I.
VERB + -ING
When one verb follows
another verb, the structure is usually "verb + -ing"
or "verb + infinitive".
Some verbs are followed
by -ing :
- enjoy,
- mind,
- suggest,
- stop,
- finish,
- delay,
- postpone,
- fancy,
- imagine,
- consider,
- avoid,
- admit,
- deny,
- miss,
- risk,
- involve,
- practise.
- Examples : Suddenly,
everybody stopped talking.
/ I don't fancy going out this
evening.
Note the negative form
not -ing :
- when I'm on holiday,
I enjoy not having
to get up early.
We also use -ing
after give up, put
off, carry on /
go on, keep
or keep on :
- she has given
up smoking.
With some verbs, you
can use the structure "verb + somebody + -ing" :
- you can't stop
me doing
what I want.
Often, we use the simple
-ing form when we are talking about finished
actions, for an action that happens before the first verb or at
the same time. On the other hand, we use the infinitive
"to..." for an action that follows the first verb. This
difference is often helpful but does not explain all oses of -ing
and to...
- Compare : They
denied stealing
the money / They decided
to steal the money.
Some verbs can be followed
by -ing or to... with little or no difference in meaning :
- begin,
- start,
- intend,
- continue,
- bother.
But some other verbs
are followed by the two forms with a difference of meaning :
- remember
(you remember doing something after
you have done it, you remember to do
something before you do it),
- regret (I
regret doing something = I did it and now I'm sorry about that,
I regret to say = I'm sorry that I have to say),
- go on
(go on doing something = continue doing the same thing /
go on to do something = do or say something new).
Verbs and expressions
that mean "like" or "not like" are often followed
by -ing :
- like,
- love,
- hate,
- can't bear,
- enjoy,
- dislike,
- mind,
- can't stand.
After love,
hate and can't bear, you can
also use to..., but after enjoy,
dislike, mind,
can't stand, we use only -ing.
- Example : Tom
doesn't mind working
at night (and not "mind to work").
In British English, there
is sometimes a difference between "I like doing" and
"I like to do" : "I like doing something means
"I enjoy it" ; "I like to do something" means
"I think it is good or right to do it".
- Examples : I like
living here. / Mary
likes peoples to be on time.
II.
VERB + PREPOSITION + -ING
Many verbs have the structure
"verb + preposition (in, for, about...) + object"
: we talked about the problem.
If the object is another
verb, it ends in -ing : she
apologised for not telling the truth.
Here are the verbs with
this structure :
- talk about,
- apologise for,
- succeed in,
- insist on,
- think of,
- dream of,
- approve of,
- decide against,
- feel like,
- look forward to.
- Examples : I'm
thinking of buying
a house. / Do you feel like
going out tonight ?
The following verbs can
have the structure "verb + object + preposition + -ing"
:
- congratulate ... on,
- accuse ... of,
- suspect ... of,
- prevent ... from,
- stop ... (from),
- thank ... for,
- forgive ... for,
- warn ... against.
- Examples : They
accused me of telling
lies. / Please forgive me for
not writing to you.
Some of these verbs are
often used in the passive : the man was suspected
of being a spy.
III.
EXPRESSIONS + -ING
When these expressions
are followed by a verb, the verb ends in -ing :
- It's no use...
/ It's no good... : It's no use worrying
about that.
- There’s no
point in… : There was no point in waiting
any longer, so we went.
-
It’s (not) worth… : It’s not worth taking a taxi.
-
(Have) difficulty + –ing : I had difficulty finding a place to live.
We use –ing after a waste of money…/ a waste of time…(it was a waste of time reading that book), spend / waste time (he spent hours trying to repair the clock), be busy (she was too busy doing other things).
We also use go + -ing for a number of activities (especially sports) : go swimming, go sailing, go fishing…
IF
YOU WANT TO DO SOME EXERCISES ABOUT THIS GRAMMAR POINT,
CLOSE
THIS APPLICATION, GO TO "DEMARRER", "PROGRAMMES", "GRAMSTER"
