Gerunds and Infinitives: Special Expressions

English has many fixed expressions with specific gerund or infinitive patterns that must be memorised. Gerund expressions include can't help doing (cannot stop yourself), it's no use doing (pointless), it's worth doing (valuable), there's no point in doing (useless), and have difficulty doing (struggle with). For example: "I can't help laughing" and "It's not worth arguing about."

Bare infinitive expressions include would rather do (prefer), had better do (should), and do nothing but do (only do). These use the infinitive without "to": "I'd rather stay home" (not "rather to stay") and "You'd better hurry" (not "better to hurry"). These expressions do not follow standard patterns — they are fixed phrases that native speakers learn as complete units. Attempting to analyse why they work this way is less useful than memorising each phrase with its correct form. These expressions appear regularly in B2 First and C1 Advanced examinations, where choosing the wrong form costs marks.