Verbs followed by -ing or to
Reference lists of verbs followed by -ing, by to or by a person + to, and the verbs that change meaning: remember, stop and try.
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When a verb follows another verb, the first one decides the form: -ing (enjoy cooking), to + verb (decide to go), or a person + to + verb (ask someone to help). There is no rule that predicts it, so learn each verb with its pattern. This page collects the common ones.
Verb + -ing
Verbs | Example |
|---|---|
enjoy, don't mind, can't stand, dislike, fancy | Do you fancy going out tonight? |
finish, keep, carry on, give up, put off | She kept talking all evening. |
avoid, risk, miss, imagine, consider | I avoid driving in the city. |
suggest, recommend, admit, practise | He admitted taking the money. |
Fancy (= want) is informal British English. Suggest, recommend and admit can also take that + a clause: He admitted that he was wrong. We also use -ing after spend or waste + time: I spent the morning cleaning.
- Incorrect: Would you mind to close the door?
- Correct: Would you mind closing the door?After mind, use -ing.
Verb + to
Verbs | Example |
|---|---|
want, would like, need, hope, expect | I hope to see you soon. |
decide, plan, arrange, choose, agree | We agreed to meet at six. |
manage, fail, afford, learn | Did you manage to fix it? |
offer, promise, refuse, pretend, seem | She offered to help. |
- Incorrect: We decided staying at home.
- Correct: We decided to stay at home.After decide, use to + verb.
Verb + person + to
Verbs | Example |
|---|---|
want, would like, ask, tell, expect, invite, remind | She asked me to wait. |
advise, encourage, persuade, teach, warn, allow, help | He taught me to drive. |
After help, the to is optional: Can you help me (to) carry this? Make and let take a person + verb with no to: They made us wait. Suggest never takes this pattern, and explain needs to before the person: explain it to me.
- Incorrect: My friend suggested me to buy a bike.
- Correct: My friend suggested buying a bike. / My friend suggested that I buy a bike.
- Incorrect: I want that you come with me.
- Correct: I want you to come with me.
Both, with little difference
After begin, start, continue, like, love, hate and prefer, both forms are possible: It started raining. / It started to rain.
Would like and would love take only to, and would prefer and would hate usually do: I'd love to come. I'd prefer to stay in. After an -ing form of start or begin, we usually use to, so that two -ing forms don't come together: It's starting to rain.
Both, with a different meaning
Verb | + to | + -ing |
|---|---|---|
remember | Remember to lock the door. (do it) | I remember locking it. (a memory) |
forget | Don't forget to pay. (do it) | I'll never forget seeing it. |
stop | We stopped to eat. (in order to) | We stopped eating. (no more) |
try | I tried to lift it. (an effort) | Try restarting it. (a test) |
The page on verb patterns explains these four with more examples and the common mistakes.
After a preposition: always -ing
When a verb comes straight after a preposition, it takes -ing: good at cooking, interested in learning, before leaving, look forward to hearing.