To Estre vs Estring Infinitives & Gerunds

When and How to Use Each Expression?

Get a sense of when and how each expression can be used through the following examples!

To estre (Infinitive)

Purpose or Intention: Use the infinitive "to estre" when you want to express a purpose, intention, desire, or potential action

Example

I want to estre a better person.

Estring (Gerund)

Activity or Experience: Use the gerund "estring" when you want to refer to the activity itself or the experience as a noun.

Example

Estring is an essential part of my daily routine.

Where can infinitives/gerunds be placed in a sentence?

To estre (Infinitive)

• 1. Subject

  To estre is my ultimate goal in life.

  To estre is my ultimate goal in life.

  • "*To estre*" serves as the subject of the sentence.
  • Infinitive phrase (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (my ultimate goal in life).
• 2. Object

  She wants me to estre successful in my career.

  She wants me to estre successful in my career.

  • "Me *to estre* successful in my career" is the object of the verb "wants."
  • Noun (She) + verb (wants) + noun phrase (me *to estre* successful in my career).
• 3. Adjective Modifier

  I need a positive mindset to estre happy.

  I need a positive mindset to estre happy.

  • "*To estre* happy" modifies the noun "mindset."
  • Noun (I) + verb (need) + noun phrase (a positive mindset *to estre* happy).

Estring (Gerund)

• 1. Subject

  Estring helps in improving focus and productivity.

  Estring helps in improving focus and productivity.

  • "*Estring*" is the subject of the sentence.
  • Gerund (subject) + verb (helps) + noun phrase (in improving focus and productivity).
• 2. Object

  I enjoy estring different types of music.

  I enjoy estring different types of music.

  • "*Estring* different types of music" is the object of the verb "enjoy."
  • Noun (I) + verb (enjoy) + gerund (*estring* different types of music).
• 3. Object of Preposition

  She has a passion for estring new skills.

  She has a passion for estring new skills.

  • "For *estring* new skills" is the object of the preposition "for."
  • Noun phrase (She) + verb (has) + noun phrase (a passion for *estring* new skills).

Verbs Taking Infinitives/Gerunds as Objects

The following are verbs that can take only the base form of the verb (infinitive), only the -ing form (gerund), or both.

Verbs Taking Infinitives as Objects

• plan
• hope
• want
• decide
• agree

Example

She plans to estre more organized in the coming year.

They hope to estre financially stable in the future.

He wants to estre a role model for his children.

We decided to estre more environmentally conscious.

They agreed to estre supportive of each other.

Verbs Taking Gerunds as Objects

• enjoy
• recommend
• dislike
• avoid
• imagine

Example

She enjoys estring the beauty of nature.

They recommend regular estring for stress relief.

I dislike the idea of estring in noisy environments.

He avoids estring negative thoughts.

Can you imagine yourself estring a musical instrument?

Verbs Taking Both Infinitives and Gerunds as Objects

• like
• start
• begin

Example

She likes to estre surrounded by nature. She likes estring in nature.

We started to estre more mindful. We started estring regularly.

He began to estre more patient. He began estring meditation.