Verb + Gerund

(verbs followed by another verb in the ing form) page 1 of 2

By Rick Shur, LaGuardia CC, New York [ESLprof.com/handouts/Info/verb+gerund.doc]

Group 1: Preference
1. enjoy I enjoy living on the Upper West Side.
2. mind I hate vacuuming, but I don't mind doing the dishes.
3. dislike I dislike listening to the boss's long speeches.

Group 2: Memory
4. remember He remembers sitting on his mother's lap when he was little.
(BUT remembering something that you need to do:
She remembered to lock the door. Remember to call me!)
5. miss I miss playing baseball. I used to do it a lot as a kid.
6. regret I regret speaking to you like that. I'm so sorry.
7. report The woman reported hearing gun shots outside her home.

Group 3: Stopping
8. stop She stopped working when the bell rang.
(BUT stopping for a break:
We stopped to have a drink on our way home.)
9. can't help I can't help laughing! You look so funny like that!
10. quit You have to quit smoking if you want to live past 50.
11. finish Have you finished painting your house yet?
12. give up She gave up studying English after two years.

Group 4: Continuing
13. keep (on) Please keep (on) working. It's not time to quit yet.
14. go on Go on singing! You have a lovely voice!

Group 5: Thinking and Concentrating

15. think about I'm thinking about moving to a different city.
16. consider Are you considering buying a new house?
19. concentrate on You have to concentrate on finding a job.
20. practice She practiced typing until she could type a lot faster.
21. imagine I can't imagine having a dog in this small apartment!

Group 6: Conversation
17. discuss We discussed getting a new and bigger car.
18. talk about We talked about taking a vacation.

Group 7: Being Careful

22. risk Apologize to the boss! Don't risk losing this job!
23. avoid You should avoid talking to her. She's a real gossip!

Group 8: Delaying
24. delay We delayed sending payment until we had the money.
25. postpone He postponed flying to England due to the bad weather.
26. put off Don't put off doing the homework until Sunday night.
 Verb + Gerund
(verbs followed by another verb in the ing form) page 2 of 2
By Rick Shur, LaGuardia CC, New York [ESLprof.com/handouts/Info/verb+gerund.doc]

Group 9: Difficulty
27. have trouble We had trouble finding a cheap hotel room there.
28. have problems We're having problems getting our dog to sit up.

Group 10: Spending Time

29. have fun We had fun riding horses on my uncle's farm.
30. have a good time We'll have a good time talking with Grandpa.
31. spend [time] We spent four hours looking for our lost cat.
We spent three days relaxing at the resort hotel.

Group 11: Denial and Confession

32. deny OJ Simpson denied killing Nicole.
33. admit (to) OJ admitted (to) hitting Nicole once.
34. confess (to) The thief confessed (to) stealing the diamond bracelet.

Group 12: Anticipation

35. look forward to We look forward to seeing our grandparents again.

Group 13: Adapting

36. get accustomed to I can't get accustomed to using English all the time.
37. get used to Her husband died. She has to get used to being alone.

Group 14: Activities

38. go roller skating/blading I used to go roller skating every weekend.
Now, I go roller blading.
39. go dancing He goes dancing every weekend. He WENT DANCING Sunday.
40. go fishing We went fishing with our father when we were young.
41. go sightseeing We went sightseeing and saw Rockefeller Center.
42. go shopping/window shopping We'll go shopping for groceries tomorrow.
I love to go window shopping on Fifth Avenue.
43. go hiking He'll go hiking in the Catskill Mountains next March.
44. go skiing did you go skiing in Aspen last week? How was the snow?
45. go camping We're going camping soon. Get a tent and sleeping bag.
46. go sailing We went sailing, but there wasn't any wind on the lake.
47. go boating We went boating in the bay, but we ran out of gas.
48. go ice-skating The lake has frozen over. Let's go ice-skating.
49. go jogging I can't go jogging until I find my sneakers.
50. go hunting My father went hunting. He brought home two ducks.

Group 15: The "Lucky Seven" These verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive.
1. Continue 2. Start 3. Begin 4. Love 5. Like 6. Hate 7. Can't stand (=hate)

Continue working. Continue to work. We started to eat. We started eating.

He'll begin to learn. He'll begin learning. She loves to run. She loves running.
I hate to study. I hate studying. They can't stand to wait. They can't stand waiting.