Gerunds and Infinitives in Context (Part 2) writing Exercise

Strengthen your understanding of gerunds and infinitives in real-life contexts. Learn how meaning changes depending on which form you use after certain verbs, adjectives, and expressions.

Exercise Guide

How to complete:

Complete or arrange each sentence with the correct form: gerund (verb + ing) or infinitive (to + verb). Some verbs can take both forms, but the meaning often changes — read the context carefully.

Success tips:

Gerunds often describe general or completed actions, while infinitives often describe specific purposes or intentions. Context clues (time, emotion, purpose) will help you decide which form is correct.

  • Try + gerund → experiment; Try + infinitive → attempt.
  • Forget / Remember + gerund → recall past; + infinitive → plan or obligation.
  • Stop + gerund → quit; Stop + infinitive → pause to do something else.
  • Like / Love + gerund → enjoyment; + infinitive → preference or habit.
  • After prepositions, always use gerund: “interested in learning”.

Knowledge:

Some verbs can be followed by either gerunds or infinitives, but the meaning changes depending on what comes next. For example, “I stopped smoking” means quitting, while “I stopped to smoke” means pausing another action to smoke. Mastering these subtle distinctions improves comprehension and natural expression.

Complete the Exercise

Question 1

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

locking
She
the
door
last
night
forgot

Question 2

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

She
door
to
forgot
the
lock

Question 3

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

teacher
the
when
entered
talking
stopped
He

Question 4

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

stopped
friend
He
talk
to
his
to

Question 5

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

I
her
remember
meeting
last
year

Question 6

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

email
send
the
to
Remember
later

Question 7

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

tried
didn’t
I
him
calling
answer
he
but

Question 8

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

He
fix
car
the
tried
to

Question 9

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

She
before
likes
reading
bed

Question 10

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

before
She
bed
read
likes
to

Question 11

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

He
regretted
saying
those
words

Question 12

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

inform
application
to
your
you
regret
was
I
rejected
that

Question 13

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

She
went
on
talking
for
hours

Question 14

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

the
explain
to
point
on
next
went
She

Question 15

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

drinking
tea
They
coffee
to
prefer

Question 16

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

the
tea
prefer
in
They
morning
drink
to

Question 17

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

to
bring
remembered
He
keys
his

Question 18

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

soccer
playing
remembers
He
a
as
child

Question 19

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

started
rain
heavily
to
They

Question 20

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

heavily
started
It
raining

Question 21

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

be
hates
for
meetings
She
to
late

Question 22

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

hates
She
late
being

Question 23

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

He
in
long
waiting
can’t
stand
lines

Question 24

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

learning
is
in
She
interested
French

Question 25

Arrange the words

Your Arrangement:

No words selected yet.
Drag words here to arrange them into a sentence

Available Words:

was
his
He
happy
to
friends
old
see

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