Humanities Languages List of Verbs Followed by Gerunds or Infinitives Share Flipboard Email Print Getty Images Languages English as a Second Language Grammar Basics Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary Writing Skills Reading Comprehension Business English Resources for Teachers Spanish French German Italian Japanese Mandarin Russian English Grammar View More by Kenneth Beare Kenneth Beare has taught English and English as a second language teacher since 1983. Updated June 27, 2018 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. This list will help you practice using gerunds and infinitives with simple sentences. Verbs Followed by the Gerund VerbDefinitionExample Sentenceabhorto hate John abhors working outdoors.acknowledgeto recognize what someone has doneShe acknowledges his working hard on the project.admitto say that you have done Peter admits wasting time and money.adviseto give adviceI advise saving a little money every month.allowto permitShe allows using smartphones in class.anticipateto expect I anticipate visiting New York next month.appreciateto be grateful for Jack appreciates your helping him out with the project.avoidto try not to do She avoids dating men over 30.be worthto be a good idea to spend the time on It’s worth spending some time on the grammar.can’t helpto be able to not do Tom can’t help complaining about the heat.celebrateto party about We’ll celebrate working together for over fifty years.confessto admit that you did Alice confessed stealing the money from her sister.considerto think about We’re considering buying a new house.defendto give reasons why you did They defend purchasing the new car because they have two jobs.delayto postpone, put offWe’re going to delay meeting until next week.detestto hate, despiseJack detests learning new vocabulary.discontinueto stop doing, providing The store discontinued providing customer service on demand.discussto talk about We like to discuss learning techniques.disliketo not likeBob dislikes having to work so hard.disputeto say you didn’t doThey dispute stealing the merchandise.dreadto fear doing or experiencingI dread taking tests.endureto go through We endured listening to him for three hours.enjoyto have a good time doingSarah enjoys cooking fine dinners.escapeto get away fromThe students escaped taking the test because the fire alarm rang.evadeto avoidHe evades doing yard work on Saturdays.explainto give details aboutHe’ll explain purchasing online next week.fancyto like very muchThey fancy eating donuts.fearto be afraid ofI fear flying in airplanes.feignto pretend to doMary feigns not knowing anything.finishto stop doingWe finished shopping and went home.forgiveto not be angry at someone anymoreThey forgave stealing the candy as the children didn’t know it was wrong.keep to continue doingWe keep studying the same grammar every week.mentionto say in passingThey mentioned buying a new car last week.mind to object toI don’t mind smoking.missto want something you don’t have I miss having more free time.necessitateto require to doThe job necessitates lifting heavy objects.omitto leave out, deleteWe omitted discussing the new Smith account during the meeting.permitto allowWe’ll permit fishing on Saturdays.pictureto imagineDoug pictures retiring to Brazil.postponeto put off, delayWe postponed traveling to Chicago for a week.practiceto do over and over againPractice playing scales for thirty minutes every day.recallto rememberYes, I recall buying that book.recollectto rememberTom recollects playing baseball as a child.recommendto tell someone they should do somethingThey recommend purchasing insurance with this product.reportto tell aboutTim reported spending twelve hours on the job.resentto not like that something that someone doesSusan resents having to work so hard.resistto try to avoid doingMany students resist studying more than two hours a day.resumeto start doing againWe resumed speaking about the problem at the meeting.riskto take a chance onJack risks making everyone angry with his stupid statements.shirkto not do something you should doDan shirked paying for the children’s meal.shunto avoid contact withDon’t shun spending time with those you don’t know very well.suggestto say someone should do somethingI suggest buying a new camera.supportto help someone with words, thoughts or moneyThey supported our going to the doctor for help.understandto comprehendHe understands investing in the stock market.urgeto 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 InfinitiveVerbDefinitionExample Sentenceagreeto say you will doTom agreed to help me with the work.appearto seem to beShe appeared to wait for a moment.arrangeto put in some orderI arranged to meet David next week.askto inquireThey asked to join us for dinner.attemptto tryDoug attempted to say something.begto urgently ask forThe man begged to receive some help.can/can’t affordto permitI can’t afford to spend time doing this.can/can’t waitto allow time forSusan can’t wait to see Tom next week.careto have feelings forShe cares to comment about the situation.chanceto tryI chanced to give it a taste and it was good.chooseto make a choiceChris chose to not visit his friends last weekend.claimto say is trueDick claims to see UFOs!cometo arrive atThey came to purchase a new car.consentto agree toMartha consented to instruct the children.dareto risk doingWe dared to take some time off work.decideto make a decisionHe decided to go to university in San Francisco.demandto insist I demand to receive help now!deserveto meritPeter deserves to have his time off this week.determineto come to the conclusion We determined to finish the project by the end of next year.electto chooseAlice elected to not come with us to the presentation.endeavorto tryThe company endeavors to provide the best possible service.expectto feel something should happenShe expects to arrive in thirty minutes.failto not succeedUnfortunately, they failed to get enough votes for the measure.getto receiveWe got to see our friends last week.guaranteeto say will happenThey guarantee to finish the work before five o’clock.hesitateto not be sure aboutShe hesitated to say yes, but in the end, did.hopeto want to happenI hope to see you soon.hurryto go to quicklyMack is hurrying to finish the report by three this afternoon.inclineto tend towards They incline to not come to parties.learnto study and memorizeThe children learned to do many things at camp this summer.manageto do with difficultyDon managed to finish the job on time.meanto intendDan means to speak with you this evening.needto have to have/doWe need to think about this some more.neglectto not do something you should doThe man neglected to give me all the information.offerto say you will do, give, provideWe offered to help them with their homework.payto spend money on We paid to become informed about the matter.planto think about the futureI plan to visit Chicago someday.prepareto get ready forThey are preparing to leave on vacation.pretendto act as if The boy pretended to be a ghost.professto believeLori professes to believe in UFOs.promiseto say you will do I promise to come over tonight for dinner.refuseto say you will not doJane refused to do what he asked.remainto stayI remained to finish the work until eight o’clock.requestto ask forThe man requested to speak to a lawyer.resolveto decide to doWe resolved to clean up the house this summer.sayto tell someoneHe said to tell you hi!seekto look forThey are seeking to receive $1,000,000 in damages.seemto appearIt seems to be very easy.shudderto physically react to something you do not likeI shudder to think about all the problems in the world.striveto try hard to doFrank strove to meet all the demands of his boss.struggleto work hard to doThe students struggle to understand all the grammar.swearto promise to doI swear to be a good boy in the future.tendto usually doDianne tends to waste time on the telephone.threatento say you will do a bad thing to someoneThe boss threatened to fire everyone.volunteerto say you will helpThey volunteered to help with the cooking.waitto let time passWe waited to see the doctor for three hours.wantto desireI want to help you.wishto want to doShe wishes to visit her parents in Ireland.would liketo wantI’d like to have a steak, please.yearnto desire very stronglyI yearn to finish work today! Additional ResourcesWant additional practice or a chance to show off your new skills? Test your knowledge of gerunds and infinitives with this reference chart or this language quiz. Continue Reading