-ing Form vs the Infinitive

The -ing form focuses on the activity (e.g. Learning English is easy). The infinitive form focuses on the objective or what you have to do to achieve an objective (e.g. To learn English you need to study hard).

Use the -ing form immediately after before, after, by, about, on, for, in, to, etc.

Use the -ing form after verbs that express: a) ideas, advice, e.g. recommend, propose, suggest; b) how much we enjoy or enjoyed something, e.g. like, love, hate, enjoy ; c) -ing is also used after verbs: risk, avoid, spend time, mind.

Use the infinitive a) when you focus on a purpose or objective, e.g. would like, want, plan, promise, decide, hope; b) when you tell someone what they can do or what we want them to do: allow, ask, enable, expect, help, instruct, permit, persuade, tell.

Use the infinitive generally after adjectives and with how. Examples: It’s easy to use. If you like, I’ll show you how to use one.