1. When a verb becomes a noun, be it subject or object, you use the gerund. This is the rule and it is correct. 2. To your example: the infinitive can be used with the verb "mean", or any other like expression. To listen is to receive. = To listen means to receive. The reason for this is a little complicated. The phrase "to listen" is taken as an idea, and has become the subject in front of the verb "is".

its wrong saying. in the sentence "to listen is to receive" - to listen functions as a subject expressed by the infinitive. its not a gerund.

A gerund always ends in "ing" Check out defintion 2 on this site: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerund We have more than one "verbal" in the English language that can be used as a different part of speech. In your case, you use "to listen." This is an infinitive. Infinitives can also be a subject as it is in your example. To use gerunds in your sentence, you would say, "Listening is receiving," in which case there are 2 gerunds: Listening and Receiving. Both are verbs, but end in "ing" and are used as nouns. That is the definition of a gerund.

Must be the gerund or "to verb"; ie, the "infinitives", not only subject, but also object. You need some concept called "entirety".