Language Practice

Pre-intermediate

Grammar reference Basic 08 Life changes

Verb + -ing and verb + to
When a verb comes after another verb, the second verb can be an -ing form
or an infinitive with to form.
Some verbs take the -ing form and others take the to form. There is no rule
about which verbs take -ing and which take to, so you have to learn them.

Verb + -ing
Verbs that usually take -ing are:
avoid go like stop
can’t stand imagine love recommend
enjoy hate mind risk
finish keep miss suggest

I can’t stand cooking.

Let’s finish doing our homework.
I recommend trying that new Italian restaurant.

Verb + to
Verbs that usually take to are:
afford fail offer
agree have plan
arrange hope promise
ask learn provoke
decide manage want
expect need would like

She expects the class to finish at 2 p.m.

He offered to help me on Tuesday.
They want to eat dinner now.
The second verb never changes form.
Penny decided to take the exam. Penny decided to takes the exam.

Verbs that take -ing and to with no change in meaning

Some verbs (e.g. hate, like, love, start, begin) take both -ing and to with no change
in meaning. In these examples, the two pairs of sentences have the same meaning.
The little girl started singing her favourite song.
The little girl started to sing her favourite song.
My family loves eating pizza.
My family loves to eat pizza.

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 Language Practice
Pre-intermediate

Grammar reference Basic 08 Life changes (continued)

Verbs that take -ing and to with a change in meaning
Some verbs (e.g. remember, stop, try) take -ing and to but with a change in meaning.
I remembered to take an umbrella with me.
I remember taking an umbrella with me.
The first sentence means the person remembered to do something (take an umbrella)
and then did it, and the second sentence means the person remembers the action of
doing something (take an umbrella) in the past.
I stopped to talk with my classmate in the corridor.
I stopped talking with my classmate when the class began.
The first sentence means the person stopped doing something (walking in the corridor)
in order to do something else (talk with their classmate), and the second sentence
means the person stopped doing something (talking with their classmate).
You should try to eat more fruit.
You should try eating more fruit.
The first sentence means you should make an effort to eat more fruit, and the second
sentence means you should see if eating more fruit will help you (to feel better, for example).