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I found this explanation: http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic38633.html

but what about present?

I continue to work or I continue working? Are they the same?

Oleksandr Matrosov
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1 Answers1

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They're practically the same, I'd use working to stress that you're presently actively doing it:

I will continue working on this until lunch.

I will continue to work for them until I can afford to move.

But this is a personal preference, and nobody can fault you for just following your ear here.

Community
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Val Kornea
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    I don't really see how a non-native speaker can "follow their ear" (unless you mean "copy what you hear native speakers say"). The infinitive has always been more common, but that may eventually change. If there are any contexts where native speakers would distinguish on semantic grounds (incl. emphasis), I can't think of one offhand. – FumbleFingers Jul 11 '15 at 19:44
  • A non-native speaker's ear is inexperienced, but they can still follow their ear. If their ear is influenced by their native language, this creates something similar to an accent in speech--it's distinctive but not wrong. – Val Kornea Jul 11 '15 at 19:48
  • There's a slow but inexorable rise in the use of gerund/continuous for this and many similar contexts in English. I've no idea how many other languages have meaningfully comparable constructions, but it seems unlikely there would be any consistent correlation for such usages across languages. I think rather than follow his ear, the learner should follow the excellent advice given to the original question. – FumbleFingers Jul 11 '15 at 20:04