KABUL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER (KELC)

accustomed to He is accustomed to having his own office.

addicted to She is addicted to watching TV.
afraid of She is afraid of speaking in public.
anxious about Norma is anxious about making the presentation.
bored of I am bored of doing the same old job.
capable of He is capable of winning a gold medal.
committed to She is committed to improving her English.
concerned about Nancy was concerned about being late.
content with Tim is content with winning second place.
dedicated to The organization is dedicated to ending poverty.
devoted to The money will be devoted to protecting the environment.
disappointed with Fiona was disappointed with coming in third place.
discouraged by He was discouraged by not getting the job.
excited about The researcher was excited about going to Africa.
famous for That actor is famous for being extremely weird.
fond of She is fond of having picnics.
frightened of She is frightened of being alone at night.
guilty of The banker was guilty of stealing money.
happy about He was happy about winning the lottery.
interested in She is interested in becoming a doctor.
involved in He was involved in making the movie.
known for She was known for causing problems.
opposed to They are opposed to building a new road in the park.
proud of He was proud of having completed the marathon.
remembered for She is remembered for protecting mountain gorillas.
responsible for He is responsible for causing the damage.
scared of Tina is scared of being alone at night.
terrified of The surfer is terrified of being attacked by a shark.
tired from She is tired from working all day.
tired of Margaret is tired of making dinner every night.
worried about The hikers were worried about not having enough water.

List of adjectives + preposition + gerund

Example:

I am interested in visiting the museum.

afraid of, angry about/at, bad at, busy, clever at, crazy about, disappointed about, excited about, famous for, fond
of, glad about, good at, impressed by, interested in, keen on, like, near, proud of, sick of, sorry about, tired of,
worried about, worth

List of nouns (with/without preposition) + gerund

Example:

There’s no point in waiting any longer.

advantage of, alternative of, chance of, choice between, danger of, difficulty in, doubt about, experience in, hope of,
idea of, interest in, opportunity of, place for, pleasure in, point in, possibility of, problem, reason for, trouble,
trouble in, use of waste of money, waste of time

List of verbs + preposition + gerund

Example:

I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon.

accuse of, adjust to, agree with, apologize for, approve of, ask about, ask for, begin by, believe in, be used to, blame
for, care for, carry on, complain about, concentrate on, congratulate on, consist of, cope with, decide against, decide
for, depend on, die of, dream about/of, escape from, feel like, forgive for, give up, insist on, keep on, look forward
to, object to, pay for, prevent some body From, protect from, put off, rely on, spend money on, spend time on,
succeed in, suspect of, take part in, talk about/of, thank for, think of, use for, warn against, worry about

Verbs followed by gerund (verb+ing)

anticipate – We didn’t anticipate winning this match.

avoid – Let’s avoid being late.
can’t help – I can’t help counting those calories.
complete – He completed baking the apple pie.
consider – She never considered moving to England.
delay – We delayed moving to the new house until spring.
deny – He will deny stealing that car.
despise – She despises asking for favours.
discuss – We discussed buying a bigger apartment.
dislike – She dislikes cooking and baking.
enjoy – She enjoys reading.
fancy – I fancy having chicken for dinner.
finish – She finished eating before everyone else.
forgive – Can you forgive me for not fixing the car?
imagine – Can you imagine living on the moon?
involve – The new project involves writing many reports.
keep – She keeps coming late!
mention – I never mentioned meeting him.
mind – Will he mind switching rooms?
miss – I miss chatting with you.
postpone – Let’s postpone going out of town.
practise – He practises playing the guitar daily.
recommend – The doctor recommends resting in bed.
report – They reported seeing her leave with a stranger.
resent – He resents doing it all by himself.
resist – I can’t resist liking him.
resume – They resumed talking after the teacher left.
risk – Would you risk losing everything?
suggest – I suggest not taking him too seriously.
tolerate – We can’t tolerate being screamed at.
understand – He couldn’t understand her leaving so suddenly.
worth – It’s worth visiting the cathedral if you have time.

Verbs followed by infinitive (with “to”)

afford – He has no money so he can’t afford to buy a car.

agree – They agreed to give him a try.
appear – He appeared to know everything.
arrange – I have arranged to meet him on Monday.
ask – She asked to see her doctor.
choose – We chose to ignore it.
claim – He claims to be an expert.
decide – She decided not to go to the party.
demand – I demand to see the person in charge!
deserve – He deserves to win the contest.
expect – He expected to be home sooner.
fail – They failed to follow the instructions.
get – It’s not fair that she gets to see him first.
happen – I happened to pass by, so we had a chat.
hesitate – Don’t hesitate to call.
hope – I hope to see you soon.
intend – She didn’t intend to hurt you.
learn – He learned to speak Spanish very quickly.
manage – We managed to finish everything on time.
offer – He offered to go for a walk.
prepare – We were preparing to leave when he arrived.
pretend – She pretended not to hear a word.
promise – She promised to take us with her next time.
refuse – I refuse to cooperate.
seem – It seems to be broken.
swear – He swore to take revenge.
tend – These plants tend to grow slowly.
threaten – He has threatened to hurt us.
wait – The runners were waiting to start.
want – I want to speak with you in private.
wish – I wish to change my address.
would like – I would like to make a comment
Verbs followed by bare infinitive (without “to”)

can – I can help you if you have any problems.

could – When I was young I could play the piano.
had better – You had better finish your homework before it’s too late.
let (+object +verb) – My parents never let me go out late when I was young.
make (+object +verb) – The boss made her employees stay late.
may – I may go to the party, but I’m not sure.
might – They might make money with the new business plan.
must – You must renew your passport before travelling abroad.
should – You should try the new restaurant in the center.
would rather – I would rather cook at home than eat out.
Verbs followed by both gerund and infinitive with no change in meaning

can’t stand
She can’t stand sitting in the sun when it’s hot.
She can’t stand to sit in the sun when it’s hot.

continue
He continued talking when I asked him to stop.
He continued to talk when I asked him to stop.
prefer
We prefer eating dinner early.
We prefer to eat dinner early.

start
She started working at the company in May.
She started to work at the company in May.

Verbs followed by both gerund and infinitive with different meaning

forget
He forgot lending me the money.
(He has no memory of lending the money.)
He forgot to lend me the money.
(He forgot to complete the intended action.)
remember
I remember locking the storage.
(I have a memory of locking the storage.)

I must remember to lock the storage.

(I must remember to complete the intended action.)
need
The house needs cleaning.
(Passive voice, we don’t know who will clean.)
We need to clean the house.
(Active voice, the subject does the action.)
regret
I regret going to your wedding.
(I went, and now I regret it.)
I regret to tell you I can’t go to your wedding.
(I feel bad that I plan to tell you that I won’t go.)
stop
She stopped chatting.
(She was chatting, and then she stopped.)
She stopped to chat.
(She was doing something, then she stopped and chatted.)
try
They tried using bleach to clean the stain.
(They experimented with bleach as an option.)
They tried to use bleach to clean the stain.
(The attempt to use bleach was a failure.)