50 Examples of Verbs with "-ing" or "to infinitive"

There are numerous verbs main words that need a secondary verb to complete their meaning. The secondary verb acts as an object or complement, without which the main verb would be incomplete. For example: I love traveling./ I love to travel.

The secondary verb can end in -ing or be a infinitive introduced by to. Some main verbs must be followed by to + infinitive (want, agree), others must be followed by -ing (enjoy finish), while some verbs can be followed by both to + infinitivelike -ing (begin, try), with minimal or large differences depending on the case.

the choice of -ingeither to + infinitiveIt depends on the main verb used. Each main verb in English has a particular complement. For example: Yo quiero to go(And not: I want to go). I adore swimming. (And not: I love to swim).

• See also: Gerund Verbs in English

What verbs are followed by to infinitive?

There are numerous verbs that can only be followed by to + infinitive to complete its meaning.

Some frequent verbs that must be followed by to + infinitiveare:

Main verb	Translation	Example
afford	afford	We can't afford to buy a new car.We cannot afford to buy a new car.
agree	agree	They agreed to lend us the money. They agreed to lend us the money.
choose	choose	I choose to be free. I choose to be free.
decide	decide	She decided to become an artist.She decided to be an artist.
expect	hope, believe	I didn't expect to see you here. I didn't expect to see you here.
forget	forget (be)	I forgot to pay the bill. I forgot to pay the bill.
help	help	Jake will help me to clean the house. Jake will help me clean the house.
hope	expect that	we hope to see you soon.We hope to see you soon.
learn	learn	I have learned to ski when he was little. He learned to ski when he was a boy.
manage	get achieve	Anne managed to escape safe and sound. Anne managed to escape safely.
need	need	There's something I need to tell you now. There's something I need to tell you now.
offer	offer	They offered to help us. They offered to help us.
plan	to plan	Tim plans to become a lawyer. Tim plans to be a lawyer.
promise	pledge	Lo prometo to help you. I promise to help you.
refuse	reject, refuse	Ted refused you eat. Ted refused to come.
seems	seem	There seems to be a big problem. It seems there is a big problem.
wanted	want	He wants to leave now. She wants to go now.
would like	I would like, I would like, I would like	I would like to take a coffee. She would like to have a coffee.
she would love	would love	Mary would love to visit England. Mary would love to visit England.
would prefer	I'd prefer	I would prefer all the work myself. I would prefer to do the work myself.
would hate	would hate	she would hate to change schools. She would hate to change schools.

Verbs help (help) and I will give (to dare) can be followed by an infinitive with or without to. For example: she helped me all the homework either she helped me do the homework./ She helped me do my homework.

Verbs letand make must always be followed by an infinitive without to (bare infinitive). For example: mom let us go.(And not: Mom let us go).

There are verbs that must be followed by a object (person who receives the action) followed by to + infinitive. Some of these verbs are: allow, invite, tell, warn, remind, encourage, advise, beg. For example: my sister reminded I to call Jim for his birthday from him./ My sister reminded me to call Jim for her birthday.

• It can help you: Verbs ending in -ed in English

What verbs are followed by -ing?

There are verbs that need a secondary verb ending in -ingto complete its meaning.

Some frequent verbs that must be followed by -ing are:

Verb	Translation	Example
admit	admit	The boy admitted stealing the money. The boy admitted to stealing the money.
adore	to adore	They adore spending time together. They love spending time together.
avoid	avoid	The driver avoided crashing into the other car. The driver avoided hitting the other car.
hate	detest	I hate being under pressure. I hate being under pressure.
don't mind	do not mind, do not disturb	Tommy doesn't mind doing the dishes. Tommy doesn't mind doing the dishes.
enjoy	enjoy	My parents enjoy reading a lot. My parents enjoy reading a lot.
finish	finish	I finished doing the exercise. I finished doing homework.
hate	hate	I hate having to say this. I hate to say this.
imagine	imagine	They imagine themselves living room on a paradise island. They imagine living on an island paradise.
keep	follow, maintain	keep trying. Keep trying.
look forward to	yearn, yearn, wait	I look forward to seeing you soon. I hope to see you soon.
miss	miss	I miss living room in my town. I miss living in my town.
quit	leave	dad has quit working at the bank. Dad has stopped working at the bank.
tolerate	tolerate	I can't tolerate wasting money. He does not tolerate spending money.

Attention: The verb go followed by -ingexpresses certain physical activities and sports. For example: go swimming(go swimming), go jogging(go running),go hiking(hiking).

Verbs followed by -ing and to infinitive

There are verbs in English that can be followed by both to + infinitive like -ingwith minimal or large differences depending on the case.

The verbs that admit -ing either to + infinitive with little or no difference in meaning are:

begin begin	continue continue	sees it love
bother take the trouble	hate hate	prefer prefer
can't stand not bear	like like	start begin

For example: I like to drink some tea in the afternoon either I like drinking some tea in the afternoon./ I like to drink tea in the afternoon.

Verbs that admit admit -ing either to + infinitive with difference in meaning are:

Verb	-ing	to infinitive
remember	It means “to remember the moment when the action was done”. For example: I remember speaking to the teacher about it. I remember talking to the teacher. (The speaker has the memory of the action).	It means "not to forget something that had to be done". For example: I remembered to speak to the teacher. I remembered to talk to the teacher. (The speaker did not forget to do so.)
stop	It means “to stop or abandon an action”. For example: I stopped talking to my best friend. I stopped talking to my best friend (The speaker left the activity).	It means “momentarily interrupting an action to do another”. For example: I stopped to talk to my best friend. I stopped to talk to my best friend. (The speaker interrupted the activity he was doing to speak).
try	Indicates "the methods to achieve something." For example: Try speaking out loud in order to improve your English. Try speaking out loud to practice your English. (It refers to the method to achieve it).	It literally means "to try to do something, usually with a negative result." For example: I tried to sleep but he couldn't. He tried to sleep but couldn't. (The speaker tried to do an action, without success).

the termination -ing and the to infinitive: characteristics

Both the ending -ingas to + infinitiveThey are non-conjugated forms of the verb, which act as a complement, but are not main verbs. Some features are:

• Both forms do not express time (present, past, future). The main verb must be conjugated (and not the secondary one, which is invariable). For example: they decided to leave.(And not: They decided to left).
• Both forms translate the same, like the infinitive in Spanish. For example: Yo quiero rest at home./ I want to rest at home. I adore resting at home./ I love to rest at home.
• Both forms form the negative by introducing the word not before both builds. For example: She remembered not to phone the old number./ She remembered not to call the old number. I love not doing anything. / I love doing nothing.

Follow with:

• Passive voice in English
• modal verbs in english
• Regular verbs in English
• Irregular verbs in English
• «present progressive" (either "present continuous" in English)

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