Using Gerunds and Infinitives for the Past, Present, and Future & Realistic vs. Unrealistic Situations

Gerunds and infinitives themselves do not carry grammatical tense like finite verbs do. However, their forms (simple, perfect, continuous) and the context (the main verb they follow, time markers, and logical structure) allow us to place actions firmly in the past, present, or future. Additionally, our choice between a gerund and an infinitive — and their specific advanced forms — often signals whether we are describing something real/habitual or unreal/hypothetical.

1. Expressing Time: Past, Present, and Future

A. Present / General Time (Simple Forms)

The simple gerund (doing) and the simple infinitive (to do) generally refer to actions that are simultaneous with the main verb or are general, timeless facts. They are the default choices for present and general contexts.

• Gerund (present/general): “I enjoy reading mysteries.” (A general, present habit.)
• Infinitive (present/future): “She wants to leave now.” (A present desire for immediate future action.)
• Continuous Infinitive (present ongoing): “He seems to be sleeping.” (Action happening right now.)

B. Past Time (Perfect Forms)

To place the action of the gerund or infinitive before the action of the main verb (i.e., in the past), we use the perfect gerund (having + V3) and the perfect infinitive (to have + V3). This clearly establishes a temporal sequence.

• Perfect Gerund (past): “She was proud of having won the competition.” (Winning happened before the pride.)
• Perfect Infinitive (past): “He appears to have forgotten the appointment.” (The forgetting happened earlier; his appearing happens now.)
• Perfect Continuous Infinitive (past ongoing): “She seems to have been crying.” (Crying was ongoing before the present moment.)

C. Future Time (Contextual & Tense-Shifting)

Neither gerunds nor infinitives have a dedicated future form of their own. Instead, we express future time through the tense of the main verb or through time markers. The simple infinitive is the standard choice after verbs of intention or planning.

• Future intention (main verb + infinitive): “They plan to visit us next week.” (Main verb "plan" points to the future.)
• Future after prepositions (gerund): “I look forward to meeting you tomorrow.” (The phrase "tomorrow" fixes the time.)
• Future arrangement (gerund/infinitive): “We are considering moving next year.” / “We hope to move next year.”
• Continuous Infinitive (future ongoing): “This time next week, I will be happy to be relaxing on the beach.”

2. Realistic vs. Unrealistic Situations

The choice between gerunds and infinitives — and particularly the use of perfect forms — plays a crucial role in distinguishing between what is real (factual, habitual, likely) and what is unreal (hypothetical, imagined, contrary to fact).

A. Realistic Situations (Facts, Habits, Plans)

Simple gerunds and infinitives typically describe actions that are actually happening, habitually occur, or are realistically planned. The speaker presents them as grounded in reality.

• Gerund (real habits): “I enjoy cooking dinner every evening.” (It's a real, regular activity.)
• Infinitive (real intentions): “We have decided to buy a new house.” (A concrete, realistic plan.)
• Used to + gerund (real adaptation): “I am used to waking up early.” (A real, adapted habit.)
• Be + infinitive (real instruction/schedule): “The meeting is to start at 10 AM.” (A scheduled, realistic event.)

B. Unrealistic / Hypothetical Situations (Imagination, Regret, Counterfactuals)

Unreal situations often rely on perfect forms (to show something did not happen) or specific verbs that introduce a hypothetical world (imagine, pretend, wish – though wish takes a clause, we can note its effect). Infinitives following "would like" or appearing in conditional structures also signal unreality.

• Unreal past (perfect infinitive after modals): “I would have loved to have attended the concert.” (I didn't attend — it's an unfulfilled, unreal past desire.)
• Unreal present (imagining with a gerund): “Imagine living on a deserted island!” (A hypothetical scenario, not real.)
• Pretend + infinitive (unreal): “He pretends to be wealthy, but he is actually broke.” (The wealthy state is unreal.)
• Unreal past (perfect gerund with regret): “She regrets having told him the secret.” (She did tell him — she regrets a past real action, but using the perfect gerund highlights the completed past reality. However, to make it *counterfactual*, we often pair it with modals: “She should have avoided telling him.”)
• Conditional unreal (were to + infinitive): “If I were to win the lottery, I would travel the world.” (An unreal future condition.)

C. The Interpretive Shift: Gerund vs. Infinitive for Reality

Sometimes, switching between a gerund and an infinitive with the same verb signals a shift between real/actual and unreal/intended.

• “I remember locking the door.” (Gerund = I actually did it — real memory.)
• “I remembered to lock the door.” (Infinitive = I didn't forget my duty — real intention, but refers to a future obligation at the time of remembering.)
• “He stopped smoking.” (Gerund = He quit — real, permanent change.)
• “He stopped to smoke.” (Infinitive = He paused for a cigarette — a real, momentary action.)
• “Try adding more salt.” (Gerund = Experiment, real suggestion.)
• “Try to finish it on time.” (Infinitive = Make an effort, real attempt.)

Summary Table: Time & Reality in Gerunds and Infinitives

3. Practical Summary: How to Choose

To decide correctly, always ask yourself two questions:

• “When?” — Is the action simultaneous (use simple forms), earlier (use perfect forms), or ongoing (use continuous forms)?
• “What is the speaker's attitude?” — Is this a real fact/plan (use simple forms, often with gerunds for habits and infinitives for intentions) or an imaginary/regretful/counterfactual scenario (use perfect forms and modal constructions)?