In English, some verbs have to be followed by the Gerund (-ING form) while others are followed by the Infinitive (to…). To make things worse, some verbs may be followed by both forms. These verbs are marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below. To find out more about them and see more examples, please click the link at the bottom of this page.
FOLLOWED BY ‘ING’
LIKE*
- Superman loves changing clothes in phone booths.
FANCY
- Do you fancy going out for a drink later, Lois?
FEEL LIKE
- I’m sorry, Clark. I don’t feel like going out tonight.
APPRECIATE
- You know, Lois, I don’t appreciate being treated like a stranger.
ENJOY
- Sherlock Holmes enjoys solving mysteries.
LOVE*
- I just love watching Sherlock reruns.
MIND
- Would you mind leaving me alone, Mr Watson?
TOLERATE
- I can’t tolerate being ignored any longer.
DISLIKE*
- Why do you dislike spending time with Roger?
HATE*
- I don’t hate spending time with him, but he’s not my favourite person, to put it nicely.
(CAN’T) STAND
- Will you post this letter for me, please? I can’t stand queuing.
DETEST
- I just detest waiting.
AVOID
- Why are you avoiding getting down to work? Stop procrastinating.
MISS
- I miss playing with my Barbie dolls. Why can’t I be a child again?
CONSIDER
- Would you consider working as an English Language teacher?
SUGGEST
- I suggest going in Bruce Wayne’s car.
ADVISE
- I would advise not calling him at this time of night.
IMAGINE
- Peter has imagined telling his wife the truth many times.
ADMIT
- He didn’t want to admit cheating on her.
FINISH*
- Never talk to Joker until he has finished speaking.
POSTPONE
- I think we’ll have to postpone meeting the clients.
DELAY
- Janet delayed telling her husband that she wanted a divorce. It was Christmas after all.
FOLLOWED BY INFINITIVE (to …)
HOPE
- I hope to see you again soon.
WANT
- Doctor Octopus wants to rule the world.
WISH
- Follow MyEnglishTeacher.eu on Facebook if you wish to improve your English.
PREFER
- We’ve received a thousand-dollar donation, but the donor prefers to stay anonymous.
INTEND*
- I don’t intend to reveal his identity.
ASK
- What are you doing with Tom’s laptop? Did you ask to use it?
AIM
- I aim to get there before two o’clock.
DARE
- Do you know what time Suzy will get here?
No, I didn’t dare to ask.
TRY*
- I’ve tried to call her a few times, but she didn’t pick up.
LEARN*
- When did you learn to swim?
I’ve never learnt to swim.
FAIL
- I’m afraid I fail to see your point.
DECIDE
- I’ve decided to learn ten new words every day.
CHOOSE
- I wasn’t dumped by Barbara. I chose not to see her again.
PROMISE
- She promised to keep in touch.
SWEAR
- I want you to swear not to tell anyone what you’ve just seen.
AGREE
- Will you agree to be Barbara’s lawfully wedded husband?
REFUSE
- I wanted to apologize to her, but she refused to see me.
BEGIN*
- It began to rain just as I was getting ready to go for a run. What a shame.
START*
- I started to learn English when I was eight years old.
CONTINUE
- I’m going to continue to learn until I’m fluent.
AFFORD
- My laptop is broken and I can’t afford to buy a new one.
SEEM
- Who’s that guy? He seems to know what he’s talking about.
For more on verbs that may be followed by both ‘to’ and ‘ing’, please visit:
List of Verbs Followed by Both Gerunds and Infinitives!
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