Gerunds And Infinitives

Verb Patterns: Gerund and Infinitives

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

We use 'to' + infinitive:

• After certain verbs - We decided to leave

• After many adjectives - It's difficult to get up early

• To show purpose - I came to London to study English

We use the bare infinitive (the 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?

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.

deny He denied committing the crime.

mention He mentioned going to that college.

imagine He imagines working there one day.

tolerate I tolerated her talking.

understand I understand his quitting.

involve The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.

complete He completed renovating the house.

report He reported her stealing the money.

anticipate I anticipated arriving late.

recall Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

And 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

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