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Gerund or Infinitive?

Gerund

The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used:

a. as the subject of the sentence:

Eating people is wrong.
Hunting tigers is dangerous.
Flying makes me nervous.

b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':

One of his duties is attending meetings.
The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.
One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.

c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a preposition:

Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
She is good at painting.
They're keen on windsurfing.
She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.

This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g. in spite of, there's no point in..:

There's no point in waiting.
In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb + preposition/adverb

Example:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:

I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)
When are you going to give up smoking?
She always puts off going to the dentist.
He kept on asking for money.

NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive: - to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to. It is important to recognise that 'to' is a preposition in these cases, as it must be followed by a gerund:

We are looking forward to seeing you.
I am used to waiting for buses.
She didn't really take to studying English.

It is possible to check whether 'to� is a preposition or part of a to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:

I am accustomed to it (the cold).
I am accustomed to being cold.

e. in compound nouns

Example:

a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-spotting

It is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous verb.

Example:

the pool is not swimming, it is a pool for swimming in.

f. after the expressions:

can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:

She couldn't help falling in love with him.
I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.
It's no use/good trying to escape.
It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the train.

(From: english4today)

avoid -	избегать
admit	соглашаться
consider	считать, полагать, обсуждать
dislike	не нравиться
deny	отрицать
delay	откладывать
enjoy	наслаждаться
escape	избежать, спастись, вырваться
excuse	извиняться
finish	заканчивать
fancy	воображать; думать; любить
imagine	воображать
involve	вовлекать во что-то; касаться, затрагивать
keep	продолжать делать что-то
mind	возражать, иметь что-то против
mention	упоминать
postpone	откладывать
practise	практиковаться, тренироваться
resume	возобновить, продолжить
regret	сожалеть

GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

Verbs where there is a clear difference in meaning:
Verbs marked with an asterisk* can also be followed by a that-clause.

come
forget*
go on

mean*
regret*
remember*

stop
try

Come:

Come + gerund is like other verbs of movement followed by the gerund, and means that the subject is doing something as they move:

She came running across the field.

Come + to-infinitivemeans that something happens or develops, perhaps outside the subject's control:

At first I thought he was crazy, but I've come to appreciate his sense of humour.
How did you come to be outside the wrong house?
This word has come to mean something quite different.

Forget, regret and remember:

When these verbs are followed by a gerund, the gerund refers to an action that happened earlier:

I remember locking the door (= I remember now, I locked the door earlier)
He regretted speaking so rudely. (= he regretted at some time in the past, he had spoken rudely at some earlier time in the past.)

Forget is frequently used with 'never' in the simple future form:

I'll never forget meeting my boss for the first time.

When these verbs are followed by a to-infinitive, the infinitive refers to an action happening at the same time, or later:

I remembered to lock the door (= I thought about it, then I did it.)
Don't forget to buy some eggs! (= Please think about it and then do it.)
We regret to announce the late arrival of the 12.45 from Paddington. (= We feel sorry before we tell you this bad news.)

Go on:

Go on + gerund means to continue with an action:

He went on speaking for two hours.
I can't go on working like this - I'm exhausted.

Go on + to-infinitive means to do the next action, which is often the next stage in a process:

After introducing her proposal, she went on to explain the benefits for the company.
John Smith worked in local government for five years, then went on to become a Member of Parliament.

Mean:

Mean + gerund expresses what the result of an action will be, or what will be necessary:

If you take that job in London it will mean travelling for two hours every day.
We could take the ferry to France, but that will mean spending a night in a hotel.

Mean + to-infinitive expresses an intention or a plan:

Did you mean to dial this number?
I mean to finish this job by the end of the week!
Sorry - I didn't mean to hurt you.

Stop:

Stop + gerund means to finish an action in progress:

I stopped working for them because the wages were so low.
Stop tickling me!

Stop + to-infinitive means to interrupt an activity in order to do something else, so the infinitive is used to express a purpose:

I stopped to have lunch. (= I was working, or travelling, and I interrupted what I was doing in order to eat.)
It's difficult to concentrate on what you are doing if you have to stop to answer the phone every five minutes.

Try:

Try + gerund means to experiment with an action that might be a solution to your problem.

If you have problems sleeping, you could try doing some yoga before you go to bed, or you could try drinking some warm milk.
'I can't get in touch with Carl.' 'Have you tried e-mailing him?'

Try + to-infinitive means to make an effort to do something. It may be something very difficult or even impossible:

The surgeons tried to save his life but he died on the operating table.
We'll try to phone at 6 o'clock, but it might be hard to find a public telephone.
People have to try to live together in harmony.

Infinitive or Gerund