Is there a grammatical rule in English that (partly) helps to determine?

Question

whether to use an infinitive or a gerund after a given verb?

Answer 1

There's no rule, but there's a tendency to use infinitive for things you haven't experienced yet (want, hope, plan, expect, intend), and gerunds for things you have tried before (enjoy, keep, despise, etc.) A fairly well-known linguist noticed something like this pattern, but I just can't remember his name at the moment....

This idea can help somewhat, but you still have a lot of memorizing to do, as a lot of verbs escape this pattern. The other option is to read a lot, and occasionally notice the pattern as you do so. Eventually, it sinks in.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Yes,gerunds are after the forms of be;is are am be being etc.(were,was) infinitives are before a direct object.that's two rules in English.