Verbs followed by ‘ing’ or

by ‘to + infinitive’ or by
both

When one verb is followed by another, the second verb

can either be an

infinitive

or an

–ing form. Some verbs can be followed by only an

infinitive, others by only an–ing form and some by both
but with a change in meaning. Here are some common
examples:

Verb + to + infinitive

• I want to speak to the manager.

• She’s learning to ride a horse.
• He offered to help us wash up.

‘Want’, ’learn’ and ‘offer’ are followed by to +

infinitive. Other verbs in this group include: afford,
agree, appear, arrange, ask, choose, dare, decide,
expect, fail, hope, manage, need, prepare, promise,
pretend, refuse, seem, struggle, tend, threaten,want,
would like.
Verb +object + to + infinitive

• My father taught me to ride.

• John wanted me to see his favourite movie.
• Art collections on the Internet enable everybody to study
them from home.

Verbs followed by object + to + infinitive include:

Advise, allow, ask, enable, encourage, expect, force,

invite, need, persuade, remind, teach, tell, want, would like

Verb +object + infinitive without to

These verbs include: make, let

• The actors let me take some photos of them

• When I was a child, my parents made me do my
homework as soon as I got home..

Verb + ‘ing’ form

• I enjoy travelling.
• He admitted stealing the necklace.
• I don’t mind waiting if you’re busy.
• I suggest going there late at night

‘enjoy’ ‘admit’ and ‘mind’ are followed by the ‘ing’

form Other verbs in this group include: avoid, bother,
can’t stand, can’t bear, consider, deny, dislike, feel
like, finish, give up, can’t help, practise, keep, miss,
mind, suggest.
Verbs ending with a preposition + ‘ing form’

• After seeing the museum’s collection online, I looked

forward to visiting the museum in person.
• He got round to painting his house
•
Other verbs in this group include: carry on, get round to,
give up, insist on, look forward to, take on, think
about

Verbs relating to the senses followed by object + ing

• I watched the band giving a stunning performance.

• If I hear people talking on the phone at a gig,I just want
to leave.

Verbs in this group include: feel, hear, see, smell, watch

Verb + infinitive or ‘ing’ form with no change in

meaning

A few verbs can be followed by either an infinitive or the

‘ing’ form and the meaning does not change.

• I started to work here in 1994.

• I started working here in 1994.

The meaning of these two sentences is the

same. There are some verbs that can take an infinitive
or an ‘ing’ form with no change in meaning (or almost no
change in meaning). ‘Begin’, bother, can’t bear, hate,
intend, like, love, prefer, ‘continue’ are other
examples.
Sometimes there is a slight change in meaning:

I like going to the dentist (I enjoy it)

I like to go to the dentist on my way to work (this is my

preference, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that I enjoy my
visits to the dentist.)

Verbs can be followed by either an infinitive, or an

–ing form but with a change in meaning.

These verbs include: forget, go on, mean, regret,

remember, stop , try

try

• I’m trying to learn Japanese but it’s very difficult.

Try + to + infinitive means that something is difficult and
you make an attempt to do it.

• Have you tried using butter instead of oil?

Try + ‘ing’ means make an experiment. It’s not difficult – it
might work, it might not.

stop

Stop + ‘ing’ tells us what has stopped. In this example,

buying a newspaper.

• I’ve stopped buying a newspaper every day to try to save

money.

Stop + to + infinitive tells us why something stopped. In

this example the reason that the bus stopped was to pick
up the children.

• The bus stopped to pick up the children.

remember /forget

• Don’t forget to post that letter for me.

• Did you remember to post that letter for me?

Remember/forget + to + infinitive means that you

remember something you have to do – a duty or a chore.

• I’ll always remember meeting you for the first time.

• I’ll never forget meeting you for the first time.

Remember/forget + ‘ing’ form means remember

something you did in the past – an event or an activity

go on

• Jane went on visiting the museum website till she had

seen everything (she didn’t stop until she had seen
everything)

• Jane went on to visit the museum website (she finished

what she was doing and then visited the museum
website)

Mean

• Going to the Uffizi meant queuing outside for a few hours

(going to the Uffizi involved queuing)

• We meant to go to the Uffizi but there wasn’t enough

 time (we intended to but ….)

Regret

• We regret informing you about the error, as it has

obviously caused you considerable anxiety ( we
informed you but now we are sorry for what we did)

• We regret to inform you that the concert has been

cancelled (we are sorry for what we are about to do)