The use of infinitives & verbs with ending “ing” – part 2
INFINITIVE WITH “TO”
INFINITIVE AFTER VERBS
Apart from verbs mentioned in the first part of the article, another verb changes into to-infinitive also after the following words:
| verb | example |
|---|---|
| ask | I asked to see the doctor. |
| can’t afford | I can’t afford to buy a new car this year. |
| hope | I hope to pass all my exams. |
| manage | We managed to finish the work on time. |
| offer | Diana offered to help with the kids. |
| refuse | The man refused to cooperate with the police. |
| seem | She seemed to be frightened. |
| threaten | The burglars threatened to kill the owner if he didn’t give them all the money. |
| wish | Mr Robertson wishes to see you. |
VERB + OBJECT + INFINITIVE
Sometimes between the first verb and another in the infinitive, “the object” is used.
My Dad taught me to play the guitar.
She asked her boyfriend to lend her some money.
This type of structure appears usually after:
| type of structure | example |
|---|---|
| verbs expressing commandment, request, invitation, warning, order (verbs referring to telling somebody something) | She told me to get ready. |
| I persuaded them to go to the theatre. | |
| She invited me to take part in her project. | |
| He warned us not to touch any of his coins. | |
| The general commanded them to shoot. | |
| I begged her to forgive me for treason. |
| type of structure | example |
|---|---|
| verbs expressing desire, willingness | Do you want him to come? |
| I’d like you to show me around. | |
| We’d love you to stay longer. | |
| I’d prefer you not to hang about with them. | |
| I hate you to talk like that! |
Verbs expressing permission, advice or incentive allow use both the infinitive and -ing form. In the second case, complement is left:
She’s advised me to take a towel as we may go swimming in the pool.
She’s advised taking a towel as we may go swimming in the pool.
Did you allow him to smoke in your living room?
Did you allow smoking in your living room?
They won’t permit you to enter the building.
They won’t permit entering the building.
INFINITIVE AFTER ADJECTIVE
“Infinitive + to” stands also after some adjectives:
| adjective | example |
|---|---|
| glad | I’m glad to see you again. |
| pleased | Pleased to meet you, Mrs Smith. |
| easy/ difficult | This theory is easy to understand. |
| interesting | It’s interesting to see these animals in their natural habitat. |
And also: hard, impossible, dangerous, expensive, nice, important, good, sorry, happy
It’s nice of you to help me.
Sometimes adjective requires the use of the object:
It was silly of her to think he loved her.
Infinitive also appears in the construction:
too + adjective + infinitive
She’s too young to drive.
I’m too tired to watch television tonight.
INFINITIVE AFTER A NOUN
Some nouns require the use of an infinitive. Most popular of them:
| noun | example |
|---|---|
| ability | I’m impressed with his ability to work around the clock. |
| attempt | She made an attempt to get in touch with her ex-husband. |
| decision | We told the kids about the decision to move to the country. |
| plan | Their plan to escape was not very brilliant. |
| wish | He fulfilled my wish to see Venice. |
EXPRESSING PURPOSE
Infinitive with “to” is also used to express purpose. Depending on context is translated as “to do something” and can stand after verb, noun, pronoun and may function independently as well:
She phoned to tell me about the concert.
Have you got much work to do?
Mum gave us some money to buy ice-cream.
Why are you leaving so early? To catch my bus.
INFINITIVE WITHOUT “TO”
OMITTING “TO”
If after the main verb (which requires the use of the verb in the basic form with “to”) there are two or more infinitives, you can omit “to” in the second and subsequent ones:
I promised her to come and help with the children.
He wanted to call you, apologise and say goodbye, but he changed his mind after all.
INFINITIVE AFTER AUXILIARY VERBS
Infinitive without “to” stands after every auxiliary verb, except for “have to” and “ought to”:
I must be going.
You shouldn’t leave now. Wait another ten minutes.
He might be at work.
We may stay longer than we expected.
But:
You ought to work less, Phillip.
There were no buses going to the centre in the next half an hour, so she had to take a taxi.
-ING FORM
VERB + -ING FORM
There are verbs after which we put the second verb in the infinitive + “to” or without “to” (depending on the situation). However, there is a group of verbs that requires the use of the infinitive but the form of gerunds. Examples of the most popular:
| verb | example |
|---|---|
| appreciate | I really appreciate having time to rest. |
| avoid | She avoided being seen in public. |
| consider | Have you ever consider going to live in the country. |
| delay | We should delay making a decision until next month. |
| deny | She denied talking to him. |
| feel like | I feel like going to the cinema tonight. |
| imagine | I can’t imagine skiing! |
| involve | The work involves making phone calls, sending a fax and writing e-mails. |
| mind | I don’t mind working late at night. |
| risk | She won’t risk losing her money. |
| suggest | Miranda suggested going to a disco tonight. |
| can’t help | I can’t help crying, this film is so sad! |
| can’t stand | My dad can’t stand hearing me sing |
Use of structure with “that” is possible after some verbs, e.g. admit, suggest, deny:
She denied that she talked to him.
Miranda suggested that we go to a disco tonight.
VERB + THE OBJECT + -ING FORM
Sometimes we have to put an object between the main verb and the verb with the ending -ing
Especially with verbs such as: find, smell, not like, dislike, mind.
My father doesn’t like me staying up late.
I found him working in the garden.
I could smell something burnt.
-ING FORM AFTER PREPOSITIONS
In every situation when after a preposition a verb is put – this verb may have -ing form:
I can’t open the window without taking the plants down.
Thank for helping me with all that work.
Mary’s always talking about moving abroad.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Are you good at swimming?
OTHER EXPRESSIONS
Here is a group of expressions, after which a verb gets an ending -ing:
it’s no use
It’s no use crying now. You should have been more careful.
it’s (not) worth
This film wasn’t worth watching.
instead of
Why don’t you go out instead of spending all the time in front of the TV?
a waste of time/money
Going there was a complete waste of time.
have difficulty/trouble
I had no difficulty finding the hotel.
there’s no point in
There’s no point in pretending it hasn’t happened.
As shown on example with “a waste of time” -ing form not always appear right after particular structure – sometimes inverting word order is possible:
Going there was a complete waste of time = It was a complete waste of time going there.
INFINITIVE OR -ING FORM?
After some verbs, you can use both the infinitive with “to” and the form “ing”, but this completely changes the meaning of the sentence:
REMEMBER TO DO/ REMEMBER DOING?
“Remember to do” means that at the beginning we remember about that then we do an activity:
I remembered to take my documents.
Please remember to lock the door.
“Remember doing” means “to have an image in mind of something that was done”. Firstly, we do an activity, then we remember that:
I remember taking my documents.
I can’t remember locking the door!
FORGET TO/ FORGET DOING?
“Forget to do” means “to not remember to do something”:
I forgot to lock the door.
We have only eggs and tomatoes for supper because Frank forgot to do the shopping.
“Forget doing” means “to not remember doing something” (in the past):
I’ll never forget flying in a balloon.
You’ll soon forget meeting him.
REGRET TO DO/ REGRET DOING
“Regret to do” used when we, unfortunately, have to refuse to somebody or to regretfully inform somebody about something:
I regret to inform that your offer cannot be accepted.
We regret to say that you don’t qualify, madam. “Regret doing” refers to past and means “a feeling of sadness or disappointment, which is caused by something that ones have done”:
I regret telling him the truth. He didn’t understand anything.
She regretted being rude to me.
STOP TO DO/ STOP DOING
“Stop to do” means “to take a break doing something else to do something”:
The man stopped to look at the map.
The girl was riding her bike. Suddenly she stopped to talk to her mum who was sitting on a bench.
“Stop doing” means “to finish/quit doing something”:
Stop talking, please.
Will you stop making all that noise?
