Gerund vs. Infinitive: How to Explain the Difference

Students often have a difficult time knowing when to use gerunds and infinitives.

Even at the intermediate level, this is typically not covered extensively and lesson plans instead focus on very specific structures such as “I like playing ~.” or “I like to play ~.”

For the majority of students this simple approach is enough and much less confusing than trying to understand when one is more appropriate than the other because in many situations, although there is a slight difference in meaning, gerunds and infinitives are used interchangeably.

A lesson teaching gerunds might focus on “I like playing/eating/reading ~.” and the question “What do you like doing?” When students create sentences that are incorrect, for instance “I like playing ski.” you can address the fact that ski does not follow the same rules as sports such as soccer, baseball, and basketball. 

An introductory infinitive lesson could use the same approach in order to give students some easy infinitive practice without overwhelming them with various structures and uses.

By Mr. Víctor with No comments