0 -Ing t em s and iDufOonO^nwes at er werbs

Verbs can be followed by an infinitive (with or Verb + -ing form / t hat clause
without to), an -ing form, a noun or a that clause:
I want to tell you something. ° Here are some verbs that are followed by an
I must go now. -ing form or a that clause:
They started laughing. adm it . deny ~ report
I fancy an ice cream. consider imagine f suggest
She adm itted that she had been wrong. H e admitted lying to the police.
H e admitted that he had stolen the goods.
Verb + -ing form • These verbs can also be followed by a noun:
H e adm itted his crimes.
° Here are some verbs that are followed by an
« We cannot use an infinitive after these verbs:
-ing form:
H e denied doing it. /
avoid feel like miss He denied to do it. X
be worth finish postpone
° When these verbs are followed by a that clause,
delay involve practise
we can omit that:
dislike keep propose
He admitted he had stolen the goods.
enjoy mention risk
fancy mind
I avoid going to noisy bars. Verb + to-infinitive
The castle is worth visiting. ° Here are some verbs that are followed by a
o We always use the -ing form after verbs that are to-infinitive:
followed by prepositions (e.g. insist on, succeed agree hope prom ise
in, apologise for): appear intend refuse
She insisted on coming with m e to the lawyer. can afford learn seem
He succeeded in breaking the world record. choose manage threaten
H e apologised for letting me down, decide offer want
o Phrasal verbs (e.g. keep on, pu t off, look forw ard expect plan wish
to) are also followed by an -ing form: fail prepare
They were looking forward to meeting him. hesitate pretend
° Some verb phrases that are followed by I agreed to stay with her.
prepositions are also followed by an -ing form. The anim al appears to be dead.
Here are some examples: be good at, be keen on, We can’t afford to go on holiday this year.
be fe d up with, be tired of. ° Some of these verbs can also be followed by a
She’s good at getting people to do things. noun, an adjective or a that clause:
H e’s very keen on travelling. She failed the exam.
• The verbs above can also be followed by a noun: H e seems frightened.
I avoid noisy bars. I agree that it is difficult.
They were looking forw ard to their holiday.
° Remember: we always use the -ing form o f a
verb after prepositions.
 -ING FORMS AND INFINITIVES AFTER VERBS

Verb + bare infinitive Here are some of them:

» The verbs m ake, let, would rather, would sooner Verb Meaning Example
and had better are followed by a bare infinitive
remember + not forget sth I remembered to
(= infinitive without to):
fo-infinitive you must do turn off the oven.
They let us leave early.
They made us wait fo r two hours. remember + have a I remember turning
I ’d rather go to Italy this year. -ing form memory of off the oven.
sth you did
I’d sooner die than give the secret away!
in the past
° In the passive, we use a fo-infinitive after make:
We were made to wait fo r two hours. forget + not remember I forgot to phone
fo-infinitive sth you Kevin.
° We do not use let in the passive. We use allow
must do, get
instead:
or bring
We were allowed to leave early.
forget + not remember I’ll never forget
° We also use a bare infinitive (= infinitive
-ing form sth you did visiting Venice for
without to) after modal verbs:
in the past the first time.
I can’t help you.
We might be a bit late. try + make an effort They tried to help
fo-infinitive her.
Verb + -in g form/ fo-infinitive with try + do sth to Try closing the file
no change in meaning -ing form see what and then opening
happens it again.
° Some verbs can be followed by an -ing form stop + stop in order I stopped to tie up
or a fo-infinitive without a change in meaning. fo-infinitive to do sth my shoelace.
Here are some o f these verbs:
stop + no longer do He stopped wearing
begin continue love
-ing form sth ties years ago.
can’t bear hate prefer
can’t stand like start go on + do sth after He told us about
I began training as soon as I heard about the fo-infinitive you’ve his childhood.
hockey match. finished Then he went on
I began to train as soon as I heard about the
doing sth to describe his
else experiences in the
hockey match.
army.
° These verbs can also be followed by a noun:
I began French when I was twelve. go on + continue She went on talking
-ing form doing sth for hours!
I don’t like pop music very much.
° Can’t bear and can’t stand both mean ‘not be regret + feel sorry or We regret to inform
able to accept or not like something’. Can’t bear fo-infinitive sad about you that we
is common in both written and spoken English. sth you have cannot offer you
to do the post.
C a n t stand is more common in spoken English.
Both can’t bear and can’t stand can be followed regret + feel sorry She regretted
by an -ing form, a fo-infinitive or a noun: -ing form about accepting the job.
I can’t bear/can’t stand listening to this music! something
I can’t bear/can’t stand to hear them arguing! you have or
I can’t bear/can’t stand TV commercials! haven’t done
mean + intend I didn’t mean to
Verb + -in g form/ to-infinitive with fo-infinitive hurt you.
change in meaning mean + involve sth His new job will
-ing form or have a mean travelling
Some verbs can be followed by an -ing form or a particular a lot.
fo-infinitive but with a change in meaning. result
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