Likes and dislikes

[Walt Whitman]

I’m going to do a Learning Unit and teach my 12-year-old students how to use verbs and phrases expressing likes and dislikes, for instance “love, like, hate, can’t stand, don’t/doesn’t mind” etc. I’m aware the topic may be pretty difficult because “love, like and hate” can be followed by either the
–ing form or the infinitive. I’d like to make things easier for my kids.
Here are some examples:

(1) I’m not a sporty type. I like lying/to lie in bed and I love reading/to read comics.
(2) In my free time I like meeting/to meet friends, going/go to the cinema or the theatre. And I love dancing/to dance. I’m a very good dancer.
(3) My friend George is a very good student. He doesn’t mind doing homework. I’m quite different. I hate studying/to study.

My question is: are the –ing form and the infinitive virtually interchangeable without affecting the meaning of the sentences? If so, is it just a matter of personal style?
Thank you.
WW

[Alan]

Hi,

My feeling (which has already been dismissed on this forum) is that the 'ing' form is more general and the infinitive is more specific.

Alan
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