Gerund and Infinitive (no difference in meaning)

We use the Gerund or the Infinitive after the following verbs:
begin	He began talking. He began to talk.
continue	They continue smoking. They continue to smoke.
hate	Do you hate working on Saturdays? Do you hate to work on Saturdays?
like	I like swimming. I like to swim.
love	She loves painting. She loves to paint.
prefer	Pat prefers walking home. Pat prefers to walk home.
start	They start singing. They start to sing.

We use the Gerund or the Infinitive after the following verbs. There are two possible structures after these verbs. Gerund: verb + -ing Infinitive: verb + person + to-infinitive
advise	They advise walking to town. They advise us to walk to town.
allow	They do not allow smoking here. They do not allow us to smoke here.
encourage	They encourage doing the test. They encourage us to do the test.
permit	They do not permit smoking here. They do not permit us to smoke here.

We use the following structures with the word recommend:

recommend

They recommend walking to town. They recommend that we walk to town.