ESEN
Which one to use?Advancedadjectiveadjective
WorthvsWorthwhile
'Worth' is always followed by a gerund ('worth doing'); 'worthwhile' can take an infinitive or a gerund.
Side-by-side comparison
Worth
adjective"Worth" is followed by a noun or gerund: "It's worth doing", "It's worth the effort". It describes whether the value of something justifies the cost or effort.
The museum is definitely worth visiting, they have an amazing collection of local art.
It is worth checking the train times before you leave, they changed the schedule last week.
The long hike was absolutely worth it, the view from the top was completely stunning.
Worthwhile
adjective"Worthwhile" is an adjective that can stand alone or come before a noun: "It's worthwhile", "a worthwhile experience". It needs no complement; it describes something as valuable in itself.
Learning a second language is a worthwhile challenge, it opens so many doors in life.
Spending an hour a day practising English is a worthwhile investment of your time.
The extra week she spent revising turned out to be very worthwhile, she passed easily.
Common mistake
Most common error: "It is worth to read this" = wrong, after "worth" always use a gerund, never a to-infinitive: "It is worth reading." Other errors: "worth of visiting" = wrong (no preposition needed); with "worthwhile" the error is "worthwhile to doing", it accepts a to-infinitive or gerund, not the combination "to + gerund."
Trick to remember it
The forbidden TO: after WORTH, "to" is banned. Full stop. "Worth reading" ✓ / "Worth to read" ✗. The moment you need "to", switch to WORTHWHILE: "worthwhile to read" or "worthwhile reading" — both work. WORTH = gerund always. WORTHWHILE = flexible.
Quick rule
- •Worth + gerund (never to-infinitive): "worth reading" (correct) / "worth to read" (wrong).
- •Worthwhile + to-infinitive or gerund: "worthwhile to read" or "worthwhile reading" (both correct).
Did you know?
Grammatically, WORTH in "worth reading" is one of the most debated items in English linguistics: linguists cannot agree on whether it is an adjective (like "easy" in "easy to read") or an atypical preposition governing its complement. The evidence that it behaves like a preposition: like WORTH, prepositions in English are followed by gerunds ("afraid OF swimming," "fond OF singing"). If it were a normal adjective like "easy," it should accept the infinitive ("easy to do"), but "worth to do" is ungrammatical. This ambiguity is exactly what causes learners to make the error "worth to read": they try to treat WORTH as if it were "easy" or "difficult," when grammatically it behaves more like "afraid" or "fond."
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Is it _____ visiting that museum? Is there much to see?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Volunteering at the animal shelter is very _____ . She loves every minute of it.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
GerundvsInfinitive
Some verbs take a gerund (-ing), others take an infinitive (to + verb), and some take both with different meanings.
InfinitivovsGerundio
With certain verbs (remember, stop, try), the choice between infinitive and gerund completely changes the meaning.
SuggestvsRecommend
'Suggest' and 'recommend' never take 'to' + infinitive; they use a gerund or a 'that' clause.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy