VERB+GERUND

ADMIT

_ I admitted stealing the money / He admitted cheating on the test / He will never
admit not knowing where Mickey Mouse lives / He admitted stealing the wallet.

ADVISE

_ I wouldn't advise buying a used car.

ANTICIPATE

_ I anticipated arriving late / I anticipate having a good time on vacation / He

anticipated passing the exam.

APPRECIATE

_ I appreciated her helping me / I appreciated hearing from them / I appreciate

working with you.

AVOID (evitar, eludir)

_ You should avoid walking home after 2 a.m. / He avoided answering my question /
You must avoid cutting your toe nails in bed / She avoided meeting him.

BEAR (soportar, aguantar)

_ I cant bear waiting in long lines / I can't bear hearing lies.

CANT HELP

_ He cant help talking so loudly / I cant help worrying about it / I cant help thinking
of her sweet rosy honey lips night and day,

CANT SEE

_ I cant see paying so much money for a car.

CANT STAND

_ I cant stand waiting in long lines / He can't stand her smoking in the office/ I cant
stand people vomiting on the bus/ I cant stand watching football.

CARRY ON (seguir, proseguir)

_ I will carry on living in Ireland until 2023.

CELEBRATE

_ He celebrated getting a job.

COMPLETE

_ He completed renovating the house / I finally completed writing my term paper /

They completed building their house.

CONSIDER

_ She considered moving to New York / Have you considered living in Italy? / She
considered starting a new business.

DEFEND

_ The lawyer defended her making such statements.

DELAY (retrasar, demorar)

_ He delayed doing his taxes / He delayed leaving for school / I always delay buying
my Christmas presents till after Christmas, when its much cheaper / She delayed doing
her homework

DENY (negar)

_ He denied committing the crime / He denied stealing it / Do you still deny having
killed Roger Rabbit? / He denied stealing the money.

DESERVE

_ He deserves being in jail.

DESPISE (despreciar, menospreciar)

_ She despises waking up early.

DETEST

_ He detests missing a game / She detests exercising/ I detest sitting on the plain with
a neurotic scared cat.

DISCUSS

_ They discussed opening a new business / We discussed going on holiday together.

DISLIKE

_ She dislikes working after 5 p.m. / I dislike driving long distances.

ENJOY

_ We enjoy hiking / I enjoy travelling around the world / We enjoyed visiting them /
He enjoys pulling his head out of the car window while driving.

ESCAPE (escaparse, fugarse)

_ He escaped getting married.

FANCY (gustar)

_ I fancy seeing a film tonight / Fancy meeting you here!

FEEL LIKE

_ I dont feel like taking your mother for a walk just now.

FINISH

_ Have you finished cleaning the kitchen? / She finished studying about ten / She
finished writing the letter.

FORGIVE

_ Please, forgive his talking too much, hes a teacher.

GIVE UP

_ I want to give up smoking soon.

GO

_ Go swimming.

IMAGINE

_ He imagines working there one day / Can you imagine winning the lottery? / Imagine having
all Barbies complements, wouldnt it be heaven on earth? / He imagines meeting her.

INVOLVE (suponer, implicar)

_ The job involves traveling to Japan once a month / The job involves working in teams.

KEEP ON (seguir, insistir)

MENTION

_ He mentioned going to that college / She mentioned going to a movie / She didnt
mention having thrown your lovely child out / He mentioned working in that company.

MIND

_ Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes? / I dont mind sleeping on the sofa / Do you mind
getting your scruffy finger out of my eye? It hurts, you know? / Would you mind helping me?

MISS

_ I miss playing guitar on the weekend / I miss being with my family / I miss feeling her
sweet hands stroking all the length of my back at the cinema / He misses talking to her.

NEGLECT (abandonar)

_ I neglected doing my work.

POSTPONE

_ Lets postpone leaving until tomorrow / He postponed returning to Paris / You mustnt postpone
writing to him or hell forget hes got a girlfriend back in Spain / They postponed traveling to
Japan.

PRACTICE

_ The athlete practiced throwing the ball / She practiced singing the song / I have to
practice frying eggs, Im terrible at that / She practiced painting.

PREVENT

_ A polio vaccine prevents getting polio.

PUT OFF (desalentar, retrasar)

QUIT

_ He quit trying to solve the problem / I quit smoking.

RECALL

_ I dont recall meeting him before / Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

RECOLLECT

_ I dont recollect meeting him before.

RECOMMEND

_ She recommended seeing the show / They recommended meeting earlier / The police
recommended people to be good and nice.

REJECT

_ He rejected working with them.

RESENT (molestar, resentirse)

_ I resent her interfering in my business / He resents being left alone.

RESIST

_ I couldnt resist eating the dessert / I resist eating too much / He couldn't resist eating the cake.

RISK

_ We cannot risk going home late because there are no buses / She risks losing all of
her money / She risks losing her job.

SUGGEST

_ They suggested going to the cinema, but we said no/ He suggested staying at the
Grand Hotel / I suggest picking our noses to kill the time / I suggest leaving early.

SUPPORT (apoyar, respaldar)

_ He supported going to war.

TOLERATE

_ I cannot tolerate living here. The weather is too bad! / I tolerated her talking.

UNDERSTAND

_ I dont understand his leaving school / I understand his quitting.

WASTE TIME/MONEY

_ Don't waste my time complaining.

TO LOOK FORWARD TO+GERUND _ I look forward to seeing you next week / Im looking forward to seeing them again.
PREFER SOMETHING TO + GERUND _ I prefer swimming to running / I prefer going out to staying al home.
OBJECT TO + GERUND (objetar, reputar, contradecir)_ I object to working overtime / I object to working so hard for so little money.
IN ADDITION TO + GERUND _ In addition to learning English, he is also learning German / In addition to working in a supermarket,
he has a cleaning job.

TO BE COMMITTED TO + GERUND (estar comprometido, entregado)_ We are committed to raising money for our charity /
We are committed to reducing inflation.
TO GET / BE USED TO + GERUND _ I am getting used to the Spanish culture. I am used to living in Spain / Im not
used/accustomed to getting up so early.
TO BE SICK OF + GERUND

VERB+INFINITIVE
ADVISE

_ Iadvised him to get a job as soon as possible.

AFFORD (permitirse)

_ I cannot afford to buy those shoes/ I cant afford to buy it.

AGREEE

_ I agree to help you, but only if you pay me money / They agreed to help us.

AIM

_ The government aims to reduce illiteracy rates.

APPEAR (parecer)

_ She appears to be tired.

ARRANGE

_ He arranged to stay at a hotel / Ill arrange to meet you there.

ASK

_ He asked her to jump out of the window / He asked to come with us.

ATTEMPT (intentar, tratar de)

_ Are you going to attempt to pass the exam? / He attempted to join them.

BEG (rogar, suplicar)

_ He begged to come with us.

CARE

_ I dont care to see that show.

CHOOSE

_ He chose to stay at home.

CLAIM

_ She claims to know Obama.

CONSENT

_ She consented to marry him.

DARE (*)

_ I wouldnt dare to call him. Hes very angry / Not one of them dared to ride on the
ghost train / I wouldnt dare to enter his office without knocking.

DECIDE

_ He has decided to live in France / They decided not to make pizza / She decided to
go with Elliot instead / They decided to go to the movies /I have decided to leave it.

DESERVE

_ I deserve to pass the exam. Ive studied so much! / He deserves to be punished / She
deserves to win the prize.

DEMAND

_ He demanded to speak to Mrs. Lynch / I demand to know who did that.

ENDEAVOR

_ They endeavor to provide the best possible service.

EXPECT

_ What time do you expect to arrive home? / People expect him to tell the best jokes /
They expected to arrive early / I expect to graduate next year.

FAIL (fallar, fracasar)

_ The teacher failed to recognize my good work / He failed to convince him / He

failed to pay his bill on time.

FORBID

_ I forbid you to look at me in the eyes.

FORCE

_ They forced me to wear that horrible handbag again

HAPPEN

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

HELP

_ Do you need help to fix your car? / She helped me to do the exercise. (Note, help is
also followed by a bare infinitive: She helped me do the exercise.)

HESITATE

_ Dont hesitate to ask for help.

HOPE

_ He hopes to find a job in Cork soon / I hope to join you as soon as possible / Jack
hopes to arrive by 5.00p.m.

INTEND

_ She intends to write an autobiography / He intends to pass this class.

INVITE

_ She invited me to go to help her with the washing, which I declined.

LEARN

_ He learned to play the guitar when he was young / He learned to play the piano.

MANAGE

_ He managed to do his homework without his mother's help / She managed to finish
work early.

OFFER

_ She offered to help me move my things / He offers to help us / They offered to help
me get home.

ORDER

_ He ordered me to tick his boots.

PERMIT

_ They 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.)

PERSUADE

_ John persuaded Mary to paint the house dark red.

PLAN

_ Next year I plan to travel around the world / I planned to go to some real Italian restaurants /
He plans to follow a career as an engineer / Were planning to have a party.

PREPARE

_ We prepared to take our exams.

PRETEND (simular, fingir)

_ She was pretending to cry. I knew she was lying! / The child pretended to be asleep /
He pretends not to understand.

PROCEED

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

PROMISE

_ He promised to collect her from the airport / She promised to take me there / She
promised to come on time / I promise not to be late.

REFUSE

_ I refuse to watch that film. Its terrible! / She refused to forgive him / I refuse to
believe his story.

REMIND

_ I reminded her to take an umbrella.

REQUEST

_ He requested me not to insult him in front of his dear dog.

SEEM

_ He seemed to be unhappy / This seems to be a nice place to live.

STRUGGLE (luchar, esforzarse)

_ She struggled to stay awake.

SWEAR

_ I swear to tell the truth

TEACH

_ My father taught me to spit with elegance / Did Martin teach Gary to play squash?

TELL

_ He told her to call me and she told him to mind his business.

TEND

_ He tends to talk too much.

THREATEN (amenazar)

_ He threatened to reveal her secret / They threatened to kill me.

VOLUNTEER

_ He always volunteers to help the needy / He volunteered to help us.

WAIT

_ Ill wait to hear from you.

WANT

_ Do you want to watch a movie? / I want him to go/ I wanted to visit Rome / I want to
finish my work early / She wants to tell me something.

WARN

_ He warned us not to go out with him because he was a one-track mind.

WISH

_ They wish to come with us.

WOULD HATE

_ He would hate to lose.

WOULD LIKE

_ He would like to drink a cup of tea

WOULD LOVE

_ I would love to meet you.

VERB+BARE
MUST
MIGHT
MAY
SHOULD
HAVE TO
USED TO
WOULD
RATHER
HAD BETTER

INFINITIVE

VERB+BOTH

(significant change in meaning)

HELP _ Help is followed by infinitive with or without to: Everybody helped (to) clean up. Everybody helped her (to) clean up.
BUT! I cant help doing sth = I cant stop myself from doing sth. Eg. I tried to be serious but I couldnt help laughing.

LIKE

_ doing sth. I really like going for walks in the countryside (Enjoy in general).
_ to do sth Id like to go to the cinema this evening (One specific occasion).
_ to do sth I like to go to the gym twice a week to keep fit (I think its a good idea. I might not enjoy it).

REMEMBER

_ doing sth. - When you did something and now you remember it; after you did sth.
. I dont know how the burglar got in. I clearly remember locking the door and shutting the windows.
. I still remember seeing her for the first time (I remember an event in the past)
_ to do sth - you remembered that you had to do sth, so you did it; before you did it
. I remembered to lock the door but I forgot to shut the windows.
. I remembered to post the letter you gave me (I remembered and then I posted it)

FORGET

_ doing sth. Ill never forget seeing her for the first time.
_ to do sth I didnt forget to post the letter you gave me.

STOP

_ doing sth. - to give up, finish with sth completely.

. I stopped smoking two years ago. (I dont do it anymore).
. They stopped talking when the boss came in (They were talking. They stopped).
_ to do sth. - stop doing what you are doing at the moment in order to do sth else.
. I was reading a book. The phone started to ring. I stopped to answer it.
. On the way I stopped to buy a newspaper (I stopped my journey with the purpose of buying a newspaper).

GO ON

_ doing sth. - to continue doing the same thing.

. The minister paused for a moment and then went on talking about the education.
. They went on talking when the boss came in (They were talking. They stopped).
_ to do sth. - to start sth new.
. The minister talked about education and after a break he went on to talk about health care.
. After our discussion on the economy, we went on to talk about the environment (We stopped doing one
thing and changed to something different).

REGRET

_ doing sth. - I did sth and now I am sorry about it.

. I now regret saying what I said.
. They regret leaving the match early (They regret something they did in the past).
_ to do sth. - regret to say/tell/inform you = Im sorry I have to say
. I regret to tell you that you have failed the test.
. I regret to inform you that he has left (Im sorry about what Im going to tell you).

MEAN

_ doing sth. - an impersonal subject, refers to what is involved.

. If we catch an early train, it will mean getting up at 6.00.
. If we go by train it will mean leaving early (This will be the consequence of the decision).
_ to do sth - to intend.
. Sorry, I meant to tell you about the party.
. I mean to tell you, but I forgot (I intended to tell you).

NEED

_ doing sth. - sth. needs to be done about sth else (the meaning is passive)
. Look at this room. It needs painting.
. The curtains are dirty. They need cleaning (This will improve them. You dont say who should clean them).
_to do sth - It is necessary for me to do it.
. He put on weight. He needs to take more exercise. I need to do the shopping today.
. I need to have a word with Bill (It is necessary for me to do this).

ALLOW

_ doing sth. We dont allow smoking in here (Rule applying to everyone).

_to do sth He didnt allow me to go in (Verb+object+infinitive) (to have permission).
!!! They don't allow smoking here. (Note that when an object is introduced an infinitive is used instead of a
gerund: they allowed us to leave early.)

TRY

_ doing sth. - Try something to see if it works or solves the problem.

. Ive got a terrible headache. - Why dont you try taking an aspirin?
. You could try buying magazines, listening to the radio or finding interesting internet sites (You could test
these possibilities and see if they help.
_ to do sth. - Attempt to do, make an effort to do sth.
. I tried to keep my open but I couldnt.
. Im trying to understand these instructions (Im making an effort to do something).

TRY
KEEP

_ to do sth. Make an effort

FIND

_ doing sth. Test these possibilities and see if they help.

Similarly with other verbs of the SENSES:

SEE

_ doing sth. I saw him crossing the road (When I saw him, he was crossing the road).
_ to do sth. I saw him cross the road (I saw the complete action).

HEAR

_ doing sth. When I got home, I heard him singing in the bath (He had already started before I arrived).
_ to do sth. I heard him sing in Madam Butterfly (I heard the whole performance).

VERB+BOTH

(slight change in meaning)

LIKE
HATE

_ I hate making silly mistakes / She hates being alone.

LOVE

_ I love going to operas / We love going on vacation.

PREFER

_ Ann prefers talking to driving to work / We prefer eating early.

START

_ It started raining / We started taking walks.

BEGIN

_ It began raining / He began talking immediately.

CONTINUE

_ I continued speaking.