Summary of Unit 9

Verbs with gerunds; and infinitives

1. When a verb is followed by another verb, the second verb is either in the gerund (-ing) or infinitive form. The form of the second verb depends on the first verb.
2. Some verbs (e.g. enjoy, detest, (don't) mind, imagine, feel like, suggest, practise, miss) are followed by a verb in the gerund form.
I don't enjoy living in the city very much.
She doesn't feel like going out tonight.
3. Other verbs (e.g. hope, promise, ask, learn, expect, decide, afford, offer, choose) are followed by a verb in the infinitive form.
We can't afford to go on holiday this year.
I promise to pay you on Monday

Verbs with gerunds and infinitives
1. Some verbs (e.g. remember, stop, try) can be followed by a second verb in either the gerund or infinitive form. The form of the second verb depends on the meaning of the sentence.

Remember
I remember going to my first football match with my dad. (=I remember the occasion.)
I remembered to go to the stadium and buy the tickets. (=I promised my son I would buy the tickets and I didn't forget to do this.)
Stop
I stopped to watch the news headlines. (=I was doing something (my homework/talking to my parents) when the news started. I stopped the first activity because I wanted to watch the headlines.)
I stopped watching TV and went to bed. (=I was watching TV. I was tired so I turned off the TV and went to bed.)

2. Some verbs (e.g. like, love, hate, prefer, begin, start) can be followed by gerund or infinitive with no difference in meaning.
We began to run when it started raining.
We began running when it started to rain.