Gerunds vs. Infinitives

The big question is, when do you use an infinitive and when do you use a gerund??? There are lots of rules and cases where you use one or the other, for this post, I will give an overview and go into more detail in future posts.
Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject of a sentence:Surfing at the beach is fun.
To surf at the beach is fun.

Both can be used as the object of a sentence:
I like surfing at the beach.
I like to surf at the beach.

Only gerunds can be used as the object of the preposition:
I like speaking about surfing at the beach. – correct
I like speaking about to surf at the beach. – incorrect

Here are a few generalizations when deciding to use one or the other:

Gerunds are used when the actions are finished or they are real.I finished surfing.
I stopped surfing.
(I have completely finished surfing.)

Infinitives are used when the actions take place in the future or they are not real.

I stopped to surf.

(This means I was doing something else, like walking and I stopped doing that and then soon I will begin to surf.)

       Here are the links to the complete Gerunds vs. Infinitives material we used in class.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qi_mvY_wyYpDZXkqomE5bOzFuvvtJWTftjehZTNSxOM/edit?hl=en_US

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VOYnbJkmJTmbwVuHwgAjUZrqRIuxMYLyEhWCLkcGPXE/edit?hl=en_US

And here is the link to EGO4U so you can pick an exercise or a test.

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/infinitive-gerund

Please take into account this...

I listen, I forget...

I write, I remember...

I practice, I learn.