List of Verbs Followed by Gerunds or Infinitives

Verbs that are followed by other verbs can take either the gerund or the infinitive. A gerund is a verb ending in ing that functions as a noun. An infinitive is the basic or root form of a verb, typically preceded with to. Understanding how these words function is a crucial step in developing your English skills. The following lists of verbs followed by other verbs will help you practice using gerunds and infinitives within simple sentences.  Note how the gerund and infinitive verbs (italicized) are used within the sample sentences. Verbs Followed by the Gerund Verb Definition Example Sentence abhor to hate John abhors working outdoors. acknowledge to recognize what someone has done She acknowledges his working hard on the project. admit to say that you have done Peter admitswasting time and money. advise to give advice I advise saving a little money every month. allow to permit She allows using smartphones in class. anticipate to expect I anticipate visiting New York next month. appreciate to be grateful for Jack appreciates your helping him out with the project. avoid to try not to do She avoids dating men over 30. be worth to be a good idea to spend the time on It’s worth spending some time on the grammar. can’t help to be able to not do Tom can’t help complaining about the heat. celebrate to party about We’ll celebrate working together for over 50 years. confess to admit that you did Alice confessed stealing the money from her sister. consider to think about We’re considering buying a new house. defend to give reasons why you did They defend purchasing the new car because they have two jobs. delay to postpone, put off We’re going to delay meeting until next week. detest to hate, despise Jack detests learning new vocabulary. discontinue to stop doing, providing The store discontinued providing customer service on demand. discuss to talk about We like to discuss learning techniques. dislike to not like Bob dislikes having to work so hard. dispute to say you didn’t do They dispute stealing the merchandise. dread to fear doing or experiencing I dread taking tests. endure to go through We endured listening to him for three hours. enjoy to have a good time doing Sarah enjoys cooking fine dinners. escape to get away from The students escaped taking the test because the fire alarm rang. evade to avoid He evades doing yard work on Saturdays. explain to give details about He’ll explain purchasing online next week. fancy to like very much They fancy eating donuts. fear to be afraid of I fear flying in airplanes. feign to pretend to do Mary feigns not knowing anything. finish to stop doing We finished shopping and went home. forgive to not be angry at someone anymore They forgave stealing the candy as the children didn’t know it was wrong. keep to continue doing We keep studying the same grammar every week. mention to say in passing They mentioned buying a new car last week. mind to object to I don’t mind smoking. miss to want something you don’t have I miss having more free time. necessitate to require to do The job necessitates lifting heavy objects. omit to leave out, delete We omitted discussing the new Smith account during the meeting. permit to allow We’ll permit fishing on Saturdays. picture to imagine Doug pictures retiring to Brazil. postpone to put off, delay We postponed traveling to Chicago for a week. practice to do over and over again Practice playing scales for 30 minutes every day. recall to remember Yes, I recall buying that book. recollect to remember Tom recollects playing baseball as a child. recommend to tell someone they should do something They recommend purchasing insurance with this product. report to tell about Tim reported spending twelve hours on the job. resent to not like that something that someone does Susan resents having to work so hard. resist to try to avoid doing Many students resist studying more than two hours a day. resume to start doing again We resumed speaking about the problem at the meeting. risk to take a chance on Jack risks making everyone angry with his stupid statements. shirk to not do something you should do Dan shirked paying for the children’s meal. shun to avoid contact with Don’t shun spending time with those you don’t know very well. suggest to say someone should do something I suggest buying a new camera. support to help someone with words, thoughts or money They supported our going to the doctor for help. understand to comprehend He understands investing in the stock market. urge to suggest strongly I urge spending some time learning the program. warrant to provide the reasons for doing The situation warrants investigating Mr. Todd. Verbs Followed by the Infinitive Verb Definition Example Sentence agree to say you will do Tom agreed to help me with the work. appear to seem to be She appeared to wait for a moment. arrange to put in some order I arranged to meet David next week. ask to inquire They asked to join us for dinner. attempt to try Doug attempted to say something. beg to urgently ask for The man begged to receive some help. can/can’t afford to permit I can’t afford to spend time doing this. can/can’t wait to allow time for Susan can’t wait to see Tom next week. care to have feelings for She cares to comment about the situation. chance to try I chanced to give it a taste and it was good. choose to make a choice Chris chose to not visit his friends last weekend. claim to say is true Dick claims to see UFOs! come to arrive at They came to purchase a new car. consent to agree to Martha consented to instruct the children. dare to risk doing We dared to take some time off work. decide to make a decision He decided to go to university in San Francisco. demand to insist I demand to receive help now! deserve to merit Peter deserves to have his time off this week. determine to come to the conclusion We determined to finish the project by the end of next year. elect to choose Alice elected to not come with us to the presentation. endeavor to try The company endeavors to provide the best possible service. expect to feel something should happen She expects to arrive in 30 minutes. fail to not succeed Unfortunately, they failed to get enough votes for the measure. get to receive We got to see our friends last week. guarantee to say will happen They guarantee to finish the work before 5 o’clock. hesitate to not be sure about She hesitated to say yes, but in the end, did. hope to want to happen I hope to see you soon. hurry to go to quickly Mack is hurrying to finish the report by 3 this afternoon. incline to tend towards He is inclined to not come to parties. learn to study and memorize The children learned to do many things at camp this summer. manage to do with difficulty Don managed to finish the job on time. mean to intend Dan means to speak with you this evening. need to have to have/do We need to think about this some more. neglect to not do something you should do The man neglected to give me all the information. offer to say you will do, give, provide We offered to help them with their homework. pay to spend money on We paid to become informed about the matter. plan to think about the future I plan to visit Chicago someday. prepare to get ready for They are preparing to leave on vacation. pretend to act as if The boy pretended to be a ghost. profess to believe Lori professes to believe in UFOs. promise to say you will do I promise to come over tonight for dinner. refuse to say you will not do Jane refused to do what he asked. remain to stay I remained to finish the work until 8 o’clock. request to ask for The man requested to speak to a lawyer. resolve to decide to do We resolved to clean up the house this summer. say to tell someone He said to tell you hi! seek to look for They are seeking to receive $1,000,000 in damages. seem to appear It seems to be very easy. shudder to physically react to something you do not like I shudder to think about all the problems in the world. strive to try hard to do Frank strove to meet all the demands of his boss. struggle to work hard to do The students struggle to understand all the grammar. swear to promise to do I swear to be a good boy in the future. tend to usually do Dianne tends to waste time on the telephone. threaten to say you will do a bad thing to someone The boss threatened to fire everyone. volunteer to say you will help They volunteered to help with the cooking. wait to let time pass We waited to see the doctor for three hours. want to desire I want to help you. wish to want to do She wishes to visit her parents in Ireland. would like to want I’d like to have a steak, please. yearn to desire very strongly I yearn to finish work today! Additional Resources Want additional practice or a chance to show off your new skills? Test your knowledge of gerunds and infinitives with this reference chart.