PTE Grammar: Gerunds & Infinitives (Bangla)

Why This Matters (কেন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ)

Whether a verb is followed by a gerund ("enjoy swimming") or an infinitive ("want to swim") is a fixed, memorised pattern in English with no reliable rule — and unlike many grammar points, guessing based on Bangla sentence structure gives no useful clue at all, since Bangla verb patterns work completely differently.

কোনো ক্রিয়ার পরে gerund ("enjoy swimming") নাকি infinitive ("want to swim") আসবে তা নির্দিষ্ট, মুখস্থ করার প্যাটার্ন — কোনো নির্ভরযোগ্য নিয়ম নেই, এবং বাংলা বাক্য গঠন থেকে কোনো সূত্র পাওয়া যায় না।

See the fuller IELTS Gerunds & Infinitives guide for the complete verb list.

Verbs Followed Only by -ing (শুধু -ing নেয়)

Common verbs in this group: enjoy, avoid, consider, suggest, mind, finish, admit, risk, practise, and phrases like "look forward to" and "be used to" (where "to" is a preposition, not part of an infinitive).

ERROR"The government should consider to invest more in public transport."

FIX"The government should consider investing more in public transport."

ERROR"I am looking forward to attend the conference."

FIX"I am looking forward to attending the conference." — "to" here is a preposition, so it must be followed by -ing.

Verbs Followed Only by "to + verb" (শুধু to-infinitive নেয়)

Common verbs in this group: want, decide, plan, hope, agree, refuse, afford, manage, tend, and "would like."

ERROR"Many governments plan increasing renewable energy investment."

FIX"Many governments plan to increase renewable energy investment."

ERROR"She decided studying abroad after graduation."

FIX"She decided to study abroad after graduation."

Method: for any new academic verb you learn, memorise its complement pattern (-ing or to-infinitive) as part of the word itself, the same way you would memorise its preposition.

Your Turn (অনুশীলন করুন)

Choose the correct verb form (gerund or infinitive), then reveal the answer.

1 "The committee finally agreed ___ (extend) the application deadline by two weeks."

Show the answer

"...agreed to extend the application deadline..." — "agree" takes a to-infinitive.

2 "Researchers suggested ___ (conduct) a longer follow-up study."

Show the answer

"...suggested conducting a longer follow-up study." — "suggest" takes a gerund.

3 "Many small businesses cannot afford ___ (hire) additional staff."

Show the answer

"...cannot afford to hire additional staff." — "afford" takes a to-infinitive.

4 "The professor avoided ___ (answer) the question directly."

Show the answer

"...avoided answering the question directly." — "avoid" takes a gerund.