Play it by ear whether to use an infinitive or gerund

[Joe Carillo]

This is a very common grammar question that I’m asked every now and then, so I thought that perhaps I should take it up again for those who still vacillate over which construction is better here: “I’m looking forward (to meet, to meeting) my old buddy again.”

I will say at the very outset that the sentences “I’m looking forward to meet my old buddy again” and “I’m looking forward to meeting my old buddy again” are both grammatically airtight and have the same sense. Functionally, though, the infinitive phrase “to meet my buddy again” in the first sentence is the the direct object of the phrasal verb “looking forward “to,” On the other hand, the gerund phrase “meeting my old buddy again” in the second sentence is the object of the preposition “to,” through which that gerund phrase indirectly receives the action of the phrasal verb “looking forward.”

Recall that both the gerund and infinitive are verbals or verb forms that function as nouns, and each can serve as subject, object, or complement in a sentence. In performing these functions, however, gerunds and infinitives are not freely interchangeable and mutually equivalent. Some operative verbs can take either a gerund or infinitive as direct object, but other verbs balk and won’t ever take an infinitive as direct object.

For example, a sentence that has “continue” as operative verb can take either a gerund phrase or infinitive phrase as direct object (or as object of the preposition). Consider this sentence: “They continued paying for her tuition without letup.” The gerund phrase “paying for her tuition without letup” works without any hitch as direct object of the verb “continued,” but so does its infinitive phrase equivalent “to pay for her tuition without letup” in this sentence: “They continued to pay for her tuition without letup.”

Like “continue,” the following operative verbs can also take either a gerund phrase or infinitive phrase as direct object: “attempt,” “begin,” “start,” “leave,” “stop,” “continue,” “love,” “like,” “dislike,” “hate,” “remember,” “forget,” “neglect,” “regret,” “intend,” “plan,” “permit,” “plan,” “prefer,” “propose,” “try,” and “mean.” Check this out by using them as operative verbs of sentences with different sets of gerund phrases or infinitive phrases as direct object.

In contrast, however, some operative verbs can only take a gerund or gerund phrase—never an infinitive or infinitive phrase—as direct object. Among them are “admit,” “advise,” “appreciate,” “anticipate,” “avoid,” “consider,” “delay,” “deny,” “discuss,” “enjoy,” “excuse,” “finish,” “keep,” “mind,” “miss,” “postpone,” “practice,” “quit,” “recall,” “recommend,” “regret,” “resent,” “resist,” “resume,” “risk,” “tolerate,” “try,” “understand,” and “imagine.”

As operative verb, for instance, “anticipate” works perfectly with the gerund phrase “receiving the next shipment in a week” as direct object in “We anticipate receiving the next shipment in a week.” However, the construction makes an epic fail—it just doesn’t sound right to the ears—when the equivalent infinitive phrase is used in “We anticipate to receive the next shipment in a week.”

When used as operative verb, “consider” likewise encounters the same problem. The verb works perfectly with the gerund phrase “taking a short-cut to their destination” as direct object in the sentence “They considered taking a short-cut to their destination,” but likewise makes an epic fail when the equivalent infinitive phrase is used in “They considered to take a short-cut to their destination.”

So the whole thing boils down to this big question: Is there a formula for finding out in advance whether an infinitive phrase or gerund phrase will function properly as direct object of a particular operative verb? Other than a good working knowledge of how gerunds and infinitives work in sentences, no such ground rule exists. We just have to play it by ear when we construct sentences using specific operative verbs.

(Next week: Is dropping “that” advisable from indirect speech?)       June 18, 2020

Read this column online in The Manila Times (June 11, 2020):
Play it by ear whether to use an infinitive or gerund

This essay, 1,198th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the June 11, 2020 Internet edition of The Manila Times,© 2020 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.