A Primary Six child writes, “I enjoy to read before bed.” The idea is charming and perfectly clear, yet the sentence is not the natural pattern required in standard English. Another pupil writes, “I decided joining the library club,” and faces the same problem from a different direction. For Bukit Timah parents searching for gerunds and infinitives exercises, these tiny verb-form choices often explain why a student with good ideas still loses accuracy in compositions and grammar questions.
The core aim of Bukit Timah English tuition for gerunds and infinitives is to teach pupils which verb patterns naturally follow common actions, preferences and expressions, and how changing the form can change the meaning. Strong PSLE English grammar and Secondary English sentence construction require more than remembering that a gerund ends in -ing. Students must recognise the surrounding verb, interpret the intended action and choose a construction that a fluent reader can understand without hesitation.
The useful surprise is how often this appears in everyday speech. We enjoy reading, decide to join, avoid wasting time, and stop to check an instruction. These are ordinary experiences, so we can teach the grammar through believable conversations before moving into longer writing. The purpose is not to make children memorise a frightening list of verb forms; it is to help them notice which structures express the idea they actually mean.
The Core Aim: Understand the Verb Pattern and the Meaning
Compare:
“I enjoy reading.”
“I decided to read.”
Both sentences concern reading, but their main verbs require different natural complements. Enjoy commonly takes an -ing form in this construction. Decide commonly takes a to-infinitive when it means choosing an action.
Now ask the student to explain the sentences. One describes pleasure in an activity; the other describes a choice about a future or intended action.
The grammatical relationship is not arbitrary decoration. It is part of how the idea is expressed.
A practical teaching sequence is identify the first verb → ask what follows naturally → check intended meaning → say the whole sentence → transfer to a new context. This is more reliable than choosing a form simply because it appeared in yesterday’s worksheet.
What Is a Gerund?
A gerund is an -ing verb form functioning in a noun-like way in a clause or phrase.
For example:
“Reading can be relaxing.”
Here the activity of reading is the subject of the sentence.
“Mei enjoys drawing.”
Here drawing is the activity that Mei enjoys.
“Thank you for helping us.”
Here helping follows the preposition for and names the relevant action.
The important point is not that every word ending in -ing must be labelled a gerund. Compare “The pupils are reading”, where reading is part of a progressive verb phrase. The same form can play different grammatical roles.
Teach children to examine what the form is doing rather than identify it only by spelling.
What Is an Infinitive?
An infinitive is a non-finite verb form. A common type is the to-infinitive, using to + base verb.
“She hopes to join the team.”
“We need to finish the report.”
“They decided to wait for the organiser.”
The infinitive expresses the action as the complement of the main verb in these examples.
English also uses the bare infinitive—the base verb without to—after many core modal verbs:
“We can leave now.”
“You must check the form.”
A pupil who knows only “infinitive means to + verb” may wrongly write “She can to leave.” The fuller distinction helps students see why different constructions require different forms.
Worked Example One: Enjoy + -ing
Read:
“Farah enjoys _____ mystery books.”
A. read B. reads C. reading D. to read
For this ordinary construction, C. reading is the natural answer.
The sentence describes a preferred activity. “Farah enjoys reading mystery books” uses the expected verb pattern.
Now ask the pupil to create a different sentence:
“Farah enjoys solving puzzles.”
“Daniel enjoys playing chess.”
A memorised answer to the first question is not enough. The student should be able to carry the construction to an unfamiliar verb.
Then compare a different main verb: “Farah wants to read a mystery book.” The complement changes because the governing verb changes.
Worked Example Two: Decide + To-Infinitive
Read:
“The pupils decided _____ an exhibition.”
A. organise B. organised C. organising D. to organise
The best completion is D. to organise.
The sentence reports a decision about an action. We commonly use decide to do something.
Compare:
“They decided to organise the exhibition.”
“They discussed organising the exhibition.”
Both describe connected stages in a project, but the first and second governing verbs take different patterns in these constructions.
A practical exercise asks pupils to choose the main verb first. Did the group decide, discuss, avoid or promise something? That helps determine which form belongs in the sentence.
Common Verbs Followed by -ing
Useful examples include:
- Enjoy: “I enjoy reading.”
- Avoid: “We avoided making the same mistake.”
- Consider: “The committee considered changing the schedule.”
- Finish: “She finished writing the summary.”
- Practise: “They practised presenting their ideas.”
- Suggest: “He suggested moving the tables.”
These are common, useful constructions, not a claim that the entire language can be reduced to one list.
Ask your child to imagine each verb in a real school context. What did they avoid? What did they finish? What did they suggest?
The learner should hear and produce a complete phrase, rather than memorise the isolated word avoid followed by the label gerund. Familiarity with natural combinations makes grammar more available during original writing.
Common Verbs Followed by To-Infinitives
Another useful family includes:
- Decide: “She decided to volunteer.”
- Hope: “They hope to finish early.”
- Plan: “We plan to visit the exhibition.”
- Promise: “Daniel promised to return the book.”
- Refuse: “The child refused to give up.”
- Want: “Maya wants to learn more.”
The learning task is to recognise the governing verb and the complement it naturally permits.
A pupil who writes “Daniel promised returning the book” may understand the idea of a promise but use an unsuitable pattern. The correct sentence is “Daniel promised to return the book.”
Test the correction later with a new verb and a new situation. This checks understanding rather than recognition of the same sentence.
Some Verbs Allow Both Forms
English also includes verbs that can be followed by a gerund or a to-infinitive, sometimes with little difference in broad meaning.
Compare:
“She began reading the article.”
“She began to read the article.”
Both can be natural, though context and emphasis may influence usage.
Likewise, “I like swimming” and “I like to swim” can both express a preference, with nuances that vary across contexts and speakers.
Do not train children to declare one form wrong simply because a worksheet showed the other. Good teaching distinguishes between an incorrect construction and a natural alternative.
A pupil should be encouraged to explain the context before choosing between acceptable forms.
Stop Doing and Stop To Do Mean Different Things
This is one of the most useful contrasts.
“She stopped reading.”
The person ceased the activity of reading.
“She stopped to read.”
The person stopped another activity for the purpose of reading.
Imagine a pupil walking towards the bus stop. If the pupil stops to read a notice, walking pauses so that reading can begin. If the pupil stops reading the notice, reading itself ends.
The difference is about what action was stopped and what action was the purpose.
An excellent home exercise uses simple actions—walk, talk, write and check. Ask your child to act out the two meanings. The contrast becomes memorable because it is physical, not just grammatical.
Remember Doing and Remember To Do
Compare:
“I remember locking the door.”
The speaker has a memory of performing the action.
“Remember to lock the door.”
This is a reminder to perform the action, usually later.
A Primary child can easily understand the difference by imagining the family leaving home.
After arriving at school, somebody may say, “I remember locking the door.” Before leaving, a parent may say, “Remember to lock the door.”
The grammatical form changes the time relationship and meaning. A pupil who uses only the labels gerund and infinitive without understanding that distinction may produce a sentence that communicates the opposite of what was intended.
Forget Doing and Forget To Do
The same principle helps explain:
“I’ll never forget meeting my favourite author.”
The speaker recalls a memorable event.
“Don’t forget to meet the organiser at three.”
This reminds somebody of a future or intended action.
A child may confuse these because both include the word forget. The deciding factor is the relationship between the main verb and the following action.
Ask the learner to locate the event on a timeline. Has the action already occurred and become a memory? Or is the action something that should still be performed?
The time perspective helps choose a natural form.
Try Doing versus Try To Do
Consider:
“Try restarting the computer.”
This can suggest experimenting with one possible solution.
“Try to restart the computer.”
This commonly emphasises making an effort to perform the action, perhaps despite difficulty.
The meanings overlap in some contexts, but the distinction can be useful. A student should not be taught that one pattern is the universally correct form for every use of try.
An original practice situation can make the contrast clear. A device fails to respond: the teacher suggests trying a restart as a possible remedy. Another pupil is struggling to restart it: the teacher encourages them to try to restart it.
The grammatical difference helps express the speaker’s intention.
Regret Doing and Regret To Say
Consider:
“I regret speaking so harshly.”
The speaker expresses regret about a past action.
“We regret to inform you that the event has been cancelled.”
The second is a formal expression used while delivering unwelcome information. It has a different function from admitting a past action that the speaker wishes had not happened.
These examples are especially useful for older students because the distinction depends on register and meaning.
Do not encourage a Primary pupil to memorise a formal business phrase merely to sound impressive. Teach it when the learner encounters genuine formal communication or needs to interpret a notice or report.
The goal is to understand what a phrase communicates in its actual context.
Gerunds after Prepositions
English commonly uses an -ing form after prepositions when referring to an action.
“Thank you for helping.”
“Farah is interested in joining the club.”
“The pupils succeeded by working together.”
These are useful phrases because they connect word partnerships with grammatical structure.
A common error is “interested in to join”. Here the preposition in is not naturally followed by a to-infinitive in the intended construction.
Ask the student to identify the preposition, then the following activity. Use a fresh sentence later to check that the rule is understood.
For related word partnerships, see Prepositions of Time, Place and Movement.
The Special Case of Look Forward To
Children may learn that to introduces an infinitive, then write:
“I look forward to meet you.”
In this expression, to is a preposition, and a natural completion is:
“I look forward to meeting you.”
Another standard expression is “We are committed to improving the programme.”
The lesson is subtle: the letters to do not perform the same grammatical role in every sentence.
A student who identifies to only by appearance may repeatedly choose the wrong form. Teach the complete phrase in context, then compare it with “I hope to meet you,” where a to-infinitive is appropriate.
Gerund Phrases as Subjects
Consider:
“Reading widely helps pupils encounter new ideas.”
The entire gerund phrase reading widely functions as the subject.
A second example is:
“Practising regularly can improve familiarity with unfamiliar question types.”
The phrase names an activity rather than a particular person or object.
When used as a subject, such an activity phrase commonly takes singular verb agreement in standard constructions: “Reading is useful,” not “Reading are useful.”
This connects gerund knowledge to a broader grammar skill, Subject–Verb Agreement.
A child who knows how the phrase functions can make more accurate decisions than one who only counts the nouns inside it.
Infinitives Can Express Purpose
Read:
“Amir visited the library to borrow a book.”
The infinitive phrase expresses Amir’s purpose.
Compare:
“Amir borrowed a book.”
The second describes the action itself. The first tells us why he visited the library.
In a composition, purpose phrases can help connect an action with a motive. But pupils should not insert to at random after every verb.
A useful exercise asks the child to answer “Why?” for an action. “She went to the hall.” Why? “To attend a workshop.” The combined sentence becomes “She went to the hall to attend a workshop.”
The writer gains a tool for concise explanation.
Bare Infinitives after Modal Verbs
Core modals commonly take the bare infinitive:
“You should check the timetable.”
“Mira can help the volunteers.”
“We might visit the exhibition.”
Common incorrect versions include “should to check”, “can helping” and “might visits” when used as ordinary modal verb phrases.
A student should recognise that the modal already establishes a grammatical frame. The verb that follows normally appears in its base form.
Our Modal Verbs Can, Could, Must and Should guide explores meanings such as permission, advice, obligation and possibility.
Here the focus is the verb form those modals require.
Make, Let and Help
Certain verbs use special complement patterns.
“The teacher made the pupils revise the instructions.”
“Please let Mei explain her idea.”
“The volunteer helped us carry the boxes.”
In these constructions, a bare infinitive follows make or let with the relevant object. With help, both “help us carry” and “help us to carry” can be natural.
Contrast a passive:
“The pupils were made to revise the instructions.”
The construction changes, and to reappears.
This is more advanced, so teach it through paired sentences rather than a long set of unexplained exceptions.
A Worked Grammar Exercise
Complete these original sentences, then explain the controlling construction.
- “The pupils enjoy _____ short mysteries.” → reading.
- “Maya hopes _____ the science exhibition.” → to visit.
- “The teacher suggested _____ the display.” → rearranging.
- “We look forward to _____ the volunteers.” → meeting.
- “Please remember _____ the form tomorrow.” → to bring.
- “Daniel remembered _____ the form yesterday.” → bringing, if describing his memory of the completed act.
- “The visitors stopped _____ the notice.” → to read, if they paused another activity for that purpose.
- “The visitors stopped _____ the notice.” → reading, if they ceased the activity of reading.
The last pair is especially valuable because both completions are grammatical in different circumstances. An exercise that provides no context should not pretend that only one meaning is possible.
A good tutor gives the student the situation first, then asks for the form.
Why Grammar Cloze and MCQ Errors Differ
In an MCQ, the pupil may see reading and to read as options. The task is to choose the natural form with the given verb and intended meaning.
In open-ended grammar work, the child may need to generate the form without help. That demands retrieval, not just recognition.
The PSLE Grammar MCQ guide explains how tempting alternatives work. The Grammar Cloze guide develops the production skill.
A learner who chooses correctly in an MCQ but makes the same mistake in a composition may need practice transferring the structure to original writing.
Gerunds in Composition and Situational Writing
A pupil writing a school proposal might say:
“We recommend starting with a small book-exchange event.”
Or:
“We plan to start the event next month.”
Both are natural because the governing verbs have different patterns.
A student may choose a more complex phrase simply because it sounds formal, but the strongest functional writing is clear and accurate. The purpose is to communicate a plan that a teacher or organiser can understand.
In a narrative, gerunds and infinitives also express character choices:
“She avoided answering the question.”
“She decided to answer honestly.”
The forms can help a writer distinguish evasion from decision.
How to Practise without Memorising a Giant List
Choose six common verbs from the pupil’s actual writing: enjoy, decide, avoid, plan, suggest and hope.
First, produce one natural sentence with each. Then explain what the main verb means and what form follows it.
A few days later, replace the activity. “Enjoy reading” becomes “enjoy swimming”. “Plan to visit” becomes “plan to revise”.
Finally, give an unfamiliar composition prompt and see whether the child can use one or two structures without guidance.
The goal is to build useful language patterns gradually. A hundred-item list copied from a grammar book may be less valuable than ten well-understood phrases the student can use independently.
A Ten-Minute Family Practice Routine
- Two minutes: compare “enjoy reading” with “decide to read”.
- Two minutes: explain the difference between “stop doing” and “stop to do”.
- Two minutes: practise “remember doing” and “remember to do” using a realistic event.
- Two minutes: correct two common patterns, such as “look forward to meet” and “must to leave”.
- Two minutes: compose an unfamiliar short paragraph using three natural verb combinations.
For younger pupils, do the comparison orally before writing. For older students, add nuanced pairs such as regret doing and regret to say when relevant.
Return after a gap to check whether the learner can still retrieve the patterns.
What Changes from Primary to Secondary English?
Younger Primary pupils can begin with familiar phrases involving preference and intention: enjoy playing, want to read and like swimming.
Upper Primary and PSLE learners can practise common governing verbs, prepositional phrases, modal constructions and transformations where the form changes meaning.
Secondary students can examine more nuanced patterns, including reporting verbs, purpose clauses and formal registers. They should also understand that some verbs permit both forms in particular contexts.
Formal examination requirements should follow the relevant SEAB PSLE resources or SEC syllabus directory. The educational skill is useful across school levels, with appropriate examples and complexity.
How 3-Pax Bukit Timah English Tuition Helps Diagnose Errors
Three pupils may write “I enjoy to read” for different reasons. One has not learnt the verb pattern. Another knows it in a worksheet but uses the wrong form while drafting. A third is translating directly from another familiar language structure.
At eduKateSG Bukit Timah English tuition near Sixth Avenue MRT, classes of up to three students let a tutor ask what the pupil intended and why they selected a particular verb form.
One learner may practise common verb partnerships, another meaning contrasts such as stop reading versus stop to read, and another self-checking during composition.
The final check should be a fresh sentence or paragraph, not merely repetition of the model correction. The value of small-group teaching is targeted feedback and the opportunity to see whether the skill transfers.
How Parents Can Measure Progress
Look at unfamiliar grammar questions and actual schoolwork over several weeks. Does the student use enjoy reading and decide to read naturally? Can they explain why look forward to meeting contains an -ing form after to? Do they preserve meaning when changing a verb structure?
Track repeated errors rather than every isolated slip. If a child can explain the rule but still writes the wrong construction during a longer essay, practise the pattern inside free writing.
A useful milestone is hearing the pupil say, “This is a plan, so I need plan to do, but this is something I enjoy, so enjoy doing sounds right.”
For connected language resources, visit the eduKateSG English Learning Hub and the Grammar and Sentence Accuracy guide.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gerunds and Infinitives
Is every word ending in -ing a gerund?
No. An -ing form can serve different grammatical functions, including as part of a progressive verb phrase. Identify its role in the complete sentence.
Should I say “I enjoy reading” or “I enjoy to read”?
In ordinary standard English with this meaning, enjoy reading is natural. The verb enjoy commonly takes an -ing complement.
What is the difference between “stop reading” and “stop to read”?
Stop reading means cease reading. Stop to read means pause another activity for the purpose of reading.
Why is “look forward to meeting you” correct?
The to in look forward to functions as a preposition, so an -ing phrase can follow it. This differs from verbs such as hope to meet.
Can both -ing and to + verb ever be correct?
Yes. Some verbs allow both constructions, sometimes with similar meanings and sometimes with significant differences. Interpret the intended meaning and the governing verb before deciding.
The Lasting Core Aim: Let Verb Forms Express Real Choices
The breakthrough arrives when a child understands why “I stopped reading” and “I stopped to read” describe different events. The rule no longer feels like a mysterious list of verb endings; it has become a meaningful distinction the student can use.
That is the core aim of Bukit Timah English tuition for gerunds and infinitives. Students learn to connect verbs naturally, preserve meaning in transformations and write more confidently because the grammar now serves the message.