VERB PATTERNS

Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing?           

• Verbs followed by a to-infinitive

Some verbs can be followed immediately by a to-infinitive:

afford	demand	like	pretend
agree	fail	love	promise
arrange	forget	manage	refuse
ask	hate	mean (intend)	remember
begin	help	need	start
choose	hope	offer	try
continue	intend	plan	want
decide	learn	prefer

I can’t afford to go on holiday.

It began to rain.

She hopes to go to university next year.

My mother never learnt to swim.

Did you remember to ring Nigel?

See also:

• Help somebody (to) do
• Want
• Verbs followed by a direct object and a to-infinitive

• Verbs followed by -ing

-ing but not to-infinitive

Some verbs are normally followed by the -ing form, not the to-infinitive:

admit	deny	finish	mind
avoid	dislike	give up	miss
(can’t) help	enjoy	imagine	practise
(can’t) stand	fancy	involve	put off
consider	feel like	keep (on)	risk

I always enjoy cooking.

Not: I always enjoy to cook.

We haven’t finished eating yet.

Not: We haven’t finished to eat.

She keeps changing her mind about the wedding.

New subject before -ing

Some of these verbs (e.g. can’t stand, dislike, imagine, involve, mind, miss, put off and risk) can be used with a new subject before the -ing form (underlined in the examples below). If the new subject is a pronoun, it is in the object form (me, him, her, us, them):

We just couldn’t imagine Gerry singing in public.

Do you mind me being here while you’re working?

I don’t want to risk him losing his job.

See also:

• Verbs followed by -ing

• Verbs followed by a to-infinitive or -ing

Hate, like, love, prefer

Hate, like, love and prefer can be followed either by -ing or a to-infinitive. The difference in meaning is often small. The -ing form emphasises the verb itself. The to-infinitive puts the emphasis more on the preference for, or the results of, the action.

 

Hate, like, love, prefer with would or should

When hate, like, love and prefer are used with would or should, only the to-infinitive is used, not the -ing form:

She’d love to get a job nearer home.

Not: She’d love getting a job nearer home.

Would you like to have dinner with us on Friday?

To-infinitive or -ing form with a change in meaning

Some verbs can be followed by a to-infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change in meaning:

go on	need	remember	try
mean	regret	stop	want

 

• Verbs followed by an infinitive without to

Let, make

Let and make are followed by an infinitive without to in active voice sentences. They always have an object (underlined) before the infinitive:

Let me show you this DVD I’ve got.

They made us wait while they checked our documents.

Not: They made us to wait …

Help

Help can be followed by an infinitive without to or a to-infinitive:

She helped me find a direction in life.

Everyone can help to reduce carbon emissions by using public transport.

 

• Verbs followed by -ing or an infinitive without to

A group of verbs connected with feeling, hearing and seeing can be used with -ing or with an infinitive without to:

feel	notice	see
hear	overhear	watch

When they are used with -ing, these verbs emphasise the action or event in progress. When they are used with an infinitive without to, they emphasise the action or event seen as a whole, or as completed.

 

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  Verbs followed by a direct object and a to-infinitive

Some verbs are used with a direct object (underlined) followed by a to-infinitive. These verbs include:

advise	hate	like	persuade	request
ask	help	love	prefer	teach
challenge	instruct	need	recommend	tell
choose	intend	order	remind	want
forbid	invite

I advised him to get a job as soon as possible.

Did Martin teach Gary to play squash?

They want me to go to Germany with them.

(“Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + - ing ?” from English Grammar Today © Cambridge University Press.)

MODAL VERBS

The modal verbs are:

can	could
may	might
shall	should
will	would

We use modal verbs to show if we believe something is certain, probable or possible (or not). We also use modals to do things like talking about ability, asking permission making requests and offers, and so on.

• Possibility:

We use the modals could, might and may to show that something is possible in the future, but not certain:

They might come later. (= Perhaps/Maybe they will come later.)They may come by car. (= Perhaps/Maybe they will come by car.)
If we don’t hurry we could be late. (= Perhaps/Maybe we will be late)

We use could have, might have and may have to show that something was possible now or at some time in the past:

It’s ten o’clock. They might have arrived now.
They could have arrived hours ago.

We use the modal can to make general statements about what is possible:

It can be very cold in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold in winter)You can easily lose your way in the dark. (= People often lose their way in the dark)

We use the modal could as the past tense of can:

It could be very cold in winter. (= Sometimes it was very cold in winter.)You could lose your way in the dark. (= People often lost their way in the dark)

 

• Impossibility:

We use the negative can’t or cannot to show that something is impossible:

That can’t be true.
You cannot be serious.

We use couldn’t/could not to talk about the past:

We knew it could not be true.
He was obviously joking. He could not be serious.

• Probability:

We use the modal must to show we are sure something to be true and we have reasons for our belief:

It’s getting dark. It must be quite late.
You haven’t eaten all day. You must be hungry.

We use must have for the past:

They hadn’t eaten all day. They must have been hungry.
You look happy. You must have heard the good news.

We use the modal should to suggest that something is true or will be true in the future, and to show you have reasons for your suggestion:

Ask Miranda. She should know.
It's nearly six o'clock. They should arrive soon.

We use should have to talk about the past:

It's nearly eleven o'clock. They should have arrived by now.

• Ability:

We use can to talk about someone’s skill or general abilities:

She can speak several languages.
He can swim like a fish.
They can’t dance very well.

We use can to talk about the ability to do something at a given time in the present or future:

You can make a lot of money if you are lucky.
Help. I can’t breathe.
They can run but they can’t hide.

We use could to talk about past time:

She could speak several languages.
They couldn’t dance very well.

We use could have to say that someone had the ability/opportunity to do something, but did not do it:

She could have learned Swahili, but she didn’t have time.
I could have danced all night [but didn't].

• Permission:

We use can to ask for permission to do something:

Can I ask a question, please?
Can we go home now.

could is more formal and polite than can:

Could I ask a question please?
Could we go home now?

may is another more formal and polite way of asking for permission:

May I ask a question please?
May we go home now?

We use can to give permission:

You can go home now if you like.
You can borrow my pen if you like.

may is a more formal and polite way of giving permission:

You may go home now, if you like.

We use can to say that someone has permission to do something:

We can go out whenever we want.
Students can travel free.

may is a more formal and polite way of saying that someone has permission:

Students may travel free.

• Instructions and requests:

We use could you and would you as polite ways of telling or asking someone to do something:

Could you take a message please?
Would you carry this for me please?
Could I have my bill please?

can and will are less polite:

Can you take a message please?
Will you carry this for me please?

• Suggestions and advice:

We use should to make suggestions and give advice:

You should send an email.
We should go by train.

We use could to make suggestions:

We could meet at the weekend.
You could eat out tonight.

We use conditionals to give advice:

Dan will help you if you ask him.

Past tenses are more polite:

 

• Offers and invitations:

We use can I… and to make offers:

Can I help you?
Can I do that for you?

We can also use shall I …

Shall I help you with that?
Shall I call you on your mobile?

We sometime say I can ... or I could ... or I’ll (I will) ... to make an offer:

I can do that for you if you like.
I can give you a lift to the station.
I’ll do that for you if you like.
I’ll give you a lift to the station.

We use would you like (to) ... for invitations:

Would you like to come round to morrow?
Would you like another drink?

We use you must or we must for a very polite invitation:

You must come round and see us.
We must meet again soon.

• Obligation and necessity

We use must to say that it is necessary to do something:
You must stop at a red light.
Everyone must bring something to eat.
You can wear what you like, but you must look neat and tidy.
I’m sorry, but you mustn’t make a noise in here.
We use had to for this if we are talking about the past:
Everyone had to bring something to eat.
We could wear what we liked, but we had to look neat and tidy.

We use a modal verb with have to refer back:

• … from a point of time in the past:

We were very worried. Someone might have taken the car.

• … from the present

It is nearly eight o’clock. They will have arrived by now.

• …or from the future:

We won’t eat until they arrive. They might not have had supper.

• or to refer to past time:

You should have helped her when she asked.
They might have got lost. Nobody knows where they are.

GRAMMAR INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

 

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

(Also called the present progressive tense)

• MAIN USES

 1: First, we use it for things that are happening at the moment of speaking.

• I'm working at the moment.
• Please call back as– we are eating dinner now.
• Julie is sleeping.
• You are studying the present continuous.

2: We can also use this tense for temporary situations, when we feel something won't continue for a long time.

• She's staying with her friend for a week.
• I'm living in London for a few months.
• John's working in a bar until he finds a job in his field.
• I'm reading a really great book.

Compare this with the present simple, which is used for permanent situations that we feel will continue for a long time.

3: We can use the present continuous for habits but they have to be temporary or new habits (for normal habits that continue for a long time, we use the present simple).

• He's eating a lot these days.
• She's swimming every morning (she didn't use to do this).
• You're smoking too much.
• They're working late every night.

4: Another present continuous use is for annoying habits, when we want to show that something happens too often and we don't like it. In this case we usually use an adverb like 'always', 'forever' or 'constantly'.

• You're always losing your keys!
• She's constantly missing the train.
• He's always sleeping in.
• They're forever being late.

5: The next use is for definite future arrangements (with a future time word). In this case we have already made a plan and we are pretty sure that the event will happen in the future.

• I'm meeting my father tomorrow.
• We're going to the beach at the weekend.
• I'm leaving at three.
• They're coming to the party at the weekend.

6: Finally we use this tense to talk about a situation which is slowly changing.

• I'm getting better at playing the piano.
• The weather is improving.

We can't use this tense (or any other continuous tense) with stative verbs.

Uso del "present continuous" para referirse al futuro

El "present continuous" se emplea para referirse a planes o acuerdos sobre eventos futuros. Conlleva la sugerencia de que más de una persona está implicada en ellos y que ya se ha dado cierto grado de preparación previa, por ejemplo:

• I'm meeting Jim at the airport = Jim y yo hemos quedado en eso.
• I am leaving tomorrow. = Ya he comprado el billete de tren.
• We're having a staff meeting next Monday = se ha comunicado a todos los miembros del personal.

Ejemplos

• Is she seeing him tomorrow?
• He isn't working next week.
• They aren't leaving until the end of next year.
• We are staying with friends when we get to Boston.

Nota:en el primer ejemplo, se utiliza "seeing" en su forma progresiva con el significado de "meeting" (encontrarse con, quedar).

¡CUIDADO! Si el evento futuro tiene un horario fijo o está programado, se utiliza el "simple present".

Observa la diferencia entre:
a. We're having a staff meeting next Monday = evento puntual
b. We have a staff meeting every Monday

SIMPLE FUTURE WITH "GOING TO"

• MAIN USES
  
  

We use 'be going to' + infinitive for:

1. Future plans made before the moment of speaking: A: 'We've run out of milk.'
   B: 'I know, I'm going to buy some.'
2. Prediction based on present evidence: Look at those boys playing football! They're going to break the window.