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Verbs Patterns
Verbs Patterns
Verbs Patterns
Grammar > Verbs > Verb patterns > Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing?
See also:
Help somebody (to) do
Want
Verbs followed by a direct object and a to-infinitive
Some verbs are normally followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive:
Some of these verbs (e.g. can’t 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:
Verbs followed by -ing
Verbs followed by a to-infinitive or -ing
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 food. (emphasis I like to drink juice in the morning, and tea at
on the process itself and enjoyment of lunchtime. (emphasis more on the preference or
it) habit)
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:
go on need remember try
Compare
He went on singing after everyone She recited a poem, then went on to sing a lovely
else had finished. (He continued folk song. (She recited the poem first, then she
singing without stopping.) sang the song.)
She stopped crying as soon as she We stopped to buy some water at the motorway
saw her mother. (She was crying, and service area. (We were travelling and we stopped
then she didn’t cry anymore.) for a short time in order to buy some water.)
See also:
Mean
Need
Remember or remind?
Stop + -ing form or to-infinitive
Want
Verbs followed by an infinitive without to
Let, make
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:
Help somebody (to) do
Let, let’s
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 running along the Emily saw Philip run out of Sandra’s
street. (emphasises the running as it was office. (emphasises the whole event from
happening) start to finish)
Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive.
These verbs include:
forbid invite
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Los verb patterns son estructuras gramaticales compuestas por dos verbos que van seguidos.
I like playing the piano.
Me gusta tocar el piano
Do you want to go to the cinema?
¿Quieres ir al cine?
En función del primer verbo, el siguiente se utilizará en forma de gerundio (-ing) o infinitivo.
I
can't imagine living without
ImagineImaginar
you.No me imagino vivir sin
ti.
Being on a
diet involves eating more
InvolveImplicar / suponer fruit and vegetables.Estar a
dieta implica comer más
fruta y verdura.
We'll have
to postpone painting the
fence until it stops
PostponePosponer / aplazar raining.Tendremos
que posponer pintar la
valla hasta que pare de
llover.
We arranged to meet at
ArrangeQuedar en six.Quedamos en
reunirnos a las seis.
He refused to listen to
RefuseNegarse a me.Él se negó a
escucharme.
He deserves to be among
the top three.Él merece
DeserveMerecer
estar entre los tres
primeros.
Hay ciertos verbos que pueden ir seguidos tanto por un verbo en –ing como por uno en infinitivo
con el to, aunque su significado o uso tiene diferencias.
TRY TO (intentar)
Se utiliza cuando quieres expresar que dejas de realizar una acción que está teniendo lugar.
Stop watching TV and tidy your room.
REMEMBER TO acordarse
Se utiliza cuando tenemos que acordarnos de realizar una acción en el futuro. Primero nos acordamos de
la acción y después la realizamos.
- Did you remember to lock the door?
Se utiliza cuando nos acordamos de haber realizado una acción en el pasado. Primero realizamos la
acción y después recordamos que la hemos hecho.
- Yes, I remember locking the door.
FORGET TO (olvidarse)
Se utiliza cuando nos hemos olvidado de realizar una acción. La acción no se ha hecho.
I forgot to talk to Peter about the trip.
Se utiliza generalmente con never y con el futuro will para una acción memorable del pasado.
I will never forget talking to Peter for the first time.
REGRET TO (lamentar)
Se utiliza cuando lamentamos tener que realizar una acción o dar malas noticias.
I regret to tell you that the flight is late.
Se utiliza cuando una acción o situación implica que otra acción tenga lugar.
Accepting the job means moving to Italy.
Se utiliza cuando hay que realizar una acción, no importa quién la haga.
This room needs painting.
¡Recuerda!
Los verb patterns son estructuras gramaticales compuestas por dos verbos que van seguidos. En
función del verbo principal, el segundo verbo se utilizara en infinitivo precedido por la partícula to,
o bien por un verbo en gerundio.
VERBS FOLLOWED BY -ING
ConsiderConsiderar AdmitAdmitir
ImagineImaginar PostponePosponer
MissExtrañar KeepMantener
VERBS FOLLOWED BY TO
RefuseNegarse SeemParecer
PlanPlanear DeserveMerecer
OfferOfrecer ExpectEsperar
ManageGestionar ArrangeOrganizar
Need
RememberRecordar /
Hay que / Tener que /
Acordarse
Necesitar
VERBS FOLLOWED BY -ING AND TO
RegretArrepentirse /
MeanImplicar / Pensar
Lamentar
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Grammar Reference
Verb patterns: gerunds and infinitives
Meaning and use
Gerunds are the -ing form of a verb, and infinitives are the to + base form. These
words can be confusing; they combine the meaning of a verb with the grammar of a
noun.
So, how is ‘to phone’ like a noun? Imagine the first sentence said: My father asked
me a question. You can see how a question and to phone have the same
grammatical role. Similarly, you could replace ‘talking’ with the noun conversation.
Using gerunds and infinitives correctly with verbs can be difficult because some verbs
go with only the infinitive or only the gerund, and others can go with either one.
Another difficulty is that sometimes choosing the infinitive or the gerund will change
the meaning of the sentence.
The best way to learn which verbs take infinitives, gerunds, or both, is to notice them
in context when you read, or to consult grammar references. Here are some of the
most common verbs:
admit, advise, consider, discuss, dislike, dread, enjoy, finish, mind, practise,
recommend, suggest
Followed by an infinitive
agree, appear, choose, decide, expect, fail, hope, learn, need, refuse, seem, wait,
want
Form
Gerunds and infinitives can follow verbs in the form verb + -ing form of the
verb or verb + infinitive (to + base form of the verb).
Positive
Negative
Question
Some people think split infinitives are ungrammatical. If you are writing formal
English, it is best to avoid using them in your writing.
Remember that gerunds are types of nouns, so you can use possessive adjectives
like my, your, his, her, etc.
Ok
Inglés
Gramática
Verbos
El infinitivo y el gerundio en inglés
El infinitivo es la forma básica del verbo. Los infinitivos en inglés no tienen una
terminación particular, como sí ocurre en español. A veces van precedidos de la
partícula to, dependiendo del verbo, adjetivo o sustantivo que lo siga; por
ejemplo: (to) be, (to) have, (to) do.
El uso de infinitivos o gerundios suele variar entre los idiomas. Cuando en inglés
se exige un gerundio, suele tener que usarse un infinitivo en español. En este
apartado aprenderás a identificar los casos en los que se debe usar un verbo en
infinitivo o en gerundio en inglés. En la sección de ejercicios puedes practicar y
perfeccionar tus habilidades gramaticales.
Infinitivo
Ejemplo:
Ejemplo:
Ejemplo:
Ejemplo:
Infinitivo de propósito
Ejemplo:
Consulta en este apartado los adjetivos, verbos y pronombres que rigen el uso de
un infinitivo con o sin la preposición to.
Leer más...
Gerundio
Ejemplo:
Ejemplo:
Instead of studying for her exams, she went out every night.
después de ciertos adjetivos que van seguidos además de un preposición;
Ejemplo:
Ejemplo:
Ejemplo:
I enjoy cooking.
Nota
Por lo general, para formar el gerundio basta con añadir -ing a un verbo. Sin
embargo, en ciertas ocasiones es necesario llevar a cabo algún cambio en la
ortografía de la palabra. Consulta el apartado Participios para saber más.
Leer más...
Infinitivo o Gerundio
Los verbos del listado siguiente admiten tanto un infinitivo como un gerundio. La
oración no varía su significado.
Ejemplo:
They do not allow people to smoke in They do not allow smoking in the
allow/permit
the building. building.
Infinitivo/Gerundio - Ejercicios
Infinitivo/gerundio - ejercicios
Declaración de privacidad
Aviso Legal
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Introducción
Si se usan dos verbos en una oración, por ejemplo, para describir una opinión o la intención
de realizar una acción, el segundo verbo toma ya sea la forma de gerundio o el infinitivo con
"to".
Algunos verbos sólo pueden ser seguidos por un gerundio, otros pueden preceder al verbo en
el infinitivo con "to" y ambas formas pueden preceder algunos verbos determinados.
Ejemplos:
gerundio solo:
Forma
No existen reglas claras sobre cuándo se usan elgerundio o el infinitivo después del verbo
principal; se deben aprender las formas correctas.
He aquí algunos ejemplos (se muestra aquí el presente simple del verbo principal, pero las
mismas formas del segundo verbo se aplican cuando se usan otros tiempos verbales).
verbo
Sujeto: gerundio
principal
I allow in the
(con la forma correcta del verbo principal de avoid walking
countryside.
"You" / "We" / "They" / "He" / "She" / "It") detest
verbo
Sujeto: gerundio
principal
enjoy
fancy
Estos verbos sólo pueden ser seguidos con el infinitivo con "to:
verbo infinitivo
Sujeto: principal con "to"
decide
expect
hope
manage
I
offer in the
(con la forma correcta del verbo principal de to walk
plan countryside.
"You" / "We" / "They" / "He" / "She" / "It")
promise
refuse
want
wish
Estos verbos pueden ser seguidos con un gerundio o infinitivo con "to" sin que cambie
el significado:
gerundio /
verbo
Sujeto: infinitivo con
principal
"to"
begin
I
hate
(con la forma correcta del verbo principal to walk in the
like
de "You" / "We" / "They" / "He" / "She" / walking countryside.
love
"It")
prefer
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Clause structure
All clauses in English have at least two parts, a noun phrase (subject) and
a verb phrase:
except for the imperative, which is used for orders, invitations and
requests:
Stop!
Please come to dinner tomorrow.
Play it again, please.
Verb patterns
John smiled.
Transitive or intransitive?
Other patterns
Some verbs are both transitive and intransitive, but the object when
they are transitive is the same as the subject when they are
intransitive:
Peter closed the door. Transitive: N + V + N
The door closed. Intransitive: N + V
link verbs have the structure Noun + Verb + Adjective (She looks happy) or
Noun + Verb + Noun (He became a teacher).
some two-part verbs can have the structure Noun + Verb + Particle + Noun
(She gave back the money) or Noun + Verb + Noun + Particle (She gave the
money back).
double object verbs have the structure: Noun + Verb + Noun + Noun
(Peter sent his mother some flowers).
verbs with that, wh- and if clauses (She said that …, He explained what
…, He asked if … .) These are often reporting verbs.
Verb patterns
Link verbs
Multi-word verbs
Double object verbs
Verbs followed by the infinitive
Verbs followed by the '-ing' form
Reporting verbs with 'that', 'wh-' and 'if' clauses
Reported speech
Ergative verbs
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English Grammar
Pronouns
Determiners and quantifiers
Possessives
Adjectives
Adverbials
Nouns
Verbs
o Verb phrases
o Irregular verbs
o Questions and negatives
o Short forms
o The verb 'be'
o Present tense
o Past tense
o Perfect aspect
o Continuous aspect
o Modal verbs
o Active and passive voice
o 'to'-infinitives
o '-ing' forms
o Talking about the present
o Talking about the past
o Talking about the future
o Verbs in time clauses and 'if' clauses
o Wishes and hypotheses
o Clause structure and verb patterns
Link verbs
Multi-word verbs
Double object verbs
Verbs followed by the infinitive
Verbs followed by the '-ing' form
Reporting verbs with 'that', 'wh-' and 'if' clauses
Reported speech
Ergative verbs
o Delexical verbs: 'have', 'take', 'make', 'give', 'go' and 'do'
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