5.

1 -ing form and infinitive with to

1 When we put two verbs together, we sometimes use the -ing form for the second
verb. We do this with verbs expressing likes and dislikes, such as:

1 She can’t stand running.

2 He loves beginning a new book.
3 I don’t feel like studying.
2 We also use the -ing form after these verbs:
admit avoid consider deny finish help imagine miss practise recommend
suggest
1 Did he admit taking the money?
2 Has he finished writing his report yet?
3 Do you miss seeing your brothers and sisters?
NB Remember that sometimes the -ing form has a spelling change.

© Oxford University Press

 5.1 -ing form and infinitive with to

1 We use the -ing form after verbs which are followed by a preposition:

1 She insists on practising every day.

2 We’re thinking of going out this evening.
3 He was referring to travelling by plane.
4 He doesn’t believe in being married.

2 We also use the -ing form after prepositions:

1 She always brushes her teeth before going out.

2 We are looking forward to seeing you next week.
3 We can find the answer by looking it up online.
4 You can’t become a lawyer without going to law school.

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 5.1 -ing form and infinitive with to
1 We use the infinitive with to after the following verbs.

afford agree aim appear arrange attempt choose decide demand expect
fail forget hope intend manage need offer plan start seem stop tend
want would like

1 I would like to go to the cinema this evening.

2 He intended to escape prison.
3 I aim to be back at work in a month.
4 We chose to go on holiday to Spain this year.

2 We put not between the two verbs to make the negative form.
1 She tends not to worry so much about the children nowadays.
2 We decided not to cycle into town today.

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 5.1 -ing form and infinitive with to

1 Some verbs can be followed by the -ing form or the infinitive with to with little or no
change in meaning. For example:

1 He attempted to do the test. – He attempted doing the test himself.

2 It began to rain at midnight. – It began raining at 10 a.m. and didn’t stop all
day.
3 She can’t stand to wait around. – She can’t stand waiting for anyone.
4 Did you continue to work after I left? – I didn’t continue working after you
left.
5 They prefer to have sandwiches at midday. – They prefer having a hot meal
later.
6 She started to walk when she was one. – She started walking when she was
one.

2 Notice that we do not normally put two -ing forms together, e.g. continuous + -ing
form, e.g. He’s starting to learn English. NOT He’s starting learning English.

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 5.1 -ing form and infinitive with to

1 Match the two halves of each pair of sentences.

1 She really enjoys to

speak more English at work.
2 I want
speaking more English at work.

3 He intended not to be
late again, but he was.
4 They apologised for being
late again.

5 He tends
paying for our meal out tonight.
6 I don’t mind
to pay for their meals. © Oxford University Press