Gerund, infinitive: I <enjoy, like, love> <eating, to eat> pizza. (2025)

Hi!,

This question isn't really a big deal. I've asked it to some native speakers and they don't know what to tell me, so I guess I shouldn't care about it. But I'm so picky... Well, this is my doubt: should I use the gerund or the infinitive after some verbs such us "like," "enjoy," "love," etc.?

For instance, which one of these would be right?

- I like to eat pizza / I like eating pizza
- I enjoy to eat pizza / I enjoy eating pizza
- I love to eat pizza / I love eating pizza

I would use the gerund for all of them except for the first example. Any idea?

Thanks!

Hi Ni Neu!

In these example you gave, it is correct to use the ing form.
"I like/love/enjoy eating pizza".

I believe it's a matter of style.

Let's see what the others have to say.

My tuppence-worth:

Ni neu said:

I like to eat pizza
I like eating pizza
I enjoy to eat pizza
I enjoy eating pizza
I love to eat pizza
I love eating pizza

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I think this is probably a matter of taste. Much like the pizza...

(By the way, the pizza example is not a very good one: most of us natives would say 'I like pizza'.)

Ni neu said:

Thanks. In case of doubt I'll use the gerund...

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To help resolve your doubts, at least a little, I recommend that you read through some of these threads:
[URL="http://www.wordreference.com/definition/gerund%20infinitive"]Gerund, infinitive[/URL]

Sorry I'm so late for this, but I have a question related to enjoy.

In some English grammar books it is said that enjoy is usually followed by a gerund, which is what sounds best.
My question is: Is there a chance to use an infinitve? If so, in what case would that be possible?

Thanks in advance.

Mitita said:

Sorry I'm so late for this, but I have a question related to enjoy.

In some English grammar books it is said that enjoy is usually followed by a gerund, which is what sounds best.
My question is: Is there a chance to use an infinitve? If so, in what case would that be possible?

Thanks in advance.

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You mean something like "I enjoy to eat pizza"?
No, that would not be possible.

You can say "I like eating pizza," and "I like to eat pizza."
But not "I enjoy to eat pizza."

I thought so. It's probably used for other types of constructions not infinitives.

Thank you very much!
I'm new here and I love the way it works.

panjandrum said:

You mean something like "I enjoy to eat pizza"?
No, that would not be possible.

You can say "I like eating pizza," and "I like to eat pizza."
But not "I enjoy to eat pizza."

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Does anyone have an explanation for this impossible marriage of 'enjoy' with 'TO DO' ? ? ?
My guess is that enjoy is only used to describe a characteristic of the subject, so it's always about 'in general', never about 'this specific situation'.
Do you concur?

why does my grammar book say that 'dislike' also refuses to be followed by 'TO DO'? wouldn't it work just as 'like', accepting both 'V-ing' & 'TO V'?

Hello!

I know that "enjoy" is followed by gerund, but in this sentence I was not quite sure:

I enjoy going/to go shopping.

"going shopping" sounds a bit odd

Thanks in advance!

The answer to the question of why the "gerund" or "to infinitive" is used with "like", "love, "prefer", "hate" is that "to infinitive" is usual in American English, whereas "gerund" is more common in British English, although the "to infinitive" is becoming more common in international English due to Americanisation.

N.B. "enjoy" and "despise" can only be used with a following "gerund".

Welcome to the forum.

TheEnglishCondor said:

"to infinitive" is usual in American English, whereas "gerund" is more common in British English, although the "to infinitive" is becoming more common in international English due to Americanisation.

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Thanks for that. I wasn't aware of a difference in usage with those verbs, but:
Cambridge Dictionaries :
In American English, the forms with to-infinitive are much more common than the -ing form.
Hate, like, love and prefer - English Grammar Today - Cambridge Dictionary

There can be a difference of nuance:
There is a very small difference in meaning between the two forms. The -ing form emphasises the action or experience. The to-infinitive gives more emphasis to the results of the action or event. We often use the -ing form to suggest enjoyment (or lack of it), and the to-infinitive form to express habits or preferences.

There's quite a difference of nuance between like to do and like doing, as has already been explained in post #8. I like to be precise.

I hate to disagree with you, TheEnglishCondor, but I don't see such a big difference in usage here between the two main varieties of English as you suggest.

Thanks for the welcome, velisarius.

In post #8, the mistake being made is to include the urgency of time, which is irrelevant to the meaning of "like to do something" or "like doing something".

I never inferred any difference in usage in my post in #18. In my opinion, there is no difference in meaning nor nuance - it is purely a style and custom difference.

The only usage (not meaning) difference, one could argue, which may have an impact, is that the gerund is more often used for general situations whereas to infinitive is used for specific situations. Compare: "I like walking" (generally) and "I like to walk on the beach at midnight" (specific).

What do you think?

TheEnglishCondor said:

Compare: "I like walking" (generally) and "I like to walk on the beach at midnight" (specific).

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A truer comparison would be between I like to walk on the beach at midnight and I like walking on the beach at midnight. I see no real difference there.

We should compare like with like:
What do you like doing in your free time? I like walking, or going for a run.
What do you like to do in your free time? I like to walk or go for a run.