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-Ing Form or Infinitive For Bachillerato Students According to Practical English Usage by Michael Swan Non-personal Verb Forms INFINITIVE -ING FORM PARTICIPLE PRESENT TO DO DOING DONE PERFECT TO HAVE DONE TO BE DONE HAVING DONE BEING DONE ____ PASSIVE ____ -Ing Form: subject, object or complement of a preposition The -ing form often acts as a verb and a noun at the same time. It can be followed by an object (eg writing letters), but it can also itself be the subject, object or complement of a sentence: Writing letters takes a long time I hate writing letters I’m not used to writing letters I learn vocabulary by writing it several times -Ing Form after Verb When one verb is followed by another, the second verb is sometimes in the –ing form. The most common are: admit appreciate avoid consider contemplate delay deny detest dislike endure enjoy escape excuse face feel like finish forgive give up can’t help imagine involve mention mind miss postpone practise put off resent resist risk can’t stand suggest understand -Ing Form after Verb Some examples of this are: You could avoid sitting in traffic jams by leaving home earlier. I can’t help falling in love with you. Please, take your time; I don’t mind waiting. I need to do some studying. I won’t risk failing any exams again. I can’t stand queueing. It just gets on my nerves. My friends suggested travelling to London for the Easter holiday. Infinitive An infinitive can also be the subject of a sentence, especially in older English (eg “To err is human, to forgive divine”). In modern English, it is more common to begin the sentence with “it” as preparatory subject and to put later, after an adjective.( “It’s easy to make mistakes” rather than “To make mistakes is easy”) The combination adjective + infinitive can express various meanings, depending on which adjective is used: I was very pleased to see you yesterday Relativity theory isn’t easy to understand. Infinitive of purpose Infinitives can also be combined with nouns to express what will be done with something (eg Have you got a key to unlock the door?) The infinitive with to is used to talk about people’s purposes, the reason why they do things. I went to Brighton to learn English In negative sentences, in order not to or so as not to are used; the infinitive alone is usually incorrect: I’m going now so as not to miss the train. Infinitive after Verb The most common verbs followed by an infinitive are: afford agree appear arrange ask attempt bear beg begin care choose consent dare decide determine expect fail forget happen hate help hesitate hope intend learn like love manage mean neglect offer prefer prepare pretend promise propose refuse regret remember seem start swear trouble try want wish Infinitive after Verb Some examples of this are: I can’t afford to buy that BMW. Shall we arrange to meet at eight? I chose to come to this school because I didn’t dare to apply for the bilingual one. I failed to ring him. I meant to do it yesterday but I seem to have lost his phone number. He promised to look after the dog but now he refuses to take him for walks. My mum started to learn to drive only last month, but she doesn’t want to continue. Verb + Object + Infinitive Some verbs are used with an object before and an infinitive (eg She wants me to go shopping with her; not *…that I go…) The most common verbs using this construction are: advise allow ask bear beg cause command encourage expect forbid force get hate help instruct intend invite leave like mean need oblige order permit persuade prefer press recommend request remind teach tell tempt trouble urge want warn wish Verb + Object + Bare Infinitive Certain verbs are followed by an object and the infinitive without to (bare infinitive). The most common are: let make see hear help feel notice watch She lets her children stay up very late. I made them give me the money back. I did’t see you come in. Can you help me finish my homework? The verbs have and know can also form this construction on certain occasions. Have Mrs Hansen come in, please. -Ing Form or Infinitive? Some verbs can be followed by either –ing or infinitive, usually with a difference in meaning. The most important cases are: advise allow attempt can’t bear begin continue forbid forget go on hate hear intend like love permit prefer propose regret remember see Let us study a few of these differences start stop try watch Remember, forget and regret The difference is connected with time. When they are followed by the –ing form, they refer to things that happened before the verb. When they are followed by the infinitive they refer to things that happen after the verb. I will always remember meeting you for the first time I will always remember to buy you a birthday present. Stop and go on When they are followed by the –ing form, they refer to things that are in progress. When they are followed by the infinitive they refer to things that will be started. I must really stop smoking soon. I must really stop to smoke a cigarette or else I’ll fall asleep. How long do you intend to go on watching TV? He said hello and then went on to start work. Like, love, hate and prefer They are mainly used followed by the –ing form, especially in British English. However, they can also be followed by the infinitive when they refer to a specific occasion, in which case the action seems like a good idea: I like walking in the rain. I like to walk after dinner so that I can get tired before I go to sleep. Allow, advise, forbid and permit They don’t change their meaning. They need to change the structure according to whether they are followed by an object or not. We don’t allow smoking in our house. We don’t allow people to smoke in our house. Try It is followed by the infinitive when its meaning is attempting to do something or to making an effort: I tried to learn Japanese but the pronunciation was too difficult for me. It is followed by the –ing form when the meaning is making an experiment: If you find Japanese difficult, you should try using this speech trainer; you’ll be impressed! Do you want some more? 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