VERB PATTERNS ( gerund and infinitive)

THERE IS NO RULE HOW THESE COMBINATIONS ARE MADE

We use gerunds (verb + ing):

After certain verbs - I enjoy singing

After prepositions - I drank a cup of coffee before leaving

As the subject or object of a sentence (GERUND)- Swimming is good exercise

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 film tonight.

discuss: We discussed going on holiday together.

dislike: I dislike waiting for buses.

finish: We've finished 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.

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 office.

can't help: He can't help talking so loudly.

risk: He risked being caught.

admit: He admitted cheating on the test.

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.

We use 'to' + infinitive:

After certain verbs - We decided to leave

After many adjectives - It's difficult to get up early

- I came to London to study English

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 flatmate to clean the kitchen.

plan: She plans to buy a new flat 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.

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.

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.

Gerund and the Infinitive after the verb – no difference in meaning

These verbs can be followed by a Gerund and an Infinitive without changing their meaning:

Verb Examples

He began talking.
begin
He began to talk.

They continue smoking.

continue
They continue to smoke.

Do you hate working on Saturdays?

hate
Do you hate to work on Saturdays?

I like swimming.
like
I like to swim.

She loves painting.

love
She loves to paint.

prefer Pat prefers walking home.

 Verb Examples

Pat prefers to walk home.

They start singing.

start
They start to sing.

These verbs can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive

with a change in meaning.
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 + infinitive

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.

Forget + to + infinitive
This is the opposite of remember + to + infinitive. 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 difficult, 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 + infinitive

This is when the thing you do itself is difficult. 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.

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 fire alarm, so I stopped eating and went outside.

Stop + to + infinitive

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

 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 + infinitive

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'.

 I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.

 The company regrets to inform employees that the London office will close next year.

We use the bare infinitive (the infinitive without 'to'):

After modal verbs - I can meet you at six o'clock

After 'let', 'make' and (sometimes) 'help' - The teacher let us leave early

After some verbs of perception (see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense) - I watched her walk away

After expressions with 'why' - why go out the night before an exam?

English Grammar Exercises for B1- Verb

patterns
English Grammar Exercises for B1
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1. Choose the correct answers.
1 Do you fancy to go out / going out for a pizza?
2 If you happen to see / seeing Kerry, tell her I called.
3 Do you want to watch / watching a film tonight?
4 We managed to finish / finishing our homework quickly.
5 I can’t help to laugh / laughing when someone falls over.
6 We decided to go / going to the Caribbean this year.
7 They refused to help / helping us with the project.
8 I couldn’t face to do / doing any revision last night.
Answer

2. Complete the dialogue with the infinitive or -

ing form of the verbs in brackets.
Kate I’m fed up! I spent all last night 1………………….
(study) for today’s exam.
Jenny Did you manage 2…………………. (learn)
everything?
Kate More or less. But I don’t feel
like 3…………………. (do) the same again tonight.
Jenny No, I don’t enjoy 4…………………. (study) either,
but we’ve nearly finished.
Kate I want 5…………………. (go out) for a change.
We’ve been studying for weeks.
Jenny Well, there’s no way we can
avoid 6…………………. (take) exams. Let’s plan a trip
for when we finish.
Kate That’s a good idea! Where do you
suggest 7…………………. (go)?
Jenny I fancy 8…………………. (lie) on a beach
somewhere doing absolutely nothing.
Kate Excellent idea. Let’s go it.
Answer

3. Complete the text with the correct form of the

verbs in brackets.
As a child, Naomi Campbell always
wanted 1…………………. (be) famous, but she never
expected 2…………………. (become) a supermodel.
She enjoyed 3…………………. (appear) in public and
joined a drama school at the age of five. When she was
fifteen, the head of the modelling agency spotted her
and insisted on 4…………………. (give) her a contract.
Despite discrimination in the field, she became an
instant success and even magazines
like Vogue agreed 5…………………. (use) her photo on
their front cover. In the 1990s, Naomi decided
to 6…………………. (launch) her singing career, but she
failed 7…………………. (impress) the critics. However,
she has spent over two decades 8………………….
(work) as a model and on the catwalk she is still as
popular as ever.
Answer

4. Complete the sentences with the infinitive or the -

ing form of the verbs in the box.

buy cycle drink fix post say visit

1 I remembered ………………… ‘Happy Birthday’ to
Sarah. Did you?
2 She stopped ………………… coffee so she would
sleep better.
3 I forgot ………………… that letter. Sorry!
4 The TV doesn’t work, but he’s going to try
………………… it.
5 I stopped ………………… petrol on my way to London
yesterday.
6 Do you remember ………………… your grandparents
when you were little?
7 My sister tried ………………… to work, but she didn’t
enjoy it so now she gets the bus.
Answer

Challenge!
Look up these verbs in a learner’s dictionary and put them in the
correct column.

admit carry on offer plan risk threaten

verb + infinitive verb + -ing

1…………………… 4……………………

2…………………… 5……………………

3…………………… 6……………………
Write sentences using each verb.
1 …………………………………….
2 …………………………………….
3 …………………………………….
4 …………………………………….
5 …………………………………….
6 …………………………………….
Answer

Fill the spaces in each question with the correct form of the verb in
brackets.

If you don't enjoy (study), why are you doing it?

1. I'm learning (cook) Japanese, but it's very difficult.

2. We can't leave until Jeremy finishes (pack) all his

suitcases.
3. I don't mind (go) on the bus, but I hate travelling by
car.

4. Can you let me (watch) the TV for an hour? There's a

film on.

5. Stop (make) so much noise, I'm studying!

6. His mother promised (buy) him a computer if he was

good.

7. You shouldn't (smoke) because you are too young.