SPYMASTER | Mission 28: The Infinitive vs the -ING Form 1

20 min

The Infinitive vs
the -ING Form 1

1 topic

1 task

SPYMASTER

Mission 28

Infinitives and -ING forms can sometimes be used in similar positions.

As a subject or complement

It's wonderful to achieve so much by the age of 25.
It's wonderful, achieving so much by the age of 25.
Achieving so much by the age of 25 is wonderful.
To achieve so much by the age of 25 is wonderful. (quite formal)

As an object after certain verbs (read on to find out which)

I love to listen to music in the evenings.
I love listening to music in the evenings.

After BE

My main ambition is to become a surgeon.
My biggest nightmare is forgetting to turn up for the exams.

After nouns

His plans to travel during the Christmas holiday fell apart.
There could be a problem finding a suitable hotel.

After adjectives

I was very sorry to have to tell her about the accident.
The children were all happy playing in the garden.

Note that you cannot use an infinitive after prepositions. Use an -ING form instead:

I really object to driving on busy holiday weekends.

like, love, hate, prefer

After like, love, hate and prefer, infinitives and -ING forms can often be used without a significant difference in meaning.

I hate to get up early.
I hate getting up early.

She prefers to walk.
She prefers walking.

However, in certain cases like is used with an infinitive to talk about choices and habits.

He likes to watch TV. = He likes watching TV. (= He enjoys it.)
When I make dinner, I like to wash up right afterwards. (= I choose to, it’s my habit.)

NB!

Use an infinitive after would like, would prefer, would love and would hate.

I'd like to clarify something.
Shall we go now? - No, I'd prefer to stay a while.

Compare:

Do you like going to the cinema? (= Do you enjoy going?)
Would you like to go to the cinema? (= Do you want to go now?)

With some verbs, it's possible to use either form, usually with a difference in meaning. Here are the most common examples.

1. ADVISE, RECOMMEND, FORBID, PERMIT and ALLOW

Those are followed by an infinitive when there is an object:

I advise you to stay out of their way.
I wouldn't advise you to take the car.
We don't allow / permit people to smoke in the lecture room.
The headmistress has forbidden children to sing in the corridors.

They are followed by -ING when there is no object:

I advise staying out of their way.
I wouldn't advise taking the car.
We don't allow/permit smoking in the lecture room.
The headmistress has forbidden singing in the corridors.

2. ATTEMPT, INTEND, CONTINUE, CAN'T BEAR

After these verbs we can generally use either an -ING form or an infinitive without much difference in meaning.

I intend telling her what I think.
I intend to tell her what I think.

3. BEGIN AND START

Begin and start can be followed by infinitives or -ING forms with no important difference.

She began playing the guitar when she was six.
She began to play the guitar when she was six.
He started talking about golf, but everybody went out of the room.
He started to talk about golf, but everybody went out of the room.

However, infinitives are preferred after continuous forms.

I’m beginning to learn karate. (NOT ~~I’m beginning learning karate~~.)

Infinitives are also preferred with understand, realise and know.

I slowly began to understand how she felt. (not ~~began understanding~~)
He started to realise that if you wanted to eat you had to work. (not ~~started realising~~)

4. DREAD

Dread is followed by an infinitive with think and contemplate:

I dread to think what will happen.
I dread to contemplate what he is capable of.

In other uses of dread we use the -ING form:

I dread getting ill when I'm abroad.
I dread being late for work.

5. FORGET AND REMEMBER

When these have meanings that are 'forward looking', we use an infinitive:

Don't forget to send them a Christmas card.

When forget and remember have meanings that are 'backward looking', we use -ING:

I remember them teasing me about my skinny legs.

There are some more verbs like that.

6. GO ON

Go on + -ING means 'continue':

I ignored her calling and went on reading my paper. (= continued)

Go on + an infinitive means 'start a new activity':

He left Oxford and went on to train as a lawyer.

7. LEARN AND TEACH

These verbs (and others with similar meanings) are mostly followed by -ING forms when we are referring to lessons or subjects of study.

She goes to college twice a week to learn typing.
Mr Garland teaches skiing in the winter.

Infinitives are preferred when we talk about the result.

She learned to read German at school, but she learned to speak it in Germany.
I taught myself to type.

8. MEAN

Mean in the sense of 'involve' is followed by an -ING form.

If you want to pass the exam it will mean studying hard. (Involve studying hard)

Mean in the sense of 'intend', is followed by an infinitive.

I don’t think she means to get married for the moment.

9. REGRET

Regret + infinitive is a polite or formal form of apology:

I regret to inform you that you were turned down. (= I am sorry I have to inform you)

When we use regret with -ING it means we wish something hadn't happened:

I really regret speaking to Jack like that. (= I wish I hadn't spoken...)

10. STOP: -ING FORM OR INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE

I stopped running.(= stopped the activity)
I stopped to rest. (= stopped in order to rest)

11. TRY

When we talk about doing something to see what will happen we use try + -ING.

I tried sending her flowers, writing her letters, giving her presents, but she still wouldn't speak to me.

When we talk about making an effort to do something difficult, we can use either try + infinitive or try + -ING, although an infinitive would be more common.

I tried changing the wheel, but my hands were too cold.
I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold.

In some cases, the difference is insignificant.

I tried calling him. (= tried dialling his number)
I tried to call him. (= tried to get through to him)

VERB + -ING OR BARE INFINITIVE

One group of verbs connected with observation, e.g. see, observe, sense, feel, hear, watch, perceive, can be followed by either -ing or a bare infinitive:

I noticed him sneak out at lunchtime.
I noticed him sneaking out at lunchtime.
We heard the alarm bell ring and rushed out to see what was happening.
We heard the alarm bell ringing and rushed out to see what was happening.

We normally use a bare infinitive when the action is completed. We use the -ing form when the action is still in progress, which is similar to Continuous tenses.

Note that in corresponding passive structures, the bare infinitive is replaced with a to-infinitive.

He was noticed to sneak out at lunchtime.
He was noticed sneaking out at lunchtime.
The alarm bell was heard to ring, and we rushed out to see what was happening.
The alarm bell was heard ringing, and we rushed out to see what was happening.