Gerunds and Infinitives for Kids
Teach two forms first: a gerund is an -ing verb form used as a noun; a full infinitive is to plus a base verb. Practise four chunks—enjoy reading, want to read, good at drawing, and ready to draw—then sort them into two groups and create one sentence per pattern. This introduces gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids through speech and comparison. No rule covers every verb, so learn each verb with its following form.
📥 Gerunds and Infinitives for Kids
Four hands-on activities to help children master the -ing and to forms.
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What Children Need to Understand
Both forms come from verbs but have different jobs. In “Swimming is fun,” swimming names an activity and acts as the subject. In “We want to swim,” to swim completes want. Ask the child to underline each form, identify its job, and compare the sentences.
When adults teach gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids, complete chunks beat isolated lists. Practise enjoy drawing and plan to visit, not enjoy and plan alone. The first word often controls the second verb’s form, making the phrase the learning unit.
Younger children can match four phrases to actions or pictures, then speak each phrase. Learners aged about eight and above can explain their choices. If a multilingual child compares languages, acknowledge the difference and return to the English chunk: “In English, we say finish eating.”
The Two Core Forms
A gerund uses the -ing form: reading, making, swimming. Spelling may change: dance–dancing, make–making, swim–swimming, and lie–lying. See our guide to adding -ing to verbs. Teach spelling separately from choosing a gerund or infinitive.
A full infinitive contains to and a base verb: to read, to make, to swim. It completes a verb (“They decided to wait”), shows purpose (“We opened the book to find the answer”), or follows an adjective (“She is ready to begin”).
A third form matters when studying gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids. A bare infinitive is the base verb without to. It follows modal verbs such as can, should, and must: “You can help,” “We should leave,” and “They must wait.”
Choosing the Form After Common Words
For gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids, begin with two small verb groups. Enjoy, avoid, finish, keep, mind, and suggest take a gerund: “We enjoy cooking,” “She finished writing,” and “Keep trying.” Want, need, hope, plan, decide, learn, and agree take a full infinitive: “I want to play,” “They decided to walk,” and “We hope to visit.”
Gerunds follow prepositions: “good at listening,” “thank you for helping,” and “before leaving.” This includes to as a preposition: “We look forward to seeing you.” Infinitives often follow adjectives or question words: “happy to help,” “how to begin,” and “what to say.” Ask the child to label each trigger before choosing.
No dependable test predicts every verb partnership. When practising gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids, add two or three chunks at a time and reuse them in questions, stories, and English conversation questions. For an unfamiliar verb, check its entry and examples in the Cambridge Dictionary before writing a child-friendly sentence.
When the Form Changes the Meaning
Several verbs accept both forms with little change. “It started raining” and “It started to rain” describe the same event in most everyday contexts. Begin and continue often behave similarly. The verb like, with love and hate, can take either form in many sentences.
Other verbs change meaning. A lesson on gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids should compare situations, not endings. “She stopped drawing” means the drawing ended. “She stopped to draw” means she paused another activity to draw. Ask what happened before and after each action.
Compare remember and try the same way. “Remember to pack water” names a future task. “I remember packing water” recalls a past action. “Try reading the clue” proposes a solution; “Try to read the clue” requests effort.
Practice for Different Ages
For children aged five to seven, combine movement with speech. Say “I like jumping,” then jump together. Ask, “Do you like jumping or dancing?” Repeat the full answer. Next, sort action cards beside prompts such as enjoy and want. Each match produces one spoken sentence.
For children aged eight to eleven, practise gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids through short choices. The child underlines the trigger, chooses the form, and reads the sentence aloud. Across LearnLink lessons, our tutors request a reason when learners are ready; a short explanation reveals understanding or guessing.
Older learners can compare meaning-changing pairs and write situations. Ask them to distinguish ending an activity from pausing one activity for another. Multilingual learners may compare languages, but the final task should contain complete English sentences.
Choose the Correct Form
Complete each sentence with the verb in brackets.
1. We enjoy ___ puppets. (make)
2. Your child decided ___ the puzzle. (finish)
3. Thank you for ___ me. (help)
4. They hope ___ the library. (visit)
5. Keep ___ even when it is hard. (try)
6. We went outside ___ football. (play)
7. Your child is good at ___. (draw)
8. You can ___ us. (help)
Answers: 1. making; 2. to finish; 3. helping; 4. to visit; 5. trying; 6. to play; 7. drawing; 8. help.
Meaning-changing pairs need context. Read both options, act out the two situations, and ask what changes. The contrast shows why two correct forms carry different messages.
Match the Sentence to the Meaning
Choose the sentence that matches each meaning.
1. End the game now: “Stop playing” or “Stop to play”?
2. Pause another task in order to play: “Stop playing” or “Stop to play”?
3. You have a memory of closing the window: “Remember closing the window” or “Remember to close the window”?
4. You must not forget a future task: “Remember packing water” or “Remember to pack water”?
5. Test reading as a possible solution: “Try reading the clue” or “Try to read the clue”?
Answers: 1. Stop playing; 2. Stop to play; 3. Remember closing the window; 4. Remember to pack water; 5. Try reading the clue.
Common Mistakes and Clear Corrections
Children may extend one familiar pattern to every verb. Correct “I enjoy to swim” to “I enjoy swimming,” and “We decided going” to “We decided to go.” Repeat the corrected chunk, then request one fresh sentence. The child gains a reusable phrase instead of an isolated correction.
After a preposition, use a gerund: “She is interested in learning,” not “interested in to learn.” After a modal verb, use the base form without to: “We can play,” not “We can to play.” Colour-coding helps younger learners distinguish the patterns.
Not every -ing word is a gerund. In “Swimming is fun,” swimming names an activity. In “She is swimming,” it forms the present continuous; practise is through verb to be exercises for kids. During focused work, correct the target form without halting every attempt to communicate. Model the right phrase, invite one repetition, and continue.
- Practice sorting ten sentence cards into gerund and infinitive patterns together.
- Ask your child to correct five mixed examples from a familiar storybook.
- Circle -ing forms and underline to forms in three short sentences.
- Compare two corrected sentences aloud, explaining why each form fits.
- Review gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids with six examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Explain a Gerund to a Young Child?
Describe a gerund as an action word naming an activity. In “Drawing is fun,” drawing names the activity. In “Your child enjoys drawing,” it names what the child enjoys. Start with familiar actions, pictures, and movement. Introduce the grammar label after your child can compare examples and explain the word’s job.
How Can My Child Know Which Form Follows a Verb?
No universal test exists, so teach short groups and complete chunks. Gerunds and infinitives using ing and to for kids pair enjoy, avoid, finish, and keep with -ing; want, need, decide, and plan take to plus a base verb. Review each chunk through speech, reading, and short written tasks.
Can the Same Verb Take Both Forms?
Yes. Several verbs take both forms with little change: “Start reading” and “start to read” describe the same event. Other verbs change the message. “Stop reading” ends the reading; “stop to read” pauses another activity in order to read. Check the full sentence’s meaning.
Should I Correct Every Gerund and Infinitive Mistake?
Correct the target pattern during focused practice without interrupting every message. Repeat the sentence correctly and invite one natural repetition. If your child says “I enjoy to draw,” respond, “You enjoy drawing. What do you enjoy drawing?” The conversation continues while reinforcing the complete chunk.
How Much Practice Does My Child Need?
Practise for 6 minutes, 3 times this week. Session 1: choose 4 trigger words and say one sentence with each. Session 2: sort the words into -ing and to groups. Session 3: correct 2 sentences and explain 1 choice. Next week, replace 2 familiar words with new ones.
If your child needs steady speaking practice, start small — choose a trial lesson.
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