TOEIC Gerund vs Infinitive: V-ing or To + Verb?
Choose a gerund or infinitive from the word that controls the blank. Enjoy and avoid take V-ing; decide and plan take to + base verb; a preposition takes a noun or V-ing. But to can itself be a preposition, as in look forward to meeting. Meaning also changes in pairs such as stop working and stop to work.
Check the word before the blank
A sentence can contain several verbs, but only one finite verb may carry the tense for its clause. Other verbs can appear as an infinitive or an -ing form. In “The team decided to postpone testing,” decided carries past tense, to postpone completes decided, and testing names the activity being postponed.
The skill labels in our refreshed bank contain gerund or infinitive in 923 items, 5.7% of the active pool. Only 58 are labelled hard, or 6.3%. This is a sizeable group for practising recognition, although those editorial labels cannot tell you how easy it will be for you personally. For a wider checklist of controllers, see verb forms.
Three patterns worth separating
| Controller | Pattern | Original example |
|---|---|---|
| avoid, consider, finish, enjoy | verb + V-ing | We considered extending the trial. |
| decide, agree, plan, hope | verb + to + base | They agreed to revise the schedule. |
| ask, remind, encourage | verb + object + to + base | Please remind Alex to sign. |
| a preposition | preposition + V-ing | Check the figures before submitting them. |
| let, make in active voice | verb + object + base | The supervisor let us leave early. |
| a core modal | modal + base | We should review the terms. |
The object matters. “Remind to sign” leaves out the person being reminded; “remind Alex to sign” supplies it. Learn complete frames such as remind someone to do something rather than treating each verb as a one-word rule.
Help allows either help someone do or help someone to do. Start and begin can often take either an -ing form or a to-infinitive. Do not turn a study list into a claim that every verb allows only one pattern.
When to takes V-ing
In “We look forward to meeting you,” to is a preposition, not the marker of an infinitive. You can replace meeting you with a noun phrase: “We look forward to the meeting.” Compare “We hope to meet you,” where to meet is an infinitive.
| Expression | Natural continuation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| look forward to | receiving your reply | to is a preposition |
| be committed to | improving service | to is a preposition |
| be used to | working remotely | accustomed to an activity |
| used to | work remotely | past habit; different construction |
The noun-replacement check helps with these expressions, but it is not a universal parser for every English sentence. Learn the expression and verify the role of to. Our preposition guide covers the same boundary from the preposition side.
Same verb, different meaning
| Pair | V-ing meaning | To-infinitive meaning |
|---|---|---|
| stop | stop sending reminders = cease the activity | stop to send a reminder = pause another activity in order to send one |
| remember | remember locking the door = recall the event | remember to lock the door = carry out the required action |
| try | try restarting = test a possible solution | try to restart = attempt the action |
A grammar-only clue may not choose between these. “Please remember ___ the receipt” usually concerns a task still to do, so to attach fits. “I remember attaching it yesterday” recalls a past event. Time words and the speaker’s purpose decide the meaning.
For form contrasts involving passive recipients, compare “expects to approve” with “expects to be approved.” The first subject gives approval; the second receives it. Review passive voice if that distinction is unclear.
Six gerund and infinitive exercises
- We avoided ___ the customer twice. (A calling / B to call / C call / D called)
- The director agreed ___ the proposal. (A reviewing / B to review / C reviewed / D review)
- We look forward to ___ your team. (A meet / B met / C meeting / D meets)
- Please remind Sam ___ the invoice. (A pay / B paying / C paid / D to pay)
- The manager let us ___ early. (A to leave / B leaving / C left / D leave)
- Please remember ___ the lights before you leave tonight. (A switch off / B to switch off / C switched off / D switches off)
Answers and a repeatable review method
- A. Avoid takes the -ing complement calling.
- B. Agree takes to review in this pattern.
- C. Look forward to uses prepositional to, followed by meeting.
- D. Remind + person + to-infinitive: remind Sam to pay.
- D. Active let + object takes a bare infinitive.
- B. This is a reminder about a future task: remember to switch off.
On a study card, keep the controlling word visible and hide the continuation. Then reverse the card: given “to review,” supply a suitable controller and person if needed. Keep a separate list for meaning-change verbs so you do not confuse a vocabulary distinction with a form restriction.
Grammar reference: Cambridge English Grammar Today on infinitive and -ing patterns. Continue with modal verbs for the base-form rule.
Sources and counting method
The figures come from all 16,214 active, original eng-test.com questions fetched on 27 September 2026. Topic counts use skill labels or exact context tags; groups can overlap. Difficulty means an editorial label, not a measured learner error rate or the difficulty of an official TOEIC paper. The group matches /gerund|infinitive/i in skill labels and can include bare infinitives and overlapping verb-form topics.
Download the aggregate counts and matching rules. No learner records are included. The exercises in this guide are newly written teaching examples, not official ETS questions. For the wider picture, see our Reading bank analysis.
Frequently asked questions
Why is look forward to meeting correct in TOEIC emails?
- The to in look forward to is a preposition. A following verb therefore takes the -ing form: meeting, receiving or hearing.
What is the difference between used to work and be used to working?
- Used to work describes a past habit. Be used to working means be accustomed to that activity; its to is a preposition.
Can help take both do and to do?
- Yes. Help someone do something and help someone to do something are both standard. A practice question should not mark one wrong without a separate reason.
How do I distinguish stop doing from stop to do?
- Stop doing ends that activity. Stop to do means pausing another activity in order to do it, such as stopping a meeting to answer a call.