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Most verbs have past tense and past participle in ed (worked, played, listened). But
many of the most frequent verbs are irregular.
detest
dislike
enjoy
hate
fancy
like
love
admit
consider
deny
imagine
remember
suggest
avoid
begin
finish
keep
miss
practise
risk
start
stop
Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by the passive form of -ing: being + past
participle
see
watch
hear
smell
listen to
etc.
catch
find
imagine
leave
prevent
stop
as a noun:
I love swimming.
Swimming is very good for your health.
You can get fit by swimming regularly.
as an adjective:
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:
... or an adverbial:
... or a clause:
in front of a noun:
tiring annoying
after a noun:
and especially after verbs like see, watch, hear, smell etc.
Some verbs are normally followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive:
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):
See also:
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
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.)
When hate, like, love and prefer are used with would or should, only the to-infinitive is
used, not the -ing form:
Some verbs can be followed by a to-infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change in
meaning:
With "that"
think
believe
expect
decide
hope
know
understand
suppose
guess
imagine
feel
remember
forget
say
admit
argue
reply
agree
claim
deny
mention
answer
complain
explain
promise
suggest
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
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
after some adjectives which describe feelings to give a reason for our feelings:
pleased
sorry
happy
unhappy
sad
excited
glad
disappointed
afraid
No "that"
Both tenses have a continuous form. These continuous tenses are formed with the
verb be and the ing form of the verb:
Hes getting on the train. [before and after the moment of speaking]
It was quarter past ten. We were watching the news on television.
Some verbs are followed by a direct object and the infinitive(see verbs followed by
infinitive):
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
able
unable
due
eager
keen
likely
unlikely
ready
prepared
unwilling
willing
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
ability
desire
need
wish
attempt
failure
opportunity
chance
intention
choose
decide
expect
forget
hate
hope
intend
learn
like
love
mean
plan
prefer
remember
would like
would love
Verbs of saying:
agree
promise
refuse
arrange
attempt
fail
help
manage
tend
try
want
Verbs of saying:
advise
ask
encourage
invite
order
persuade
remind
tell
warn *
expect
intend
would
prefer
want
would like
allow
enable
force
get
teach
3. Passive infinitive
It began to rain.
Let and make are followed by an infinitive without to in active voice sentences. They
always have an object (underlined) before the infinitive:
Help
See also:
Let, lets
Make
A group of verbs connected with feeling, hearing and seeing can be used with -ing or
with an infinitive without to:
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
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)
Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive. These
verbs include:
forbid invite
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.)
Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive. These
verbs include:
advise hate like persuade request
forbid invite
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.
It's not worth repairing the camera. It would be cheaper to buy a new one.
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):
There are a number of verbs that can take a direct object and to + infinitive.
common examples are:
Many of the words listed above can be used to report what people say
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.
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
Some verbs can be followed by either -ing form or the infinitive and the meaning of
the verb changes. Here are some common examples:
When the verb like means enjoy, its followed by the -ing form. However, the
expression would like (want to) is followed by the 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:
Mixed examples
These rules are helpful but DO NOT always explain all uses of gerunds and infinitives.
like
love
enjoy
dislike
hate
Example:
Verbs Examples
go go swimming.
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.)
3- After prepositions
aim at
keep on
interested in
instead of
good at
before ...
after ...
Example:
I can't help...
I don't mind...
I can't stand/bear...
Verbs Examples
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."
Example:
start
begin
stop
remember...
Example:
Gerund or Infinitive
he infinitive
Examples:
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.
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'.)
Principles of Composition
Verb Lists:
Infinitives and
Gerunds Select from. . .
Infinitive or -ing?
Sometimes we need to decide whether to use a verb in its:
or in its
-ing form: doing, singing
Use infinitive...
after adjectives, for example:
Use -ing...
when the word is the subject of a clause:
Background
Basic verbs
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
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
Somebody
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'
choose
decide
expect
forget
hate
hope
intend
learn
like
love
mean
plan
prefer
remember
would like
would love
Verbs of saying:
agree
promise
refuse
arrange
attempt
fail
help
manage
tend
try
want
Verbs of saying:
advise
ask
encourage
invite
order
persuade
remind
tell
warn *
expect
intend
would
prefer
want
would like
allow
enable
force
get
teach
3. Passive infinitive
detest
dislike
enjoy
hate
fancy
like
love
admit
consider
deny
imagine
remember
suggest
avoid
begin
finish
keep
miss
practise
risk
start
stop
Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by the passive form of -ing: being + past
participle
see
watch
hear
smell
listen to
etc.
catch
find
imagine
leave
prevent
stop
With "that"
think
believe
expect
decide
hope
know
understand
suppose
guess
imagine
feel
remember
forget
say
admit
argue
reply
agree
claim
deny
mention
answer
complain
explain
promise
suggest
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.
advice
belief
claim
feeling
argument
hope
promise
report
guess
opinion
idea
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
after some adjectives which describe feelings to give a reason for our feelings:
pleased
sorry
happy
unhappy
sad
excited
glad
disappointed
afraid
No "that"