VERB PATTERNS IN ENGLISH

Verbs patterns refer to what follows a verb.

For example, some verbs can stand alone, (They laughed). Others have to be
followed by an object (They loved it). Other verbs are followed by objects +
prepositions (Put it on the table), or verbs in other forms (I hate waiting, I prefer to
walk), or by a clause (They told us to wait. He told us (that) we were wrong. She
agreed to come. We agreed (that) it was better). The meaning of the verb is often
in the whole pattern, not just in the verb.

1. We use gerunds (verb + ing):

• After certain verbs - I enjoy singing

• After prepositions - I drank a cup of coffee before leaving
• As the subject or object of a sentence - Swimming is good exercise

2. We use the full infinitive ('to' + infinitive):

• After certain verbs - We decided to leave

• After many adjectives - It's difficult to get up early
• With clauses of purpose:- I came to London to study English

3. We use the bare infinitive (infinitive without to):

• After modal verbs - I can meet you at six o'clock

• After 'let', 'make' and (sometimes) 'help' - The teacher let us leave early
• After some verbs of perception (see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense) - I watched
her walk away
• After expressions with 'why' - Why go out the night before an exam?
 GERUNDS (V-ING)
Here are some of the most common verbs that are usually followed by the gerund.

• enjoy: I enjoyed living in France.

• fancy: I fancy seeing a film tonight.
• discuss: We discussed going on holiday together.
• dislike: I dislike waiting for buses.
• finish: We've finished preparing for the meeting.
• mind: I don't mind coming early.
• suggest: He suggested staying at the Grand Hotel.
• recommend: They recommended meeting earlier.
• keep: He kept working, although he felt ill.
• avoid: She avoided talking to her boss.
• miss: She misses living near the beach.
• appreciate: I appreciated her helping me.
• delay: He delayed doing his taxes.
• postpone: He postponed returning to Paris
• practise: She practised singing the song.
• consider: She considered moving to New York.
• can't stand: He can't stand her smoking in the office.
• can't help: He can't help talking so loudly.
• risk: He risked being caught.
• admit: He admitted cheating on the test.
• involve: The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.
• deny: She denied giving him the money.

New subject before -ing

Some of these verbs (e.g. can’t stand, dislike, imagine, involve, mind, miss, put
off and risk) can be used with a new subject before the -ing form. If the new subject
is a pronoun, it is in the object form (me, him, her, us, them):

• We just couldn’t imagine Gerry singing in public.

• Do you mind me being here while you’re working?
• I don’t want to risk him losing his job.
 FULL INFINITIVE
Here are some common verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive.

• agree: She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting.

• ask*: I asked to leave early / I asked him to leave early.
• decide: We decided to go out for dinner.
• help*: He helped to clean the kitchen / he helped his flatmate to clean the kitchen.
• plan: She plans to buy a new flat next year.
• hope: I hope to pass the exam.
• learn: They are learning to sing.
• want*: I want to come to the party / I want him to come to the party.
• would like*: I would like to see her tonight / I would like you to see her tonight.
• promise: We promised not to be late.
• can afford: We can't afford to go on holiday.
• manage: He managed to open the door without the key.
• prepare*: They prepared to take the test /the teachers prepared the students to
take the test.
• demand: He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris.
• choose: I chose to help.
• offer: Frank offered to drive us to the supermarket.
• seem: Nancy seemed to be disappointed.
• wait: She waited to buy a movie ticket.
• would hate*: I'd hate to be late / I'd hate you to be late.
• would love*: I'd love to come / I'd love him to come.
• expect*: They expect to arrive early / they expect Julie to arrive early
• intend: We intend to visit you next spring
• pretend: The child pretended to be a monster.
• refuse: The guard refused to let them enter the building.
• tend: He tends to be a little shy.
• would prefer*: I'd prefer to do it / I'd prefer him to do it.
• deserve: He deserves to go to jail.
• appear: His health appeared to be better.
• arrange: Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.
• claim: She claimed to be a princess.

*We can use an object before the infinitive with these verbs.
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.
I love cooking Indian food. (emphasis on the process itself and enjoyment of it)
I like to drink juice in the morning, and tea at lunchtime. (emphasis more on the
preference or habit)
She hates cleaning her room. (emphasis on the process itself and no enjoyment of
it)
I hate to be the only person to disagree. (emphasis more on the result: I would
prefer not to be in that situation.)
➢ When hate, like, love and prefer are used
with would or should, only the to-infinitive is used,
not the -ing form:
She’d love to get a job nearer home. Not: She’d love
getting a job nearer home.
Would you like to have dinner with us on Friday?

With the verb to START there is no difference in meaning

 INFINITIVE OR GERUND WITH A CHANGE IN MEANING
These verbs can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive with a change in
meaning.

Remember + gerund

This is when you remember something that has happened in the past. You have a
memory of it, like being able to see a movie of it in your head.

• I remember going to the beach when I was a child. (= I have a memory of going to
the beach).
• He remembers closing the door. (= He has a memory of closing the door).

Remember + to + infinitive

This is when you think of something that you need to do. (And usually, you then do
the thing).

• I remembered to buy milk. (= I was walking home and the idea that I needed milk
came into my head, so I bought some).
• She remembered to send a card to her grandmother.

Forget + gerund

This is the opposite of remember + gerund. It's when you forget about a memory,
something that you've done in the past.

• Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about it.
• I told my brother that we'd spent Christmas at Granny's house in 1985, but he'd
forgotten going there.

Forget + to + infinitive

This is the opposite of remember + to + infinitive. It's when you want to do

something, but you forget about it.

• I forgot to call my mother. (= I wanted to call my mother, but when it was a good
time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking about something else, and the idea to call
my mother didn't come into my head).
• She keeps forgetting to bring his book back.

Try + gerund

This is when you do something as an experiment. The thing you do is not difficult, but
you want to see if doing it will have the result that you want.
• I wanted to stop smoking, so I tried using nicotine patches. (= Using nicotine
patches was easy, but I wanted to know if it would help me stop smoking).
• She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight. (It was easy for her
to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see if it would help her lose weight, but it
didn't).

Try + to + infinitive

This is when the thing you do itself is difficult. In the present tense or future tense, this
means you might not succeed in doing it. In the past tense, it means that you made
an effort to do the thing, but you did not succeed.

• I'll try to carry the suitcase, but it looks too heavy for me.
• She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.

Look at the difference:

• I tried giving up chocolate (it was no problem to stop eating chocolate) but it didn't
make me feel healthier.
• I tried to give up chocolate, but it was too hard. I always ate some when my friends
offered it to me.

• It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window (it was easy to open the
window). It didn't help though because it was very hot outside too.
• I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck.

Stop + gerund

When we stop doing something it means the verb in

the gerund is the thing that we stop. It can mean
'stop forever' or 'stop at that moment'.

• I stopped working when I was expecting a baby.

(Working is the thing I stopped).
• My grandmother stopped driving when she was 85.
(Driving is the thing she stopped).

• My boss came into the room, so I stopped browsing

the internet.
• There was a fire alarm, so I stopped eating and went
outside.

Stop + to + infinitive

In this case, we stop something else in order to do

the verb in the infinitive.
• I stopped to eat lunch. (I stopped something else, maybe working or studying,
because I wanted to eat lunch.
• She was shopping and she stopped to get a cup of coffee. (She stopped shopping
because she wanted to get a cup of coffee).

Look at the difference:

• I stopped smoking. (I gave up cigarettes OR I threw away my cigarette at that

moment).
• I stopped to smoke. (I stopped doing something else because I wanted to have a
cigarette).

Regret + gerund

This is when you are sorry about something you did in the past and you wish you
hadn't done it.

• I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today.

• She regrets leaving school when she was sixteen. She wishes that she had studied
more and then gone to university.

Regret + to + infinitive

We use this construction when we are giving someone bad news, in quite a formal
way. The verb is almost always something like 'say' or 'tell' or 'inform'.

• I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.

• The company regrets to inform employees that the London office will close next
year.
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 I’ve 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.

(Note that 'help' can also be followed by the infinitive without 'to' with no difference
in meaning: 'I helped to carry it' = 'I helped carry it'.)
6A gerunds and infinitives
a
2 going to see 3 go out 4 to have 5 not stay
6 working 7 to wear 8 live 9 Laughing
10 to finish 11 seeing 12 not to tell 13 work
14 seeing 15 to help 16 waiting 17 to park
18 speaking 19 getting up/ to get up 20 not come
21 spending 22 to give
b
2 not to be 3 changing 4 meeting 5 arriving
6 to revise 7 to tell 8 turning