Some verbs can be followed immediately by a to-infinitive:
afford | demand | like | pretend |
agree | fail | love | promise |
arrange | forget | manage | refuse |
ask | hate | mean (= intend) | remember |
begin | help | need | start |
choose | hope | offer | try |
continue | intend | plan | want |
decide | learn | prefer |
I can’t afford to go on holiday.
It began to rain.
She hopes to go to university next year.
My mother never learnt to swim.
Did you remember to ring Nigel?
Some verbs are normally followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive:
admit | deny | finish | mind |
avoid | dislike | give up | miss |
(can’t) help | enjoy | imagine | practise |
(can’t) stand | fancy | involve | put off |
consider | feel like | keep (on) | risk |
I always enjoy cooking.
Not: I always enjoy to cook.
We haven’t finished eating yet.
Not: We haven’t finished to eat.
She keeps changing her mind about the wedding.
Some of these verbs (e.g. can’t stand, dislike, imagine, involve, mind, miss, put off and risk) can be used with a new subject before the -ing form (underlined in the examples below). If the new subject is a pronoun, it is in the object form (me, him, her, us, them):
We just couldn’t imagine Gerry singing in public.
Do you mind me being here while you’re working?
I don’t want to risk him losing his job.
Hate, like, love and prefer can be followed either by -ing or a to-infinitive. The difference in meaning is often small. The -ing form emphasises the verb itself. The to-infinitive puts the emphasis more on the preference for, or the results of, the action.
-ing form | to-infinitive |
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When hate, like, love and prefer are used with would or should, only the to-infinitive is used, not the -ing form:
She’d love to get a job nearer home.
Not: She’d love getting a job nearer home.
Would you like to have dinner with us on Friday?
Some verbs can be followed by a to-infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change in meaning:
go on | need | remember | try |
mean | regret | stop | want |
-ing form | to-infinitive |
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Let and make are followed by an infinitive without to in active voice sentences. They always have an object (underlined) before the infinitive:
Let me show you this DVD I’ve got.
They made us wait while they checked our documents.
Not: They made us to wait …
Help can be followed by an infinitive without to or a to-infinitive:
She helped me find a direction in life.
Everyone can help to reduce carbon emissions by using public transport.
A group of verbs connected with feeling, hearing and seeing can be used with -ing or with an infinitive without to:
feel | notice | see |
hear | overhear | watch |
When they are used with -ing, these verbs emphasise the action or event in progress. When they are used with an infinitive without to, they emphasise the action or event seen as a whole, or as completed.
-ing | infinitive without to |
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Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive. These verbs include:
advise | hate | like | persuade | request |
ask | help | love | prefer | teach |
challenge | instruct | need | recommend | tell |
choose | intend | order | remind | want |
forbid | invite |
I advised him to get a job as soon as possible.
Did Martin teach Gary to play squash?
They want me to go to Germany with them.