To Monitor vs Monitoring 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 monitor (Infinitive)

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

Example

I need to monitor the progress of the project.

Monitoring (Gerund)

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

Example

Monitoring the progress of the project is crucial.

Where can infinitives/gerunds be placed in a sentence?

To monitor (Infinitive)

• 1. Subject

  To monitor is an important part of project management.

  To monitor is an important part of project management.

  • "*To monitor*" serves as the subject of the sentence.
  • Infinitive phrase (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (an important part of project management).
• 2. Object

  She wants me to monitor the performance of the team.

  She wants me to monitor the performance of the team.

  • "Me *to monitor* the performance of the team" is the object of the verb "wants."
  • Noun (She) + verb (wants) + noun phrase (me *to monitor* the performance of the team).
• 3. Adjective Modifier

  We need a system to monitor the network traffic.

  We need a system to monitor the network traffic.

  • "*To monitor* the network traffic" modifies the noun "system."
  • Noun (We) + verb (need) + noun phrase (a system *to monitor* the network traffic).

Monitoring (Gerund)

• 1. Subject

  Monitoring is essential for quality control.

  Monitoring is essential for quality control.

  • "*Monitoring*" is the subject of the sentence.
  • Gerund (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (essential for quality control).
• 2. Object

  We enjoy monitoring the performance of the team.

  We enjoy monitoring the performance of the team.

  • "*Monitoring* the performance of the team" is the object of the verb "enjoy."
  • Noun (We) + verb (enjoy) + gerund (*monitoring* the performance of the team).
• 3. Object of Preposition

  She has a passion for monitoring wildlife.

  She has a passion for monitoring wildlife.

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

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

They plan to monitor the situation closely.

I hope to monitor the progress of the project.

He wants to monitor the financial transactions.

We decided to monitor the market trends.

They agreed to monitor the security cameras.

Verbs Taking Gerunds as Objects

• enjoy
• recommend
• dislike
• avoid
• imagine

Example

He enjoys monitoring the production process.

They recommend regular monitoring of the system.

I dislike the idea of monitoring employee activities.

She avoids monitoring her email outside work hours.

Can you imagine yourself monitoring the experiment?

Verbs Taking Both Infinitives and Gerunds as Objects

• like
• start
• begin

Example

I like to monitor the progress of the project. I like monitoring the progress of the project.

We started to monitor our expenses. We started monitoring our expenses.

He began to monitor the website traffic. He began monitoring the website traffic.