I have some problems when it comes to the usage of "to" vs "ing" to express the infinite form like in:
[1] To avoid wasting time trying to figure out …"
[2] To avoid to waste time trying to figuring out …"what is the right way to start the sentence and why prefering "to" or "-ing"?
Answer
[1] To avoid wasting time trying to figure out …
[2] *To avoid to waste time trying to figuring out …
[1] is fine, but [2] is ungrammatical because the infinitival clause "to waste time …" cannot satisfy the complement requirements of the verb "avoid", which requires a gerund-participial clause as in [1].
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Randomize , Answer Author : BillJ