voa 2015 / 4 / 18

Words in This Story

gerund - n. an English noun formed from a verb by adding -ing

infinitive - n. the basic form of a verb; usually used with to except with modal verbs like should and could and certain other verbs like see and hear

preposition - n. a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object

Now it's your turn. In the comment section, write one sentence that uses a verb followed by a gerund or an infinitive. We'll respond with feedback about your usage.

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Only a gerund can follow these verbs:

admit, advise, avoid, be used to, can't help, can't stand, consider, deny, discuss, dislike, end up, enjoy, feel like, finish, forget, get used to, give up, go on, have difficulty, have problems, have trouble, imagine, it's no use, it's worthwhile, keep, look forward to, mention, mind, miss, recommend, remember, quit, spend time, stop, suggest, understand, waste time, work at

Either a gerund or an infinitive can follow these verbs, and there is no change in meaning

begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer, start

Either a gerund or an infinitive can follow these verbs, but the meaning may change:

forget, remember, stop

An infinitive often follows these common verbs:

afford, agree, appear, arrange, ask, care, decide, demand, expect, fail ,forget, hope, learn, manage, mean, offer, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, remember, seem, stop, volunteer, wait, want, wish

A noun or pronoun and an infinitive follow these verbs

advise, allow, ask, cause, challenge, command, convince, expect, forbid, force, hire, instruct, invite, order, pay, permit, program, remind, teach, tell, urge, want, warn