To-infinitive and Gerund Complements in English

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the issues concerning the alternation between to-infinitives and gerunds in the post-verbal complement position in English with focus on the differences in their meaning and function. With respect to the alternation between the two types of complements, we put forward two proposals: i) it is not possible for the both constructions to automatically alternate with each other without any changes in meaning, and to-infinitives should not be recognized as simple free variants of gerunds; ii) discernable meaning differences exit between to-infinitives and gerunds, so that the former are "future-time-oriented", while the latter are "same-time-oriented" in relation to the event of the matrix verb. On the basis of this temporal distinction, it is then concluded that to-infinitives seem to evoke "the potential event" which can be realized or non-realized in the future, whereas gerunds denote "the event actualized" at the same time as the event of the matrix verb is implemented.