EASY FLUENCY

CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Verbs Followed by an Infinitive

She agreed to speak before the game.

agree choose fail leave prepare strive

aim condescend forget like proceed swear
appear consent get long promise threaten
arrange continue happen love propose try
ask dare have mean refuse use
attempt decide hesitate neglect remember wait
be able deserve hope offer say want
beg detest hurry ought shoot wish
begin dislike intend plan start
care expect leap prefer stop

Verbs Followed by an Object and an Infinitive

Everyone expected her to win.

advise challenge forbid leave permit teach

allow choose force let persuade tell
ask command have like prepare urge
beg dare hire love promise want
bring direct instruct motivate remind warn
build encourage invite order require
buy expect lead pay send

Note: Some of these verbs are included in the list above and may be used without an object.

Verbs Followed by a Gerund

They enjoyed working on the boat.

admit consider escape imagine quit risk

advise delay excuse mind recall spend (time)
appreciate deny finish miss report suggest
avoid detest forbid permit resent tolerate
can't help dislike get through postpone resist waste (time)
complete enjoy have practice resume

Verbs Followed by a Preposition and a Gerund

We concentrated on doing well.

admit to care about depend on feel like plan on succeed in

approve of complain about disapprove of forget about prevent talk about
argue about concentrate on discourage from insist on (someone) from think about
believe in confess to dream about object to refrain from worry about

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 EASY FLUENCY
CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR

1. A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." The gerund form of the verb "read" is "reading." You
can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
Reading helps you learn English. SUBJECT OF SENTENCE
Her favorite hobby is reading. COMPLEMENT OF SENTENCE
I enjoy reading. OBJECT OF SENTENCE

2. Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb. The infinitive form of "learn" is "to learn." You can also use an
infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
To learn is important. SUBJECT OF SENTENCE
The most important thing is to learn. COMPLEMENT OF SENTENCE
He wants to learn. OBJECT OF SENTENCE

3. Both gerunds and infinitives can be used as the subject or the complement of a sentence. However, as
subjects or complements, gerunds usually sound more like normal, spoken English, whereas infinitives
sound more abstract. In the following sentences, gerunds sound more natural and would be more common
in everyday English. Infinitives emphasize the possibility or potential for something and sound more
philosophical. If this sounds confusing, just remember that 90% of the time, you will use a gerund as the
subject or complement of a sentence.
Learning is important. NORMAL SUBJECT
To learn is important. ABSTRACT SUBJECT - LESS COMMON
The most important thing is learning. NORMAL COMPLEMENT
The most important thing is to learn. ABSTRACT COMPLEMENT - LESS COMMON

4. As the object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. In such
situations, gerunds and infinitives are not normally interchangeable. Usually, the main verb in the sentence
determines whether you use a gerund or an infinitive.
He enjoys swimming. "ENJOY" REQUIRES A GERUND.
He wants to swim. "WANT" REQUIRES AN INFINITIVE.

5. Some verbs are followed by infinitives.

agree Tom agreed to help me.
appear His health appeared to be better.
arrange Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.

6. Gerunds can often be modified with possessive forms such as his, her, its, your, their, our, John's, Mary's,
the machine's, and so on. This makes it clearer who or what is performing the action.
I enjoyed their singing. THEY WERE SINGING.
She understood his saying no to the offer. HE SAID NO.
Sam resented Debbie's coming late to the dinner. DEBBIE CAME LATE TO THE DINNER.
We discussed the machine's being broken. THE MACHINE IS BROKEN.

7. Some verbs are followed by a noun plus an infinitive. In some situations, the noun is required. In other
situations, the noun is optional.
The police ordered the man to stop. NOUN IS REQUIRED
She asked to leave. NOUN IS OPTIONAL
She asked him to leave. NOUN IS OPTIONAL

8. Gerunds are used after prepositions. Most commonly, these are "verb + preposition" combinations. For
reference, see the Verb + Preposition Dictionary and the Phrasal Verb Dictionary. You don't have to
memorize these resources, you just need to remember that gerunds are used after prepositions!
They admitted to committing the crime.
Leslie made up for forgetting my birthday.
He is thinking about studying abroad.

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