Infinitive or Gerund — English Bac Lettres

Dans le programme du Bac Lettres

English is a major subject in the Bac Lettres stream, with a coefficient of 4 — second only to Arabic Language (coefficient 7) and ahead of History-Geography and Philosophy (coefficient 3). There is no Mathematics in the stream. The high coefficient raises the bar: richer vocabulary, more developed argumentative writing, and firmer control of register and style are expected, and the English mark genuinely shapes the average.

À l'épreuve

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing. In the Lettres stream the Writing task is longer and more demanding — a structured essay with a clear thesis, developed arguments on both sides, illustrative examples and a personal conclusion — and language accuracy and range are scored throughout.

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac Lettres English exam (coefficient 4)
Recognise verbs always followed by the gerund (enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, consider, risk, admit, deny)
Recognise verbs always followed by the to-infinitive (want, decide, hope, plan, promise, agree, refuse, manage, afford)
Distinguish the meaning of stop to do / stop doing and remember to do / remember doing
Apply the rule: every preposition is followed by the gerund, never the infinitive

Notions clés

Verbs followed by the gerund (-ing)

enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, consider, risk, admit, deny, keep (on), imagine + verb-ing. E.g. “I enjoy swimming.”, “She suggested going to the cinema.”

Verbs followed by the to-infinitive

want, decide, hope, plan, promise, agree, refuse, manage, afford, seem + to + base form. E.g. “He decided to leave.”, “They agreed to help.”

Dual-construction verbs, different meaning

stop to do (stop in order to do something) vs stop doing (give up a habit); remember to do (not forget to do it, before the action) vs remember doing (recall having done it, after the action); try to do (make an effort to succeed) vs try doing (experiment with a solution).

Erreurs fréquentes

Putting to after enjoy / avoid / finish / suggest: “I enjoy to swim” is wrong — use “I enjoy swimming”.

Confusing stop to do and stop doing: “He stopped to smoke” means he stopped (walking, for example) in order to smoke, not that he gave up smoking (stop smoking).

Forgetting that prepositions are always followed by the gerund: “interested in to learn” is wrong — use “interested in learning”.

Exemple corrigé

Énoncé

Correct and justify: “She suggested to go to the cinema. He stopped smoke last year.”

Correction

suggested to go. Suggest is followed by the gerund, never by to + infinitive: “She suggested going to the cinema.”

stopped smoke. The intended meaning is “he gave up smoking” (a habit): use the gerund, “He stopped smoking last year.” (stop to smoke would mean he paused what he was doing in order to smoke a cigarette).

Corrected sentence. “She suggested going to the cinema. He stopped smoking last year.”

Le cours, puis l'entraînement.

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3 exercices pour t'entraîner

Exercice 1

Easy

Choose the right form: “I look forward to (see / seeing) you soon.”

Voir la correction

seeing — in look forward to, “to” is a preposition here (not the infinitive marker), so it is followed by the gerund: “I look forward to seeing you soon.”

Exercice 2

Medium

Complete with the correct form of close: “I clearly remember ___ (close) the window before leaving.” (the memory is of an action already done)

Voir la correction

closing — remember + gerund describes recalling an action already done: “I clearly remember closing the window before leaving.” (remember + to + infinitive would mean “not to forget to close”, a future action).

Exercice 3

Hard

Correct: “He denied to steal the money, but he admitted to lie about it later.”

Voir la correction

Deny and admit are followed by the gerund, never by to + infinitive: “He denied stealing the money, but he admitted lying about it later.”

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Questions fréquentes

How do I know whether a verb takes the gerund or the infinitive?

There is no general rule: it is a list to learn verb by verb (enjoy / avoid / finish / suggest → gerund; want / decide / hope / promise → infinitive). Learning the lists in meaning groups makes them easier to remember.

What comes after a preposition (in, at, about, for)?

Always the gerund, never the infinitive: “She is interested in learning French.”, “He apologised for being late.” This rule has no exceptions.

stop to do and stop doing — how do I tell them apart in the exam?

stop doing = give up an action or habit (the more frequent meaning). stop to do = pause (from doing something) in order to do something else: “He stopped to answer the phone” means he stopped (walking, working…) in order to answer.

English is coefficient 4 in the Lettres stream — how do I revise it seriously?

Treat it as a core subject. For each of the 31 chapters, fix the rule or the word field with two solid examples, and write at least one full essay a fortnight under timed conditions. Read short English articles to build argumentative vocabulary and sentence variety, since range and accuracy are marked directly.

Is this grammar point actually tested on the Bac Lettres English paper?

Yes — in the Language section as gap-fill, sentence-joining or error-correction, and indirectly in Writing, where the same structures decide whether a sentence is marked as accurate. One rule, two examples and one typical mistake per point is enough to cover both.