Question 1

Why do these expressions always take gerunds?

Accepted Answer

These expressions take gerunds because they function grammatically like verbs that express feelings or attitudes towards activities. "Can't stand," "don't mind," and "feel like" are verb phrases that work the same way as single verbs like "enjoy" or "hate," which also take gerunds. "It's worth" and "it's no use" are special structures where the gerund acts as the subject in the underlying sentence: "Visiting the museum is worth it." The best approach is to learn these as complete phrases: "can't stand doing," "feel like doing," "it's worth doing." Trying to analyse why they take gerunds is less useful than memorising the patterns.

Question 2

What is the difference between don't mind and don't care?

Accepted Answer

"Don't mind" + gerund means you are willing to do something — it does not bother you: "I don't mind waiting" (waiting is acceptable to me, I'm happy to wait). "Don't care" is different — it expresses lack of interest or indifference and is not followed by a gerund in the same way. "I don't care" means "I'm not interested" or "it's not important to me." You can say "I don't care about waiting" (it doesn't matter to me) but not "I don't care waiting." In polite English, "don't mind" is much softer and more common: "Would you mind helping me?" is polite, while "Would you care helping me?" is incorrect.

Question 3

Can I say "can't help to laugh" instead of "can't help laughing"?

Accepted Answer

No, "can't help to laugh" is always wrong. "Can't help" + gerund is a fixed expression meaning you cannot stop yourself from doing something: "I can't help laughing" (I cannot control my laughter). Some learners confuse this with "can't wait to" + infinitive, which is a different expression meaning "am very excited about": "I can't wait to see you." These are completely different structures. "Can't help" always takes a gerund; "can't wait" always takes an infinitive. Cambridge exams sometimes test both expressions in the same question to check that students know the difference.

Gerunds and Infinitives: Can't Stand, Don't Mind, Feel Like

Quick Rule

All 20 questions

Continue Practising

Gerunds and Infinitives Error Correction

Common Gerund and Infinitive Verbs

Preposition + Gerund

-ed vs -ing Adjectives

Conditionals

Present Perfect