Gerunds and In nitives with Verbs

Here are some of the most common verbs that are usually followed
by the gerund.

• enjoy: I enjoyed living in France.

• fancy: I fancy seeing a lm tonight.
• discuss: We discussed going on holiday together.
• dislike: I dislike waiting for buses.
• nish: We've nished preparing for the meeting.
• mind: I don't mind coming early.
• suggest: He suggested staying at the Grand Hotel.
• recommend: They recommended meeting earlier.
• keep: He kept working, although he felt ill.
• avoid: She avoided talking to her boss.
And here are some common verbs followed by 'to' and the in nitive.
• agree: She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting.
• ask*: I asked to leave early / I asked him to leave early.
• decide: We decided to go out for dinner.
• help*: He helped to clean the kitchen / he helped his atmate
to clean the kitchen.
• plan: She plans to buy a new at next year.
• hope: I hope to pass the exam.
• learn: They are learning to sing.
• want*: I want to come to the party / I want him to come to the
party.
• would like*: I would like to see her tonight / I would like you to
see her tonight.
• promise: We promised not to be late.
*We can use an object before the in nitive with these verbs.

(Note that 'help' can also be followed by the in nitive without 'to'
with no difference in meaning: 'I helped to carry it' = 'I helped carry
it’.)
fi
fi
fi
fi
fl
fi
fi
fl
fi
Here are some more verbs that are usually followed by the gerund

• miss: She misses living near the beach.

• appreciate: I appreciated her helping me.
• delay: He delayed doing his taxes.
• postpone: He postponed returning to Paris
• practise: She practised singing the song.
• consider: She considered moving to New York.
• can't stand: He can't stand her smoking in the of ce.
• can't help: He can't help talking so loudly.
• risk: He risked being caught.
• admit: He admitted cheating on the test.
And here are some more verbs followed by 'to' and the in nitive.
• can afford: We can't afford to go on holiday.
• manage: He managed to open the door without the key.
• prepare*: They prepared to take the test /
the teachers prepared the students to take the test.
• demand: He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris.
• choose: I chose to help.
• offer: Frank offered to drive us to the supermarket.
• wait: She waited to buy a movie ticket.
• would hate*: I'd hate to be late / I'd hate you to be late.
• would love*: I'd love to come / I'd love him to come.
• seem: Nancy seemed to be disappointed.
*We can use an object before the in nitive with these verbs.

Here are some more verbs that are usually followed by the gerund.

• deny: He denied committing the crime.

• mention: He mentioned going to that college.
• imagine: He imagines working there one day.
• tolerate: I tolerated her talking.
• understand: I understand his quitting.
• involve: The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.
• complete: He completed renovating the house.
• report: He reported her stealing the money.
• anticipate: I anticipated arriving late.
• recall: Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.
fi
fi
fi
And here are some more verbs followed by 'to' and the in nitive.
• expect*: They expect to arrive early / they expect Julie to
arrive early
• intend: We intend to visit you next spring.
• pretend: The child pretended to be a monster.
• refuse: The guard refused to let them enter the building.
• tend: He tends to be a little shy.
• would prefer*: I'd prefer to do it / I'd prefer him to do it.
• deserve: He deserves to go to jail.
• appear: His health appeared to be better.
• arrange: Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.
• claim: She claimed to be a princess.

Remember + gerund

This is when you remember something that has happened in the

past. You have a memory of it, like being able to see a movie of it in
your head.
• I remember going to the beach when I was a child. (= I have a
memory of going to the beach).
• He remembers closing the door. (= He has a memory of
closing the door).
Remember + to + in nitive

This is when you think of something that you need to do. (And
usually, you then do the thing).
• I remembered to buy milk. (= I was walking home and the idea
that I needed milk came into my head, so I bought some).
• She remembered to send a card to her grandmother.
Forget + gerund

This is the opposite of remember + gerund. It's when you forget

about a memory, something that you've done in the past.
• Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about
it.
• I told my brother that we'd spent Christmas at Granny's house
in 1985, but he'd forgotten going there.
fi
fi
Forget + to + in nitive

This is the opposite of remember + to + in nitive. It's when you want

to do something, but you forget about it.
• I forgot to call my mother. (= I wanted to call my mother, but
when it was a good time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking
about something else, and the idea to call my mother didn't
come into my head).
• She keeps forgetting to bring his book back.
Try + gerund

This is when you do something as an experiment. The thing you do

is not dif cult, but you want to see if doing it will have the result that
you want.
• I wanted to stop smoking, so I tried using nicotine patches. (=
Using nicotine patches was easy, but I wanted to know if it
would help me stop smoking).
• She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight.
(It was easy for her to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see
if it would help her lose weight, but it didn't).
Try + to + in nitive

This is when the thing you do itself is dif cult. In the present tense
or future tense, this means you might not succeed in doing it. In the
past tense, it means that you made an effort to do the thing, but you
did not succeed.
• I'll try to carry the suitcase, but it looks too heavy for me.
• She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.
Look at the difference:
• I tried giving up chocolate (it was no problem to stop eating
chocolate) but it didn't make me feel more healthy.
• I tried to give up chocolate, but it was too hard. I always ate
some when my friends offered it to me.
• It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window (it was
easy to open the window). It didn't help though, because it was
very hot outside too.
• • I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was
stuck.
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
 Stop + gerund

When we stop doing something it means the verb in the gerund is

the thing that we stop. It can mean 'stop forever' or 'stop at that
moment'.
• I stopped working when I was expecting a baby. (Working is
the thing I stopped).
• My grandmother stopped driving when she was 85. (Driving is
the thing she stopped).
• My boss came into the room, so I stopped browsing the
internet.
• There was a re alarm, so I stopped eating and went outside.
Stop + to + in nitive

In this case, we stop something else in order to do the verb in the

in nitive.
• I stopped to eat lunch. (I stopped something else, maybe
working or studying, because I wanted to eat lunch.
• She was shopping and she stopped to get a cup of coffee.
(She stopped shopping because she wanted to get a cup of
coffee).
Look at the difference:
• I stopped smoking. (I gave up cigarettes OR I threw away my
cigarette at that moment).
• I stopped to smoke. (I stopped doing something else because I
wanted to have a cigarette).
Regret + gerund

This is when you are sorry about something you did in the past and
you wish you hadn't done it.
• I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today.
• She regrets leaving school when she was sixteen. She wishes
that she had studied more and then gone to university.
Regret + to + in nitive

We use this construction when we are giving someone bad news, in

quite a formal way. The verb is almost always something like 'say'
or 'tell' or 'inform'.
fi
fi
fi
fi
 • I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.
• The company regrets to inform employees that the London
of ce will close next year.
fi