Verbs Followed by Infinitives and Gerund (–ing)

Infinitive form is the form of a verb which is found in dictionaries and which cannot be affected by
number, pronoun, and tense change.
 They want to work hard.
 They wanted to work hard.
 She wants to work hard.
 I want to work hard.

Infinitives do not usually show the actual times of actions or events. It refers to actions or events
in a more general way, rather like –ing forms (gerund). It is generally used with the marker ‘to’.

Besides, simple infinitives like ‘to write’, there are also progressive infinitives like ‘to be writing’.
Here, we will see the simple infinitives.

Simple infinitives have many functions. They can be used with certain verbs with direct structures
as follows:
 Verbs followed by infinitives with ‘to’
 With expressions without ‘to’ e.g. would rather
 With ‘but’ and ‘except’
 to show purpose (purpose infinitive) e.g. He went to London to look for work.
 with the first/the last/the only one … e.g. He is the only one to be successful.
 After various adjectives and adjective/noun phrases e.g. It was kind of you to help us.
 After too and enough
 As a subject
 After whether

When –ing forms are used more like nouns, they are often called gerunds.

From Swan 2016 and Eastwood 1994

Verbs Followed by Infinitives (with to)

(can't) bear be• 76 dare guarantee neglect propose threaten
afford begin decide happen offer prove train
agree can't wait demand hasten omit refuse turn out
care(= want) have ought seek undertake
aim fail
choose hesitate plan seem used
appear get (=
arrange claim succeed) hope prepare start
attempt come go on intend pretend swear
consent grow long promise tend
be dying
continue manage
Examples:-
Afford (= have enough money/time) –
Afford is used after can/could or be able to. It is often in a negative sentence or a question.
 Do you think we'll be able to afford to go to India?
Agree – We can use agreewith a to-infinitive but not accept.
 Brian agreed to pay half the cost. NOT Brian accepted to pay half.
be dying We use be dying(= want very much) only in the continuous.
 I'm dying to have a swim./I'm dying for a swim.
Care – is normally used in a negative sentence or a question.
 Would you care to come along with us?
Hope –I hope to see you next week.
– I hope that I'll see you next week.
Claim –He claimed to be an expert.
– He claimed that she was an expert.
Manage –I managed to reach the top of the hill.
Appear –It appeared that no-one had locked the door.
– He appeared to be lost.
Seem –It seems that she is running late.
– She seems to be running late.
Care to do something (= want, wish, like) – I care to do her job.
–Would you care to swim?
Intend (have a plan in mind) – I intend to visit Bahir Dar.
Dare (auxiliary) – She dares (to) say so.
Happen (=chance) – She happened to speak English more fluently. (*Chance is more formal.)
Help – Learning helps to be polite. (*to be polite, underlyingly, is direct object.)
Offer (express/show willingness/intention to do/give/etc. something) – He offered to leave.
Prepare (be prepared to do something/be able and willing to do something) -
Trouble (used especially in questions and negative sentences) – Why should I trouble to explain it all.

Verbs Followed by Object + Infinitive with ‘to’

(can't) bear compel force invite order remind tempt
cause encourage instruct leave permit request warn
command forbid intend oblige persuade tell
Examples:-
Bribe – I bribed him to let me go. (The subject is to go and the object is to let)
– I bribed him to go to school. (The object is to go to school.)
Challenge – I challenged him to leave. (The object is to leave.)
Challenge – The professor challenged his students to argue with his theory.
Command – The general commanded his men to surrender.
– The general commanded that his men surrender.
Empower – This law empowers the government to charge higher taxes.
Force – You can't force me to do something I don't agree with.
Get (with an infinitive, get can mean ‘manage’, have an opportunity or be allowed)
 We didn’t get to see her. (She was too busy.)
With an object, the ‘infinitive’ means make somebody/something do something or persuade
somebody/something to do something.
 I will get her to do the homework.
Get …ing is sometimes used informally to mean ‘start … ing’ especially in the expression ‘get
moving’, ‘get going’.
 With an object, ‘get … ing’ means make sb/sth ‘start … ing’.
Inspire – What inspired you to write this poem?
Invite – I invited the new student to have dinner with me.
Leave –
Persuade – You can't persuade people to buy small cars.
Remind – He reminded me to take my notebook to school.
Trouble – I trouble you to watch your manner.
Trust – I trust you to tell the truth.
– I trust that you are telling the truth.
Verbs meaning ‘order’ or ‘request’:advise, ask, beg, command, encourage, instruct, invite, order,
persuade, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn
Tell (= order) – The doctor told Celia to stay in bed.(Here Celia is the indirect object, and the
infinitive clause is the direct object.)
Persuade – We persuaded our neighbours to turn the music down.
A finite clause is possible, but it is sometimes a little formal.
– We persuaded our neighbours that they should turn the music down.
We cannot use suggest in this pattern.
– We suggested (to our neighbours) that they might turn the music down. (Correct)
– We suggested our neighbours to turn the music down. (wrong)
The main clause can be passive.
 Our neighbours were persuaded to turn the music down.
Verbs meaning ‘Cause’ and ‘Help’: allow, authorize, cause, compel, drive, enable, forbid, force,
get, help, intend, lead, mean, oblige, permit, require, teach, train
Force – The crisis has forced the government to act.
Enable – This portable phone enables me to keep in touch with the office.
We can use a finite clause after requireand intend, but it is a little formal.
 We never intended that the information should be made public.
A finite clause after allow, permitor forbidis not very usual.
 NOT:The university allows that students change their subject.
We can use ‘there’as the subject of the infinitive clause. It is rather formal.
 The regulations permit there to be no more than two hundred people in the hall.
The main clause can be passive.
 The government has been forced to act.
But cause and get cannot be passive before an infinitive.
For ‘get’ in this pattern, e.g. I got Mike to lend me his electric drill.
After helpwe can leave out to.
 I'm helping my friend (to) find aflat.
Verbs meaning ‘say’ and ‘think’: announce, assume, believe, consider, declare, discover,
estimate, feel, find, imagine, judge, know, presume, report, reveal, show, suppose, understand
 The judges announced the result to be a draw.
 The police believed the Mafia to have committed the crime.
All these verbs can have a finite clause after them.
 The police believed (that) the Mafia had committed the crime.
We often use the infinitive to be in this pattern. We can sometimes leave out to be,especially after
declare, believe, consider and find.
 The country declared itself (to be) independent.
We can use consider but not regard.
 We consider ourselves (to be) a separate nation.
 We regard ourselves as a separate nation.
We can use there as the subject of the infinitive clause.
 We understood there to be money available.
The passive pattern is more common than the active.
 The Mafia were believed to have committed the crime.
We can use say and think in the passive pattern but not in the active.
Verbs Followed by Infinitive with ‘to’ and Object + Infinitive with ‘to’
Some of the verbs followed by infinitives with ‘to’ can also be followed by object + infinitive with
‘to’. These verbs include:
ask expect intend love (= like mean prefer wish help
beg hate like very much) need want get trouble
Examples:
Ask (= invite) – She has asked to come. (She is the comer.)
– She has asked him to come. (He (the object) is to come.)
– I asked him to take the book. (He (the object) is a receiver.)
– We asked the teacher not to give us any homework.
Beg– She begged to go. (She is to go.)
– I beg him to go. (The object is to go.)
Help – Infinitives without to, in British English, is rather informal.
– Can you help me (to) find the book?
‘help’ can also be followed directly by an infinitive without direct object.
– Would you like (to) help wash up?
– We all helped (to) put up the tent.
Expect – I expected Dave to meet me.(= I expected (that) Dave would meet me.) (Here Dave is
the object of the verb expected. It also functions as the subject of to meet.)
– I expected to see Dave. (= I expected (that) I would see Dave.)
– I expected to be met. (= I expected (that) I would be met.)(passive)
– Dave was expected to meet me. (passive)
– I waited for Dave to ring.(for the pattern with for)
Intend (= have a fixed plan for somebody else) – I intend you to take over.
Verbs of wanting and liking: want, wish, (would) like, (would) love, (would) prefer, (would) hate
and can't bear
 I want everyone to enjoy themselves.
 I'd like you to hold the door open for me.
With most of these verbs we cannot use a finite clause.
 NOT I want that everyone enjoys themselves.
We can use there as the subject of the infinitive clause. This is rather formal.
 We'd prefer there to be an adult in charge.
After like, love, prefer and hate we can use it when/if + clause.
 I hate it when you ignore me. My aunt would love it if we took her out for a drive.
The main clause cannot be passive.
 NOT: Everyone is wanted to enjoy themselves.
But the infinitive can be passive.
I'd like the door to be held open.

Verbs Followed by Object + Infinitive without ‘to’

Make,let, see, feel, watch, hear, notice, have, and sometimes knowand help, are followed by
object + infinitive without ‘to’.
 Why won't you let me explain?
 I heard her open the door and go out.
Some verbs cannot be followed by object + infinitive; for example suggest.
 I suggested that she should go home, ( not: I suggested her to go home.) Or
 I suggested going home.
Auxiliary Verbs Followed by the Infinitive
with‘to’ without ‘to’
 be/have/ought all modal verbs except ‘ought’
dare (to) + -ing

Expressions without ‘to’

would rather/sooner rather than
had better sooner than

When the subject of ‘would rather/sooner’ is the subject of the action that follows, the structure is
‘would rather/sooner + V1 (infinitive)’.

With ‘but’ and ‘except’ without ‘to’



‘to’ shows purpose. e.g. He went to London to look for work.

With the first/the last/the only onee.g. He is the only one to be successful.

After various adjectives and adjective/noun patterns

e.g. It was kind of you to help us.
What a terrible way to bring up a child!

After ‘too’ and ‘enough’

e.g. It is too hot to drink.
It is not warm enough to go for a swim.

As a subject
e.g To swim out of your depth is dangerous (= It is dangerous to swim out of your depth.)

After ‘whether’ e.g. He wants to know whether to buy oranges or bananas.

Many of the verbs listed above can also be followed by other constructions such as an –ing form or
a that-clause.

Verbs Followed by Gerund (–ing forms)

(can’t) help (=can’t burst out (crying/ enjoy involve put off
prevent/avoid) laughing) escape justify resist
(can't) stand (=can’t confess excuse keep (on) resume
tolerate/endure)
consider face leave off risk
admit contemplate fancy mention save
anticipate delay feel like mind stand
appreciate deny finish miss suggest
avoid detest forgive postpone tolerate
be used to dislike give up practise understand
endure imagine resent
Examples:
Mindis normally used in a negative sentence or a question.
 Do you mind carrying this bag for me?
Enjoy –I enjoy sailing, (not:I enjoy to sail.)
Stand (= tolerate) – Stand is used after can/could or be able to, often in a negative sentence or a
question.
 I can't stand sitting around doing nothing.
Be used to – Be used tois used to mean somethingis familiar ora person has experienced it so
much that it is no longer strange or new. It can be followed by the + n or gerund (-ing)
forms, but not infinitives.
  I’ve lived in Central London for six years now, so I'm used to the noise.
 At the beginning I couldn't understand Londoners because I wasn't used to the accent.
 I’m used to driving in London now, but it was hard at the beginning. (not I'm used to drive
in London . . .)
 It was a long time before she was used to working with old people.

‘Used’is an adjective in this structure, and can be modified by quite or very.

 I’m quite used to her little ways.

Verbs that can take both infinitives and gerunds

Some verbs can be followed by both –ing forms and infinitives. Unfortunately, there is no easy way
to decide which structures are possible after a particular verb. It is best to check in a good
dictionary. Some examples are here.
advise continue go on like propose see watch
allow fear hate love quit start
attempt forbid hear mean recommend stop
begin forget intend permit regret teach
can’t hear go learn prefer remember try

Some of these verbs can take either a to-infinitive or a gerund with almost no difference in
[Link] verbs are begin, bother, can't bear, cease, commence, continue, hate, intend,like,
love, prefer, propose, start.
1. Like, Love, Hate, and Prefer
After these four verbs, both infinitives and –ing forms can generally be used without a great
difference of meaning.
e.g. Hate – I hate to leave/hate leaving everything to the last minute.
In British English, like + -ing is used mostly to talk about enjoyment, and like + infinitive
mostly to talk about choices and habits.
 I like climbing mountains. (enjoyment)
 When I am pouring tea, I like to put the milk in first (choices/habits)
After would like, would prefer, would hate and would love, infinitives are most often used.
Compare:
 Do you like dancing (= Do you enjoy dancing)?
Would you like to dance (= Do you want to dance now)?

Like takes a to-infinitive when it means that something is a good idea, rather than a
pleasure.
 I like to keep all these papers in order.
 I didn't like to complain. (= I didn't complain because it wasn't a good idea.)
 I didn't like complaining. (= I complained, but I didn't enjoy it.)

2. When the main verb has a continuous form, we normally avoid using another –ing form
after it.
 The spectators were already beginning to arrive. NOT beginning arriving
3. Begin, Start and Continue
Begin, Start and continue can be followed by infinitives or –ing forms. Usually there is no
important difference.
 I soon began to understand what the problems were.
After progressive forms of ‘begin’, ‘start’and ‘continue’, infinitives are preferred.
 I’m beginning to learn karate. (not: I’m beginning learning karate)
4. Commence and cease are formal.
5. Bother is normally in a negative sentence or question.
 Don't bother to wash/bother washing up.
 6. advise, allow, permit and forbid
In active clauses after these verbs, we use an –ing form if there is no object. If there is
object, we use an infinitive. Compare:
 I wouldn’t advise taking the car – there is nowhere to park.
I wouldn’t advise you to take the car.
 We don’t allow/permit smoking in the lecture room.
We don’t allow/permit people to smoke in the lecture room.
 The headmistress has forbidden singing in the corridors.
The headmistress has forbidden children to sing in the corridors.
Note the corresponding passive structures.
 Smoking is not allowed/permitted in the lecture room.
People are not allowed/permitted to smoke in the lecture room.
 Singing has been forbidden.
Children have been forbidden to sing.
 Early booking is advised.
 People are advised to book early.
7. attempt, intend, can’t bear, be accustomed to, be committed to
After these words and expressions, we can generally use either an –ing form or an infinitive
without much difference of meaning.
 I intend telling/to tell her what I think.
 We intend to take/intend taking immediate action.
 I’m not accustomed to giving/give personal information about myself to strangers.

In some cases there is a difference of meaning between the two structures (-ing and infinitive
forms after a verb). This happens after remember, forget, regret, dread, try, stop, quit, mean, go on,
need, want, require, deserve, see, watch, hear, learn and teach.

1. remember and forget:

Remember/forget + infinitive refers to forward in time – to things that one still has or still
had to do at the moment of remembering or [Link] is, we use remember and forget
with a to-infinitive to talk about necessary actionsand whether we do them or not
 I forgot to meet him. (I didn’t meet him because I forgot to do it.)
 She remembered to visit her grandmother. (She didn’t forget to visit.)
 Did you remember to turn off the electricity?
 You forgot to sign the cheque. Oh, sorry.

We use remember/forget + -ing (gerund) to talk about memories of the past, to things that
one did. Forget … -ing is used mostly in phrase ‘I’ll never forget … -ing, and expressions
with similar meanings.
 I'll never forget breaking down in the middle of Glasgow. It was awful.
 I don't know. I can't remember turning it off.
 I forgot meeting him. (I met him before but I don’t have the memory of that.)
 She remembered visiting her grandmother. (She had memories of this time.)
NOTE
We can use a finite clause instead of a gerund clause.
 I'll never forget (the time) when we broke down.
 I can't remember if/whether I turned it off.

2. regret
Regret + -ing refers back to the past – something that one is sorry for one did.
 I regret leaving school at 14.
  I regret promising to help you. (I’m sorry that I made the promise.)
 We regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful.
 I regret wasting/regret having wasted so much time last year.

Regret + infinitiveis used mostly in announcement of bad news.

 We regret to inform passengers that the 14:50 train for Cardiff will leave
approximately 37 minutes late.
 I regret to tell you that we can’t hire you. (I’m telling you now, and I’m sorry.)

3. Dread
We use dread + to-infinitive mainly in the expression I dread to think/imagine...
 I dread to think what might happen to you all alone in a big city.

We use a gerund for something that causes fear.

 I always dreaded being kissed by my aunts.

4. Try
To talk about an experiment doing something to see what will happen(do something which
might solve the problem), we use try + -ing
 I'm trying to light a fire, but this wood won't burn. ~
 Why don't you try pouring some petrol on it?

To talk about making an effort to do something (attempt to do) difficult, we can use either
try + infinitive or try + -ing.
 I tried to change/changing the wheel.
 I tried to open the window. (This was one option I sampled. May be the room was hot.)

NOTE
In informal English we can use try and instead of try to.
 Let's try and move the cupboard away from the wall.

5. Stop and Quit

After stop and quitwe often use the to-infinitive of purpose. But stop/quit+ gerund means to
endan action.
 At the next services he stopped to buy a newspaper.
 You'd better stop dreaming and get on with some work.
 I stop running. (= no more running now)
I stop to run. (= I stop doing another action so as to begin running.)
 I stopped calling you. (I stopped this activity. Maybe we had a fight.)
 I stopped to call you. (I interrupted another action in order to call you.)
 She quit to work here. (She quit another job in order to work here.)
 She quit working here. (She quit her job here. She doesn’t work here anymore.)
Stop (in an informal style) and preventare often followed by object + from + -ing form.
 Try to stop/prevent them (from) finding out.

6. Mean
‘Mean,’ in the sense of ‘involve’, expresses result and can be followed by an –ing form.
e.g. If you want to pass the exam, it will mean studying hard.

In the sense of ‘intend’, ‘mean’ is followed by an infinitive.

 I don’t think she means to get married for the moment.
 I'm sorry. I didn't mean to step on your foot.
 I have to be at the airport by nine. It means getting up early.
 7. Go on + -ing means ‘continue’ doing something.
 She went on talking about her illness until we all went to sleep.
 He went on learning English and French. (He continued learning the languages.)
 The band went on playing even after everyone had left.
Go on + infinitive means ‘ended the first action and started another one’.That is, it means to
do something different, to do the next thing.
 He went on to learn English and French. (He ended one period of time before this.)

8. Need, Want, Require and Deserve

We usually use need, want, require and deserve with a to-infinitive.
 We need to leave at eight. Tony wants to borrow your typewriter.
 Your landlady wants you to post these letters.

A gerund after these verbs has a passive [Link] structure is more common in British
(informal) than American English.
 The typewriter needs/wants cleaning.(= ... needs/wants to be cleaned.)
 The car wants servicing. (= ... needs to be serviced.)
 I don't think his article deserves reading. (= . . . deserves to be read.)
 Your hair needs cutting. (= . . . needs to be cut.)

9. See, Watch, and Hear

After these verbs, the difference between object + -ing form and object + infinitive is like
the difference between progressive and simple tenses. With –ing forms the verbs suggest that
one pays attention to events or actions that are already going on; infinitives usually refer to
complete events/actions which are seen/heard from beginning to end.
 I hear him cry. (hear from beginning to end)
I hear him crying. (pay attention to the action already going on)
 I saw him cross the road. (see from beginning to end)
I saw him crossing the road. (pay attention to the action already going on)

10. Learn/Teach
These verbs (and others with similar meanings) are followed by –ing forms when we are
referring to lesson or subjects of study.
 teach skiing, learn typing

Infinitives are used when we talk about the result of the study – about successfully learning
of a skill.
 She learnt to read German at school.
 I taught myself to type.
 She taught her students to appreciate poetry.

Verbs Followed by Object + -ing form

Some of the verbs listed above, and some others, can be followed by object + -ing form.
 Dislike – I dislike people telling me what to think.
 Imagine – I can't imagine him working in an office.
 Stop – Nobody can stop him doing what he wants to.
 Spend – He spends all his time gardening.
 Catch – I caught the next-door children stealing my apples.
 Find – We found a dead mouse lying on the kitchen floor.
 See – I saw him talking to her.
Adjective + to-infinitive
Exercise from Exercise Book
1. They hoped him alive.
[Link] B. to find C, found D. finds
2. Our English teacher made us our homework regularly.
A. to do B. do C, did D. doing
3. Your mother is looking forward you soon.
A. to see B. to seeing C, for seeing D. on seeing
4. You should develop the habit of letters as soon as you can get them.
A. reply to B. replying C, replying for D. replying to
5. I’m much ‘berberie’.
A. used to eating B. be used to eating C, be used to eat D. used to eat
6. The teachers caught me my friend.
A. to copy from B. copying from C, copying to D. copy to
7. He avoided fatty foods.
A. eating B. eat C, to eat D. not to eat
8. Some of the students have finished their exercises.
A. do B. doing C, work D. working E. making
9. The lecturer doesn’t mind on Sundays.
A. to teach B. teaching C, if teaching D. having taught
10. The blackboard needs .
A. rub out B. cleaning C, cleans D. to be cleaning
11. The student wants me the sentence again.
A. saying B. repeating [Link] D. to say
12. He asked out.
A. to go B.I to go C. his to go D. they to go
13. I love bread.
A. to eat [Link] C, eat D. to be eaten
14. ‘I remember going there.’ means
A. I went there. B. I didn’t go there. C, I remember to go there. D. I remember that I have to go there.
15. She told us .
A. to stop/to talk B. to stop/talking C, stopping/to talk D. stopping/talking
16. ‘She asked me to go out.’ means
A. I’m to go out. B. She is to go out. C, Either of us is to go out. D. She and I are to go out.
17. You have to avoid people.
A. to try to attack B. to try attacking C, trying to attack [Link] attacking
18. I’ll let each of you .
A. goes B. go C, going D. to go
19. Don’t accuse me that.
A. to doing B. of doing C, for doing D. in doing
20. You to speak in English.
A. must B. ought C, could D. might
21. I prefer with children with old man.
A. to play/to play B. to play/playing C, playing/than playing D. playing/to playing
22. He sweated the heavy sack.
A. carrying B. to carry C, carry D. being carried
23. I can’t help too much about my future life when I am alone.
A. to think B. think C, thought D. thinking