Lesson 2a

Verbs taking a full infinitive or –ing (gerund) according to meaning

 

a) remember, forget

remember + infinitive = not to forget before we do something, e.g.:

I must remember to ask him about this.

remember + -ing (gerund) = to recall or recollect something afterwards, e.g.:

Do you remember visiting London as a child?

 

forget + infinitive = not to remember beforehand, e.g.:

I’ve completely forgotten to give him the money.

forget + -ing (gerund) = not to remember afterwards, e.g.:

He’s completely forgotten ever visiting Prague as a child.

 

b) like, love, hate, prefer

- these verbs take the infinitive when we have feelings beforehand about what may happen (whether it happened or not), so that the meaning of these verbs is then (not) wish, (not) want or hope, e.g.:

I don’t like to butt in on you like this, but I’d like to ask you something / so I won’t do it now and I’ll ask you later. = I don’t want to…

I’d love to join you tonight, but I won’t make it. / what time shall I come? = I very much want to…

I hate to bother you, but I need your help / so I’ll stop by again later. = I very much hope not to bother you…

I would prefer to discuss the matter in private. = I really hope that we can discuss…

- when our feelings accompany or follow what happens (or what we know will happen) so that the meaning is (not) enjoy or (not) take pleasure in, these verbs take –ing (gerund), or also – when affirmative – the infinitive:

I didn’t like butting in on you like this… = which I did and I didn’t enjoy it… - in a negative sentence, only –ing is possible in this meaning

X

 I love hiking / to hike in summer. = which I’ve done / I do.

She prefers watching TV / to watch TV on cold autumn evenings. = which she does when she can.

- here, the sentences are affirmative (positive), so we can use both ­–ing or the full infinitive

However, for comparisons prefer should be used only with –ing! For example:

I prefer watching TV to going out on cold autumn evenings.

 

c) dread, regret

- these two verbs are mostly used with the infinitive of the verbs such as to think, to say, to tell, to inform, etc. with reference to the future, e.g.:

I dread to think what she will say. = so I’ll try not to think about it. (ani se na to neodvažuji pomyslet…)

I regret to say that the lecture has been cancelled. = I don’t like to say what I’m going to say, but…

- we use –ing with dread when we want to say that something will almost certainly happen:

I dread sitting for the final exam. = but I’m going to…

- we use –ing with regret to say what has happened (and we regret it now):

She regrets moving to London. = She moved to London and now she regrets it.

 

d) begin, start, cease

- begin and start can be used with either the infinitive or –ing, but there is a tendency to use
a) the infinitive for events that are impersonal or involuntary, when these verbs (begin and start) are in the progressive form, and when the following verb is a stative verb and thus has no progressive form, e.g.:

It begins to rain. = impersonal; I began to get cold. = involuntary

I’m starting to learn Spanish. = the verb start is in the progressive form, so the following verb (to learn) will be in the infinitive form

I’ve began to realise that he’s not a good person. – to realise is a stative verb
b) –ing for voluntary actions, e.g.:

I started learning German many years ago.

- cease usually takes –ing, but it has to take the infinitive (like begin and start) when it is in the progressive form and the following verb is a stative verb

 

e) go on, mean, need, try, understand, want

- all these verbs can be used either with the infinitive or with –ing (gerund) according to their meaning, e.g.:

go on

a) to continue happening or doing something as before (the same activity) + -ing:

She can’t go on pretending that everything is fine when it clearly isn’t.

b) to start doing something else/new (after doing a different activity) + infinitive:

After discussing English tenses, the teacher then went on to talk about the use of articles.

mean

a) to involve something (znamenat, obnášet) + -ing:

The new agreement means accepting lower wages.

b) to intend (zamýšlet) + infinitive:

Whoops! I didn’t mean to step on your toe.

I mean to leave that meeting with a new contract.

need

a) to be in need of (when talking about things) + ing = something needs to be done:

It’s a difficult problem. It needs thinking about very carefully. OR …It needs to be thought about very carefully.

b) to have a need (when talking about people) + infinitive = a weaker form of have to:

I need to talk to you.

try

a) to do something as an experiment or test; experiment with sth. + -ing:

I try walking to work every day to lose some weight.

b) to attempt to do something, to make an effortto do sth. + infinitive:

I was very tired. I tried to keep my eyes open but I couldn’t.

understand

a) to understand why + ing:

I can understand him not inviting his ex-girlfriend. = …understand why he doesn’t invite her.

b) to have the impression + infinitive:

I understood him to say that he didn’t want to join us.

want

a) to be in need of (similar to need, when talking about things) + ing:

This issue wants looking into.

b) to wish + infinitive:

I want to go home now.

References:

Gethin, H. (1992) Grammar in Context. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman Limited, pp. 109-113.