Uso del Infinitivo y Gerundio en Inglés: Reglas y Ejemplos Prácticos

Uso del Infinitivo con "To"

To + Infinitivo: Detrás de: afford (permitirse el lujo), agree, appear, attempt, decide, expect (esperar), fail, forget, help, hope, intend (proponerse), learn, manage, need, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, propose, refuse, seem, want, wish, would like.

Verbo + Objeto + To + Infinitivo

advise, allow, ask, enable, encourage (animar), expect, forbid (prohibir), force, help, invite, order, permit, persuade, prefer, recommend, remind, teach, tell, want, warn, would like (me gustaría).

They have asked me to help them this afternoon.

Otras Estructuras con "To + Infinitivo"

• Detrás de adjetivos y adverbios: It is interesting to learn languages.
• Detrás de it + is/was + adjetivo + of + sustantivo: It was very kind of you to help me.
• Detrás de adjetivo + for + objeto: It was very difficult for us to approve.

Infinitivo Sin "To"

• Detrás de los modales: can, could, may, might, must, shall, will, should, would, needn't, had better, would rather, would sooner.
• Detrás de los verbos let y make: They made me stay at home. (Me obligaron a quedarme en casa).
• Detrás de los verbos de percepción: see, hear, feel, smell, watch.

Uso del Gerundio

Detrás de: admit, avoid (evitar), can't help, can't stand, consider, deny (negar), dislike, enjoy, fancy, feel like, finish, give up (renunciar), go on, imagine, involve, it's worth, keep, mind, need, practise, resent, miss, risk, stop, suggest, resist, be used to (estar acostumbrado), get used to (acostumbrarse), look forward (estar deseando).

• Detrás de preposiciones.
• Como sujeto de una oración: Smoking is very unhealthy.

Verbos que Admiten Gerundio o "To + Infinitivo"

Se pueden usar gerundio o to + infinitivo detrás de estos verbos: attempt (intentar), begin, continue, dislike, hate, intend (proponerse), like, love, prefer, start.

Utilizamos to + inf detrás del present continuous de los verbos begin y start. Con las formas would like, would love, would hate y would prefer se usa to + inf. Cuando empleamos el verbo prefer con dos acciones, ambas van con -ing.

I would prefer to stay at home rather than go/going out. (Preferiría quedarme en casa a salir).

Verbos con Cambio de Significado (Gerundio vs. To + Infinitivo)

• Forget + to + inf: Se refiere a acciones futuras vistas desde el pasado. (Don't forget to feed the cat; no te olvides de darle de comer al gato).
• Forget + gerundio: Se refiere al pasado. (Has he forgotten saying that?; ¿ha olvidado haber dicho eso?). Lo mismo pasa con remember.
• Go on + to + inf: Se refiere a un cambio de acción. (After cooking, he went on to do the washing up; después de cocinar, se puso a fregar los platos).
• Go on + gerundio: Es continuar. (I will go on studying until tonight; continuaré estudiando hasta esta noche).
• Regret + inf: Es presente (lamentamos); con gerundio es pasado (lamenta).
• Stop + to + inf: Se utiliza para hacer referencia a un cambio de actividad.
• Stop + gerundio: Es dejar de hacer una cosa.
• Try + to + inf: Se usa para intentar algo haciendo un esfuerzo.
• Try + gerundio: Es probar a hacer algo.

Estructuras Especiales

Would Rather

• I'd rather work now. (Preferiría trabajar ahora).
• I'd rather listen to music than dance. (Preferiría escuchar música a bailar).
• I'd rather you stayed with us. (Preferiría que te quedases con nosotros).

Had Better

Consejo o sugerencia. Va sin TO.

It's cloudy, we had better take our umbrella in case it rains.

Too + Adjetivo + For + Objeto + To + Infinitivo

The car was too expensive for me to buy. (El coche era demasiado caro para comprarlo).