Verbs + to + infinitive and verbs + -ing

Exercises: 1 2 3

Exercise 3

Complete the sentences using the to + infinitive or the -ing forms of the verbs in the list.

close – cook – do – get up – play(x2) – see – ~~travel~~ – watch – water – work

EXAMPLE: I’m planning ⇒ to travel to Egypt next year.

Exercises: 1 2 3

Verbs + -ing

Some verbs in English are followed by another verb in the -ing form. The most common of these verbs are verbs of liking and disliking: love, like, enjoy, don’t mind, don’t like, hate. If we use another verb after these verbs, it often takes the -ing form.

The second verb is in the -ing form in the past, too.

When I was a child, I hated going to school.
When I was a child, I hated went to school.

-ing spelling

You can check the spelling of the -ing form of the verbs in the table below.

Educational chart displaying spelling rules for adding '-ing' to verbs, with examples for each rule.

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Verbs + to-infinitive

Many verbs in English are followed by to-infinitive. Some of these verbs are forget, hope, learn, need, offer, plan, remember, start, want and would like.

I forgot to turn off the light.
I hope to see you soon.
I‘m learning to drive.
We need to arrive early.
She offered to help us.
We are planning to go to France.
Remember to lock the door.
I want to go home.
I would like to buy a new computer.

The second verb takes the to-infinitive form in the past too.

I wanted to go home.
I wanted to went home.

Would like

The verb would like (or ‘d like) is different from like. We use would like + to + infinitive, and we normally use like + -ing verb to talk about general preference.