Gerund x to infinitive

What's the difference between "I like dancing" and "I like to dance"? 

That's a good question - to me they seem exactly the same.

It does sound exactly the same with the verb "like". Sometimes, though, you can use either one or the other, for example, if you were to use "enjoy", you would only be able to say "I enjoy dancing", and not "I enjoy to dance".

To be frank, I didn't really know what makes the difference in these cases so I just googled it, and the first result says this:

Gerunds are often used when actions are real, fixed, or completed. "I enjoy cooking."

Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, abstract, or future: "He wants to swim."

Honestly, I think the easiest way is just to learn by heart which verbs use the -ing form and which ones use the infinitive. It starts coming naturally after a while.

Kosta.Cirkovic wrote:

It does sound exactly the same with the verb "like". Sometimes, though, you can use either one or the other, for example, if you were to use "enjoy", you would only be able to say "I enjoy dancing", and not "I enjoy to dance".
To be frank, I didn't really know what makes the difference in these cases so I just googled it, and the first result says this:
Gerunds are often used when actions are real, fixed, or completed. "I enjoy cooking."
Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, abstract, or future: "He wants to swim."

Honestly, I think the easiest way is just to learn by heart which verbs use the -ing form and which ones use the infinitive. It starts coming naturally after a while.

Thanks for your comment! Once I've read the the use of the gerund is preferable with 'like', unless you add an object to the verb, for example "I like to dance the Flamenco".

I say it's grammatically different.

I like dancing = I like dancing = (verb) + ing.

I like to dance = I like to dance = to (verb).

The meaning of the sentence is most likely the same. 

It would be slightly different depends on the situations you're in :)

JaeHong.S wrote:

I say it's grammatically different.
I like dancing = I like dancing = (verb) + ing.
I like to dance = I like to dance = to (verb).
The meaning of the sentence is most likely the same.
It would be slightly different depends on the situations you're in :)

Thanks! You say "slightly different", and that's exactly my point. 

Valeria.Fontes wrote:

JaeHong.S wrote:

I say it's grammatically different.
I like dancing = I like dancing = (verb) + ing.
I like to dance = I like to dance = to (verb).
The meaning of the sentence is most likely the same.
It would be slightly different depends on the situations you're in :)

Thanks! You say "slightly different", and that's exactly my point.

The meaning is not "slightly different". It's either the same or invalid, as pointed out be Kosta above.