In the infinitive the verbal nature is more prominent, and in gerund the nominal one. The basic difference in their meaning is that the gerund is more general, whereas the infinitive is more specific and more bound to some particular occasion.
- With the verbs to like, to hate, to prefer the gerund expresses a more general or a habitual action, the infinitive a specific one (F.e. I hate interrupting people::I hate to interrupt you, but I have to).
- With the verbs to begin and to start either form may be used, but again the gerund is preferable when the action is more general (F.e. She began singing when a child::She went over to the piano and began to sing).
- The verb to remember is followed by a gerund when it means a prior action(to recall), and by infinitive when it means a simultaneous action(the working of one’s memory); the same refers to the verb to forget(F.e. I remembered posting the letters::I remembered(не забув) to post the letters)(F.e. I shall never forget hearing him sing::Don’t forget(не забудь) to post the letters!).
- The verb to regret is followed by the gerund to suggest priority, whereas the infinitive suggests a simultaneous action (F.e. I regret following his advice::I regret to inform you).
- After to stop the gerund is used when it suggests the end of the action, whereas the infinitive is used as an adverbial of purpose (F.e. I stopped talking::I stopped to talk to a friend of mine); the phrasal verb to go on with a gerund suggests the continuation of the action and forms a part of a compound verbal predicate, an infinitive points out a new stage in the sequence of actions (F.e. The teacher went on explaining the use of verbals::The teacher went on to explain the use of the gerund after some verbs).
- The verb to allow is used with a gerund when it is not followed by an indirect object (F.e. They don’t allow smoking here::They allowed us to smoke).
