bad news):

We regret to inform you that your position at the company is being eliminated.

Verbs followed by gerunds or nouns + infinitives¶

I advised seeing a doctor. I advised them to see a doctor.
Ireland doesn’t allow smoking in bars. Ireland doesn’t allow people to smoke in bars.
He encourages eating healthy foods. He encourages his patients to eat healthy foods.
California doesn’t permit fishing without a fishing license. California doesn’t permit people to fish without a fishing license.
The certificate requires completing two courses. The certificate requires students to complete two courses.
They urge recycling bottles and paper. They urge citizens to recycle bottles and paper.