Verbs that come with the infinitive ing in English

 The infinitive in English is made in two ways: with the suffix ing and with the preposition to.

In this section, we will get acquainted with ing and the verbs that come with this type of infinitive.

 

The infinitive in English conveys the main meaning of the verb, but the difference with the verb is that in addition to the meaning, the verb also refers to time, person and number.

 But in the infinitive  person and number is not known and for this reason the infinitive is considered as one of the types of nouns. 

One way to make a noun or verb noun in English is to add ing to the original form of the verb, which is also called gerund.

There are several categories of verbs in English that must have an infinitive after ing:

1. After the verbs related to liking and not liking:

detest  

dislike 

enjoy  

hate 

fancy  

like 

love  

example:  They always enjoyed visiting their friends . 

 

2. After phrases made with the verb mind:

• wouldn’t mind (= would like)
• (don’t mind (= I am willing to)
• (would you mind (= will you please)

example:   Would you mind holding this for me ? 

 3. After verbs related to speaking and thinking:

admit  

consider 

deny  

imagine 

remember  

suggest 

example:  Our guide suggested waiting until the storm was over . 

4. Other verbs that come with the infinitive ing. These verbs do not have a specific category and their structure must be remembered:

avoid 

begin  

finish 

keep  

miss 

practice  

risk 

start  

stop 

example:  I haven’t finished writing this letter .