Verbs in English have four basic parts:

Base form -ing form Past tense Past participle

work working worked worked

play playing played played

listen listening listened listened

Most verbs have past tense and past participle in ed (worked, played, listened). But
many of the most frequent verbs are irregular.

Common verbs followed by ing nouns are:

Verbs of liking and disliking:

detest

dislike

enjoy

hate

fancy

like

love

I love swimming but I hate jogging.

They always enjoyed visiting their friends.
 A: Do you fancy going for a walk?
B: I wouldnt mind

Phrases with mind:

wouldnt mind (= would like)

dont mind (= I am willing to)

would you mind (= will you please?)

I wouldnt mind having some fish and chips.

I dont mind waiting for a few minutes.
Would you mind holding this for me?

Verbs of saying and thinking:

admit

consider

deny

imagine

remember

suggest

Our guide suggested waiting until the storm was over.

Everyone denied seeing the accident.

Other common verbs are:

avoid

begin

finish

keep

miss

practise
 risk

start

stop

I havent finished writing this letter.

Lets practise speaking English.

Passive form of -ing

Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by the passive form of -ing: being + past
participle

I dont like being interrupted.

Our dog loves being stroked under the chin.

Noun + -ing clause

Some verbs are followed by a noun and an -ing clause:

Verbs to do with the senses:

see

watch

hear

smell

listen to

etc.

We saw everybody running away.

I could hear someone singing.

Other common verbs:

catch

find

imagine

leave
 prevent

stop

I caught someone trying to break into my house.

We couldnt prevent them getting away.

We can use the -ing form of the verb:

as a noun:

I love swimming.
Swimming is very good for your health.
You can get fit by swimming regularly.

-ing nouns are nearly always uncount nouns

as an adjective:

The main problem today is rising prices.

That programme was really boring.
He saw a woman lying on the floor.

Because the -ing noun or adjective is formed from a verb it can have any of
the patterns which follow a verb, for example:

... an object:

I like playing tennis.

I saw a dog chasing a cat.

... or an adverbial:

You can earn a lot of money by working hard.

There were several people waiting for the bus.

... or a clause:

I heard someone saying that.

The -ing noun can be used:

as the subject of a verb:

Learning English is not easy.

as the object of a verb:

We enjoy learning English.

Common verbs followed by an -ing object are:

 admit like hate start avoid

suggest enjoy dislike begin finish

as the object of a preposition

Some people are not interested in learning English.

The -ing adjective can come:

in front of a noun:

I read an interesting article in the newspaper today.

We saw a really exciting match on Sunday.

The commonest ing adjectives used in front of the noun are

amusing interesting worrying shocking disappointing

boring surprising exciting terrifying frightening

tiring annoying

after a noun:

Who is that man standing over there?

The boy talking to Angela is her younger brother.

and especially after verbs like see, watch, hear, smell etc.

I heard someone playing the piano.

I can smell something burning.
Verbs followed by -ing
-ing but not to-infinitive

Some verbs are normally followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive:

admit deny finish mind

avoid dislike give up miss

(cant) help enjoy imagine practise

(cant) stand fancy involve put off

consider feel like keep (on) risk

I always enjoy cooking.

Not: I always enjoy to cook.

We havent finished eating yet.

Not: We havent finished to eat .

She keeps changing her mind about the wedding.

New subject before -ing

Some of these verbs (e.g. cant stand, dislike, imagine, involve, mind, miss, put
off and risk) can be used with a new subject before the -ing form (underlined in the
examples below). If the new subject is a pronoun, it is in the object form (me, him, her,
us, them):

We just couldnt imagine Gerry singing in public.

Do you mind me being here while youre working?

I dont want to risk him losing his job.

See also:

Verbs followed by -ing

Verbs followed by a to-infinitive or -ing

Hate, like, love, prefer

Hate, like, love and prefer can be followed either by -ing or a to-infinitive. The
difference in meaning is often small. The -ing form emphasises the verb itself. The to-
infinitive puts the emphasis more on the preference for, or the results of, the action.

Compare

-ing form to-infinitive

I love cooking Indian I like to drink juice in the morning, and tea
food. (emphasis on the process at lunchtime. (emphasis more on the
itself and enjoyment of it) preference or habit)
 She hates cleaningher I hate to be the only person to disagree.
room. (emphasis on the process (emphasis more on the result: I would
itself and no enjoyment of it) prefer not to be in that situation.)

We prefer to drive during the day whenever

Most people prefer watching a
we can. (emphasis more on the result and
film at the cinema rather than on
on the habit or preference. The speaker
TV. (emphasis on the process itself
doesnt necessarily enjoy the process of
and enjoyment of it)
driving at any time of day.)

Hate, like, love, prefer with would or should

When hate, like, love and prefer are used with would or should, only the to-infinitive is
used, not the -ing form:

Shed love to get a job nearer home.

Not: Shed love getting a job nearer home .

Would you like to have dinner with us on Friday?

To-infinitive or -ing form with a change in meaning

Some verbs can be followed by a to-infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change in
meaning:

go on need remember try

mean regret stop want

Compare

-ing form to-infinitive

Working in London means

leaving home at 6.30.(Because I I didnt mean to make you cry. (I didnt
work in London, this is the result intend to make you cry.)
or consequence.)

He went on singing after

She recited a poem, then went on to sing a
everyone else had finished.(He
lovely folk song. (She recited the poem first,
continued singing without
then she sang the song.)
stopping.)

I tried searching the web and

I tried to email Simon but it bounced back. (I
finally found an address for
tried/attempted to email him but I did not
him. (I searched the web to see
succeed.)
what information I could find.)
 She stopped crying as soon as We stopped to buy some water at the
she saw her mother.(She was motorway service area. (We were travelling
crying, and then she didnt cry and we stopped for a short time in order to
anymore.) buy some water.)

With "that"

We can use clauses with that:

after verbs of thinking:

think

believe

expect

decide

hope

know

understand

suppose

guess

imagine

feel

remember

forget

I hope that you will enjoy your holiday.

She didnt really think that it would happen.
I knew that I had seen her somewhere before.
 after verbs of saying:

say

admit

argue

reply

agree

claim

deny

mention

answer

complain

explain

promise

suggest

They admitted that they had made a mistake.

She argued that they should invest more in the business.
The children complained that they had nothing to do.

Note: tell and some other verbs of saying almost always have a direct object (see
clauses, sentences and phrases). There are also some fixed expressions with tell such
as tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell it like it is.

tell

convince

persuade

inform

remind

We tried to tell them that they should stop what they were doing.
The police informed everybody that the danger was over.
 as postmodifiers after nouns to do with thinking or saying:

advice

belief

claim

feeling

argument

hope

promise

report

guess

opinion

idea

He made a promise that he would do all he could to help.

I had a funny feeling that something was wrong.

after some nouns to say more about the noun:

fact

advantage

effect

possibility

chance

danger

evidence

problem

difficulty
 She pointed out the danger that they might be left behind.
There was a chance that we would succeed

Note: We often use a that clause to define one of these nouns after the verb be :

danger

problem

chance

possibility

fact

The danger is that we will be left behind.

The fact is that it is getting very late.

after some adjectives which describe feelings to give a reason for our feelings:

pleased

sorry

happy

unhappy

sad

excited

glad

disappointed

afraid

I am sorry that you cant come.

Everybody was pleased that the danger was past.
It is lucky that you were able to drive us home.

No "that"

NOTE: We can always use a clause without the word that:

They admitted [that] they had made a mistake.

The police informed everybody [that] the danger was over.
 I am sorry [that] you cant come.
There was chance [that] we would succeed.

Both tenses have a continuous form. These continuous tenses are formed with the
verb be and the ing form of the verb:

We use continuous aspect:

for something happening before and after a given time.

Hes getting on the train. [before and after the moment of speaking]
It was quarter past ten. We were watching the news on television.

for something continuing before and after another action:

Mother will be cooking the dinner when we get home.

We were waiting for the bus when it started to rain.

for something continuing for some time:

Everybody will be waiting for us.

They had been working hard all day.

for something happening again and again:

Theyve been doing that every day this week.

The children were always shouting.
He will be practising the piano every night.

for something temporary:

We are renting an apartment until our house is ready..

He was working in a garage during the vacation.

for something new:

We have moved from Birmingham. Were living in Manchester now.

He had left university and was working in his fathers business.

to describe something changing or developing:

Everything has been getting more difficult.

He was growing more bad-tempered every day.

We use the to-infinitive:

to express purpose (to answer "Why...?"):

He bought some flowers to give to his wife.

He locked the door to keep everyone out.

We sometimes say in order to or in order not to:

 We set off early in order to avoid the traffic.
They spoke quietly in order not to wake the children

or we can say so as to or so as not to:

We set off early so as to avoid the traffic.

They spoke quietly so as not to wake the children.

after certain verbs (see verbs followed by infinitive), particularly verbs

of thinking and feeling:

choose, decide, expect, forget, hate, hope, intend, learn, like,

love, mean, plan, prefer, remember, want, would like, would love

and verbs of saying:

agree, promise, refuse

They decided to start a business together.

Remember to turn the lights out.

Some verbs are followed by a direct object and the infinitive(see verbs followed by
infinitive):

advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, warn,

expect, intend, would prefer, want, would like

She reminded me to turn the lights out.

He encouraged his friends to vote for him.

after certain adjectives.

Sometimes the to-infinitive gives a reason for the adjective:

disappointed

glad

sad

happy

anxious

pleased

surprised

proud

unhappy
 We were happy to come to the end of our journey
= We were happy because we had come to the end of our journey
John was surprised to see me
= He was surprised because he saw me

Other adjectives with the to-infinitive are:

able

unable

due

eager

keen

likely

unlikely

ready

prepared

unwilling

willing

Unfortunately I was unable to work for over a week.

I am really tired. Im ready to go to bed.

We often use the to-infinitive with these adjectives after it to give opinions:

difficult

easy

possible

impossible

hard

right

wrong
 kind

nice

clever

silly

foolish

Its easy to play the piano, but its very difficult to play well.
He spoke so quickly it was impossible to understand him.

We use the preposition for to show who these adjectives refer to:

difficult

easy

possible

impossible

hard

It was difficult for us to hear what she was saying.

It is easy for you to criticise other people.

We use the preposition of with other adjectives:

Its kind of you to help.

It would be silly of him to spend all his money.

As a postmodifier (see noun phrases) after abstract nouns like:

ability

desire

need

wish

attempt

failure

opportunity
 chance

intention

I have no desire to be rich.

They gave him an opportunity to escape.
She was annoyed by her failure to answer the question correctly.

We often use a to-infinitive as a postmodifier after an indefinite pronoun

(See indefinite pronouns):

When I am travelling I always take something to read.

I was all alone. I had no one to talk to.
There is hardly anything to do in most of these small towns.

1 Some verbs are followed by the to-infinitive:

I decided to go home as soon as possible.

We all wanted to have more English classes.

Common verbs followed by the to-infinitive are:

Verbs of thinking and feeling:

choose

decide

expect

forget

hate

hope

intend

learn

like

love

mean

plan

prefer
 remember

would like

would love

Verbs of saying:

agree

promise

refuse

Other common verbs are:

arrange

attempt

fail

help

manage

tend

try

want

2 Some verbs are followed by a noun and the to-infinitive:

She asked him to send her a text message.

He wanted all his friends to come to his party.

Common verbs with this pattern are:

Verbs of saying:

advise

ask

encourage

invite
 order

persuade

remind

tell

warn *

*Note: The verb warn is normally used with not

The police warned everyone not to drive too fast.

Verbs of wanting or liking:

expect

intend

would

prefer

want

would like

Other verbs with this pattern are:

allow

enable

force

get

teach

3. Passive infinitive

Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by a passive infinitive

(to be + past participle):

I expected to be met when I arrived at the station.

They wanted to be told if anything happened.
I dont like driving myself. I prefer to be driven.
Some verbs can be followed immediately by a to-infinitive:

afford demand like pretend

agree fail love promise

arrange forget manage refuse

ask hate mean (= intend) remember

begin help need start

choose hope offer try

continue intend plan want

decide learn prefer

I cant afford to go on holiday.

It began to rain.

She hopes to go to university next year.

My mother never learnt to swim.

Did you remember to ring Nigel?

Verbs followed by an infinitive without to

Let, make

Let and make are followed by an infinitive without to in active voice sentences. They
always have an object (underlined) before the infinitive:

Let me show you this DVD Ive got.

They made us wait while they checked our documents.

Not: They made us to wait

Help

Help can be followed by an infinitive without to or a to-infinitive:

She helped me find a direction in life.

Everyone can help to reduce carbon emissions by using public transport.

See also:

Help somebody (to) do

Let, lets

Make

Verbs followed by -ing or an infinitive without to

A group of verbs connected with feeling, hearing and seeing can be used with -ing or
with an infinitive without to:

feel notice see

hear overhear watch

When they are used with -ing, these verbs emphasise the action or event in progress.
When they are used with an infinitive without to, they emphasise the action or event
seen as a whole, or as completed.

Compare
 -ing infinitive without to

She heard people shouting in the street I heard someone shoutHelp!, so I

below and looked out of the ran to the river.(emphasises the whole
window. (emphasises that the shouting event: the person probably shouted
probably continued or was repeated) only once)

A police officer saw him runningalong Emily saw Philip run out of Sandras
the street. (emphasises the running as it office. (emphasises the whole event
was happening) from start to finish)

Verbs followed by a direct object and a to-infinitive

Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive. These
verbs include:

advise hate like persuade request

ask help love prefer teach

challenge instruct need recommend tell

 choose intend order remind want

forbid invite

I advised him to get a job as soon as possible.

Did Martin teach Gary to play squash?

They want me to go to Germany with them.

Stop + -ing form or to-infinitive

from English Grammar Today

We use the -ing form after stop to indicate that an action or event is no longer
continuing:

Its stopped raining. Lets go for a walk. (It was raining, but not any more.)

Weve stopped using plastic bags in supermarkets. We take our own bag with us now
when we go shopping.

We use the to-infinitive after stop to indicate that someone stops doing something in
order to do something else:

On the way to Edinburgh, we stopped to look at an old castle. (We were travelling,
then we stopped our journey in order to look at the castle.)

We stopped to have something to eat.

erbs followed by a direct object and a to-infinitive

Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive. These
verbs include:
 advise hate like persuade request

ask help love prefer teach

challenge instruct need recommend tell

choose intend order remind want

forbid invite

I advised him to get a job as soon as possible.

Did Martin teach Gary to play squash?

They want me to go to Germany with them.

Verbs Followed by Gerunds

f t g+ p
9 = verb followed by a gerund OR a noun + an infinitive
13 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with a difference in meaning
14 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with little difference in meaning

admit He admitted cheating on the test.

advise [9] The doctor generally advised drinking low-fat milk.

allow [9] Ireland doesn't allow smoking in bars.

anticipate I anticipated arriving late.

appreciate I appreciated her helping me.

avoid He avoided talking to her.

begin [14] I began learning Chinese.

can't bear [14] He can't bear having so much responsibility.

can't help He can't help talking so loudly.

can't see I can't see paying so much money for a car.

can't stand [14] He can't stand her smoking in the office.

cease [14] The government ceased providing free healthcare.

complete He completed renovating the house.

consider She considered moving to New York.

continue [14] He continued talking.

defend The lawyer defended her making such statements.

delay He delayed doing his taxes.

deny He denied committing the crime.

despise She despises waking up early.

discuss We discussed working at the company.

dislike She dislikes working after 5 PM.

don't mind I don't mind helping you.

dread [13] She dreads getting up at 5 AM.

encourage [9] He encourages eating healthy foods.

enjoy We enjoy hiking.

finish [13] He finished doing his homework.

forget [13] I forgot giving you my book.

hate [14] I hate cleaning the bathroom.

imagine He imagines working there one day.

involve The job involves traveling to Japan once a month.

keep She kept interrupting me.

like [14] She likes listening to music.

love [14] I love swimming.

mention He mentioned going to that college.

mind Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes.

miss She misses living near the beach.

need [13] The aquarium needs cleaning.

neglect [14] Sometimes she neglects doing her homework.

permit [9] California does not permit smoking in restaurants.

postpone He postponed returning to Paris.

practice She practiced singing the song.

prefer [14] He prefers sitting at the back of the movie theater.

propose [14] I proposed having lunch at the beach.

quit [13] She quit worrying about the problem.

recall Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

recollect She recollected living in Kenya.

recommend Tony recommended taking the train.

regret [13] She regretted saying that.

remember [13] I remember telling her the address yesterday.

report He reported her stealing the money.

require [9] The certificate requires completing two courses.

resent Nick resented Debbie's being there.

resist He resisted asking for help.

risk He risked being caught.

start [14] He started studying harder.

stop [13] She stopped working at 5 o'clock.

suggest They suggested staying at the hotel.

tolerate I tolerated her talking.

try [13] Sam tried opening the lock with a paperclip.

understand I understand his quitting.

urge [9] They urge recycling bottles and paper.

Verb combination (Infinitive vs -ing form)

A. -ing and infinitive (1): verb + -ing form or infinitive

1. Verbs followed by -ing form

avoid consider delay deny

dislike enjoy finish cant help
involve justify like (=enjoy) look forward
to
mind miss postpone practice
risk suggest cant stand carry on
put off
We delayed launching the product because of technical problems.

I look forward to meeting you next week.

I dont mind staying late.
I really enjoy travelling abroad

Note. In the expression look forward to, the word to is a preposition. Prepositions
(e.g., in, on, at, with, from, etc.) are always followed by the -ing form rather than
infinitive.

2. Expressions bellow are followed by the -ing form

Its a waste of time/money ...

Theres no point (in) ...
Its no use ...
Its (not) worth ...

It's not worth repairing the camera. It would be cheaper to buy a new one.

3. Verb followed by to + infinitive

afford agree arrange attempt claim

decide demand deserve expect fail
guarantee hesitate hope learn manage
neglect offer plan prepare pretend
promise refuse seem tend threaten
train want would
like
He has arranged to meet the visitors at the factory

We were very unhappy with service they had provided. We refused to pay
them.
The company is taking on a lot of new staff. They plan to extend their
researches in a new area.
He was angry about the way company had treated him. They threatened to stop
his project.

4. Passive forms

There are passive forms of the -ing form and the infinitive. The passive form of the -
ing form is made with being + past participle (e.g., being done):

Everyone likes being congratulated when they have worked hard.

The passive infinitive is formed by to be + past participle (e.g., to be done):
She expects to be promoted soon.

B. -ing and infinitive (2): verbs and objects

5. Verb + object + infinitive

There are a number of verbs that can take a direct object and to + infinitive.
common examples are:

advise allow ask enable encourage force

invite order persuade remind tell warn
The lawer advised me to read the contract carefully.
The negotiators persuaded the union to accept the pay deal.

The court ordered the company to pay compensation.

The fall in demand forced us to cut production
They invited me to speak at the conference.
6. Reporting what people say

Many of the words listed above can be used to report what people say

"Could you come back later?" he asked me.

He asked me to come back later.
The verb warn is usually used with not to do:
He said, "Don't put all your money in one company"
He warned me not to put all my money in one company.

7. Make and let

The verbs make and let are followed by an object and the bare infinitive (e.g., go,
work,see)

We use make to talk about something we have to do (but dont want to do)

She wanted to go home, but her boss made her stay until the work was
finished.

We use let when we talk about being given permission for something.

My boss let me have the afternoon off to go to my sisters wedding.

The verb help can be followed by an infinitive with or without to

Could you help me (to) put these boxes in the van.

7. Verbs of perception

The verb of perception (see, watch, notice, hear, listen, feel) are followed by bare
infinitive or by -ing form (present participle).

If we want to say that we heard or saw the whole action from beginning to end,
we usually use bare infinitive

I saw him sign the cheque.

 If we want to say that only saw or heard part of the action, we use -ing form

I saw the consultant waiting in reception.

(I saw consultant. He was waiting in reception.)

C. -ing and infinitive (3): changes in meaning

8. Verb + -ing or infinitive?

Some verbs can be followed by either -ing form or the infinitive and the meaning of
the verb changes. Here are some common examples:

I remember sending them I sent and I can remember

the cheque. now that did it.
I remembered to send them I remembered, and then I
the cheque. sent it.

I will never forget meeting I met him, and he

the President. impressed me.
I wont forget to give her I have made a note of it,
your message. and I will give it to her
when I see her.

We have stopped dealing We used to deal with them,

with that firm. but we don't deal with them
any more.
At 12.00 we stopped to We stopped for a break.
have a break

I regret saying that I was I said I was not interested

not interested in the work.
I regret to say that we will
not be able to give you a
contract.
in the work, and I now
think that was a bad
mistake.
I am sorry that I have to
say this.
If the printer doesnt work, Do this and see what
try turning everything off happens.
and then starting again.
I will try to negotiate a I will make an effort to do
better deal. this.

This advertisement needs This advertisement needs to

redesigning. be redesigned.
We need to increase Its necessary to increase
productivity productivity.

9. Like and would like

When the verb like means enjoy, its followed by the -ing form. However, the
expression would like (want to) is followed by the infinitive.

I like going abroad on marketing trips. (I enjoy this.)

I would like to go more often.(I want to go more often.)
We can also use prefer and would prefer in the same way.
I prefer working at home to working at the office. (I enjoy this more.)

10. to + -ing or infinitive?

The word to can be part of infinitive (I want to see you). However, in the following
examples, to is a preposition, so it is followed by the -ing form:

look forward to object to, an be used to, get

objection to used to
react to, a in addition to respond to, a
reaction to respond to

Mixed examples

There is nothing wrong with the photocopier. It just needs servicing.

We need to look at this proposal very carefully before we make a decision.
Ill make a note in my diary so that I will remember to send you information you
need.
I am not sure if I have met Mr. Martino, but I remember hearing his name.
Using Gerunds or infinitives
One of the difficulties of the English language is to know whether to use a gerund (ex : doing)
or an infinitive (ex : to do).

Generally speaking we can use the following rules:

Examples Rules Explanations

Verb + 1. I enjoy playing Often we use the 1. I enjoy myself at the

gerund 2. I denied stealing gerund for an action time of playing.
that 2. I deny having stolen
happens before or at anything before.
the same time as the
action of the main
verb.

Verb + 1. I decided to visit my Often we use the 1. Visiting my uncle

infinitive uncle infinitive for actions was an action of my
2. I want to go out that follow the action decision. It comes
of the main verb. after.
2. What I want (now) is
to go out (after/later)

These rules are helpful but DO NOT always explain all uses of gerunds and infinitives.

Verbs commonly followed by a gerund

1- After verbs that express likes/dislikes :

like

love

enjoy

dislike

hate

Example:

" I like playing soccer but I hate boxing."

Note "like/love/hate..." can be also followed by an infinitive:

Example:

I like to watch TV in the evening.

2- After verbs such as :

Verbs Examples

admit He admitted stealing the wallet.

advise I wouldn't advise buying a used car.

They don't allow smoking here. (Note that when an object is

allow introduced an infinitive is used instead of a gerund: they allowed us
to leave early.)

anticipate He anticipated passing the exam.

avoid She avoided meeting him.

appreciate I appreciate working with you.

complete They completed building their house.

consider She considered starting a new business.

delay She delayed doing her homework.

deny He denied stealing the money.

fancy Fancy meeting you here!

finish She finished writing the letter.

go go swimming.

imagine He imagines meeting her.

involve the job involves working in teams.

keep He keeps complaining about his girlfriend.

mention He mentioned working in that company.

mind Would you mind helping me?

miss He misses talking to her.

permit The don't permit smoking here. (Note that, like allow, when an object
is introduced an infinitive is used instead of a gerund: they permitted
 us to leave early.)

postpone They postponed traveling to Japan.

practice She practiced painting.

reject He rejected working with them.

resist He couldn't resist eating the cake.

risk She risks losing her job.

suggest I suggest leaving early.

waste Don't waste my time complaining.

time/money

3- After prepositions

aim at

keep on

interested in

instead of

good at

before ...

after ...

Example:

"I am interested in collecting stamps."

"After playing football I drank an orange juice".

4- After some expressions :

It's no use ...

It's no good ...

There's no point in ...

I can't help...
 I don't mind...

I can't stand/bear...

" It's no use convincing him to meet her. "

Verbs that can be followed by an infinitive

1- After verbs that generally refer to a future event:

Verbs Examples

afford We can't afford to buy a new car.

agree She agreed to help him.

aim The government aims to reduce illiteracy rates

arrange He arranged to stay at a hotel.

attempt He attempted to join them.

choose He chose to stay at home.

consent She consented to marry him.

decide They decided to go to the movies.

deserve He deserves to be punished.

demand He demanded to speak to Mrs. Lynch

endeavo They endeavor to provide the best possible service

r

expect They expected to arrive early.

fail He failed to convince him.

happen They happened to be at the theatre when we met them.

She helped me to do the exercise. (Note, help is also followed by a bare

help
infinitive: She helped me do the exercise.)

hope I hope to join you as soon as possible.

intend She intends to write an autobiography.

learn He learned to play the guitar when he was young.

manage He managed to do his homework without his mother's help.

 need I need to find a job.

offer He offers to help us.

plan He plans to follow a career as an engineer.

pretend The child pretended to be asleep.

proceed He proceeded to show us how to use the machine.

promise She promised to come on time.

refuse She refused to forgive him.

seem He seemed to be unhappy.

swear I swear to tell the truth.

threaten He threatened to reveal her secret.

volunte He always volunteers to help the needy.

er

want I want to finish my work early.

would He would hate to lose.

hate

would He would like to drink a cup of tea.

like

would I would love to meet you.

love

2- After adjectives

be determined

be disappointed

be glad

be happy

be pleased

Examples:
"I'm glad to know that you passed the exam."
"I'm pleased to meet you."
"I'm disappointed to hear that you flunked maths."

3- After "too" & "enough":

too difficult
easy enough

Example:

"It's too difficult to convince him to be helpful."

" But it's easy enough to fool him to get what you want."

Verbs that can be followed by both an infinitive and a gerund:

Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive. Here are some examples:

start

begin

stop

remember...

Example:

"I started smoking when I was young."

"I started to smoke when I left the office."

Gerund or Infinitive
he infinitive

What is the infinitive?

The infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to:

Examples:

'do' or 'to do'

'be' or 'to be'

The infinitive without to is called bare infinitive ('do', 'be')

The infinitive with to is called full infinitive ('to do', 'to be')
The bare infinitive

1. The bare infinitive is used as the main verb after the dummy auxiliary verb do, or most
modal auxiliary verbs (such as will, can, or should..)
Examples:
I do know him
I do like you.
I can do it .

2. Several common verbs of perception, including see, watch, hear, feel, and sense take
a direct object and a bare infinitive.
Examples:
I saw it happen
I watched it happen

3. The bare infinitive is also used with several common verbs of permission or causation,
including make, bid, let, and have.
Example:
I made/bade/let/had him do it.
(However, make takes a to-infinitive in the passive voice.
I was made to do it.

4. The bare infinitive is also used after had better.

Example:
You had better leave now

5. The verb help is followed by the bare infinitive.

Example:
He helped them do it. ("He helped them to do" it is also possible)

6. With the word why.

Example:
Why say it?

The full infinitive

The full infinitive is used as follows:

The full infinitive can function as a noun phrase. In this case it is used as follows.

o as a subject.
Examples:
To err is human, to forgive is divine.

o as an object.
Examples:
I intended to marry her.
He wanted to know the whole truth.
 It can also be used like an adjective or adverb.
Examples:
This is the game to watch. (to watch functions as an adjective,
modifying the noun game)
This is the problem to think about. (to think about functions as an adjective
modifying the noun 'the problem')
He went to his friend's house to study. (to study functions as an adverb answering the
question why he went to his friend's house)
He is ready to go. (to go functions as an adverb, modifying the adjective 'ready'.)

It is used to mean "in order to" to express purpose

Examples:
You need to exercise regularly to lose weight. (...in order to lose weight)
He works hard to earn a lot of money. (...in order to earn a lot of money

Principles of Composition

Verb Lists:
Infinitives and
Gerunds Select from. . .

Verbs Followed by an Infinitive

She agreed to speak before the game.

agree consent have offer shoot

aim continue hesitate ought start
appear dare hope plan stop
arrange decide hurry prefer strive
ask deserve intend prepare swear
attempt detest leap proceed threaten
be able dislike leave promise try
beg expect like propose use
begin fail long refuse wait
care forget love remember want
choose get mean say wish
condescend happen neglect

Verbs Followed by an Object and an Infinitive

Everyone expected her to win.

advise choose have love remind

allow command hire motivate require
ask dare instruct order send
beg direct invite pay teach
bring encourage lead permit tell
build expect leave persuade urge
buy forbid let prepare want
challenge force like promise warn

Note: Some of these verbs are included in the list above

and may be used without an object.

Verbs Followed by a Gerund

They enjoyed working on the boat.

admit delay finish permit resist

advise deny forbid postpone resume
appreciate detest get through practice risk
avoid dislike have quit spend (time)
can't help enjoy imagine recall suggest
complete escape mind report tolerate
consider excuse miss resent waste (time)

Verbs Followed by a Preposition and a Gerund

We concentrated on doing well.

admit to depend on plan on

approve of disapprove of prevent (someone) from
argue about discourage from refrain from
believe in dream about succeed in
care about feel like talk about
complain about forget about think about
concentrate on insist on worry about
confess to object to

Infinitive or -ing?
Sometimes we need to decide whether to use a verb in its:

to-infinitive form: to do, to sing

or in its
-ing form: doing, singing

For example, only one of the following sentences is correct:

One of these is wrong!

I dislike to work late. Which one?

I dislike working late.

Use infinitive...
after adjectives, for example:

disappointed, glad, happy, pleased, relieved, sad, surprised

This includes "too + adjective" and "adjective + enough". Look at these
example sentences:

I was happy to help them.

She will be delighted to see you.

The water was too cold to swim in.

Is your coffee too hot to drink?

He was strong enough to lift it.

She is rich enough to buy two.

after certain verbs, for example:

forget, help, learn, teach, train

choose, expect, hope, need, offer, want, would like

agree, encourage, pretend, promise

allow, can/can't afford, decide, manage, mean, refuse

Look at these example sentences:

I forgot to close the window.

 Mary needs to leave early.

Why are they encouraged to learn English?

We can't afford to take a long holiday.

Use -ing...
when the word is the subject of a clause:

Swimming is good exercise.

Doctors say that smoking is bad for you.

after a preposition:

I look forward to meeting you.

They left without saying goodbye.

after certain verbs:

avoid, dislike, enjoy, finish, give up, mind/not mind, practise

Look at these example sentences:

I dislike getting up early.

Would you mind opening the window?

Verb +
verb-ing

Background

When a verb is followed by another verb, the second verb must

be either an infinitive with 'to' such as 'to do', 'to make', 'to go'
etc. or an -ing form such as 'doing', 'making', 'going'. In this
episode of The Flatmates, the police officer says 'Would
you mind answering a few questions...?' The form of the
second verb depends on the first verb, and/or the speaker's
intended meaning.
Some of the rules about verb + verb-ing are given here.

Basic verbs

Verb-ing is used after these verbs:

admit avoid consider deny fancy

finish hate imagine mind love

postpone regret risk stop suggest

Examples:
The children admitted taking the sweets.
I considered becoming a singer when I left
school.
Do you fancy going to see a movie tonight?
Would you mind opening the window? It's
rather hot in here.
He suggested eating out, but I had already
prepared dinner at home.

Phrasal verbs

Verb-ing is used after these phrasal verbs:

carry on give up go on keep on put off

Examples:
The children carried on playing even though it
had started to rain.
I gave up smoking 3 years ago.
The teacher went on talking even though
some of the students weren't listening.
Why do you keep on eating fatty food when
you know it's bad for you?

Negatives

To make the -ing verb negative, use not:

Would you mind not making so much noise?

I like not having to get up early at weekends.

Somebody

It is possible to use the structure verb +

somebody + verb-ing:
 I can't imagine you living in a foreign country.
I don't like you telling me what to do all the
time.

In the passive form, use being and the past

participle:

I don't like being told what to do all the time.

Vocabulary

authenticity (n)
the quality or condition of being real, trustworthy, or genuine

in doubt
under question, not fully believed

at some length
thoroughly, completely or repeatedly; for a long time

as it happens
this is an informal expression which means 'actually'

1 Some verbs are followed by the to-infinitive:

I decided to go home as soon as possible.

We all wanted to have more English classes.

Common verbs followed by the to-infinitive are:

Verbs of thinking and feeling:

choose

decide

expect

forget

hate

hope

intend

learn

like
 love

mean

plan

prefer

remember

would like

would love

Verbs of saying:

agree

promise

refuse

Other common verbs are:

arrange

attempt

fail

help

manage

tend

try

want

2 Some verbs are followed by a noun and the to-infinitive:

She asked him to send her a text message.

He wanted all his friends to come to his party.

Common verbs with this pattern are:

Verbs of saying:
 advise

ask

encourage

invite

order

persuade

remind

tell

warn *

*Note: The verb warn is normally used with not

The police warned everyone not to drive too fast.

Verbs of wanting or liking:

expect

intend

would

prefer

want

would like

Other verbs with this pattern are:

allow

enable

force

get

teach
 3. Passive infinitive

Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by a passive infinitive

(to be + past participle):

I expected to be met when I arrived at the station.

They wanted to be told if anything happened.
I dont like driving myself. I prefer to be driven.

Common verbs followed by ing nouns are:

Verbs of liking and disliking:

detest

dislike

enjoy

hate

fancy

like

love

I love swimming but I hate jogging.

They always enjoyed visiting their friends.
A: Do you fancy going for a walk?
B: I wouldnt mind

Phrases with mind:

wouldnt mind (= would like)

dont mind (= I am willing to)

would you mind (= will you please?)

I wouldnt mind having some fish and chips.

I dont mind waiting for a few minutes.
Would you mind holding this for me?

Verbs of saying and thinking:

admit
 consider

deny

imagine

remember

suggest

Our guide suggested waiting until the storm was over.

Everyone denied seeing the accident.

Other common verbs are:

avoid

begin

finish

keep

miss

practise

risk

start

stop

I havent finished writing this letter.

Lets practise speaking English.

Passive form of -ing

Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by the passive form of -ing: being + past
participle

I dont like being interrupted.

Our dog loves being stroked under the chin.

Noun + -ing clause

Some verbs are followed by a noun and an -ing clause:

 Verbs to do with the senses:

see

watch

hear

smell

listen to

etc.

We saw everybody running away.

I could hear someone singing.

Other common verbs:

catch

find

imagine

leave

prevent

stop

I caught someone trying to break into my house.

We couldnt prevent them getting away.

With "that"

We can use clauses with that:

after verbs of thinking:

think

believe

expect

decide
 hope

know

understand

suppose

guess

imagine

feel

remember

forget

I hope that you will enjoy your holiday.

She didnt really think that it would happen.
I knew that I had seen her somewhere before.

after verbs of saying:

say

admit

argue

reply

agree

claim

deny

mention

answer

complain

explain

promise
 suggest

They admitted that they had made a mistake.

She argued that they should invest more in the business.
The children complained that they had nothing to do.

Note: tell and some other verbs of saying almost always have a direct object (see
clauses, sentences and phrases). There are also some fixed expressions with tell such
as tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a story, tell it like it is.

tell

convince

persuade

inform

remind

We tried to tell them that they should stop what they were doing.
The police informed everybody that the danger was over.

as postmodifiers after nouns to do with thinking or saying:

advice

belief

claim

feeling

argument

hope

promise

report

guess

opinion

idea

He made a promise that he would do all he could to help.

I had a funny feeling that something was wrong.
 after some nouns to say more about the noun:

fact

advantage

effect

possibility

chance

danger

evidence

problem

difficulty

She pointed out the danger that they might be left behind.
There was a chance that we would succeed

Note: We often use a that clause to define one of these nouns after the verb be :

danger

problem

chance

possibility

fact

The danger is that we will be left behind.

The fact is that it is getting very late.

after some adjectives which describe feelings to give a reason for our feelings:

pleased

sorry

happy

unhappy
 sad

excited

glad

disappointed

afraid

I am sorry that you cant come.

Everybody was pleased that the danger was past.
It is lucky that you were able to drive us home.

No "that"

NOTE: We can always use a clause without the word that:

They admitted [that] they had made a mistake.

The police informed everybody [that] the danger was over.
I am sorry [that] you cant come.
There was chance [that] we would succeed.