Verb + -ing or verb + to

When you use it

Very often one verb is followed by another: I want to go, I enjoy cooking. The second verb cannot appear in its plain form; it must take either the -ing form (the gerund) or to plus the base form (the to-infinitive). The first verb decides which. There is no meaning-based rule that covers every case, so the practical approach is to learn the most common verbs in each group and to check the word page when in doubt.

How it is formed

Spelling of the -ing form: drop a silent e (write → writing), double a final consonant after a short stressed vowel (sit → sitting, run → running), and change ie to y (lie → lying).

The negative goes with the second verb: I decided not to go, I enjoy not working on Sundays.

After prepositions the -ing form is the only option: good at cooking, interested in learning, before leaving. This includes to when it is a preposition rather than part of an infinitive: look forward to seeing you, used to getting up early.

A few verbs take both forms with a change of meaning. Stop talking means the talking ends; stop to talk means you stop something else in order to talk. Remember to lock the door is about a duty in the future; remember locking the door is about a memory of the past. Try to open it means make an effort; try opening it means test one option.

Ukrainian and Russian have one form after all these verbs, the infinitive: люблю читати, хочу читати, закінчив читати; люблю читать, хочу читать, закончил читать. That is why to feels like the natural default. It is the -ing group that needs deliberate practice.

Examples

• Anna enjoys cooking for her friends on Sundays.
• Tom wants to buy a new bike.
• I have finished reading the book you gave me.
• We decided to stay at home because of the rain.
• Do you mind waiting a few minutes?
• She hopes to find a job before the summer.
• It started raining as we left the house.
• I need to talk to you about the trip.

Common mistakes

• ✗ I enjoy to read.
  ✓ I enjoy reading.
  Ukrainian and Russian use the infinitive after every such verb, so to is the automatic choice. Enjoy, finish, mind and keep belong to the -ing group and never take to.
• ✗ I want that you come. / I want that you help me.
  ✓ I want you to come. / I want you to help me.
  Хочу, щоб ти прийшов and хочу, чтобы ты пришёл use a that-clause with a past-tense verb. English want cannot take that. It takes an object and a to-infinitive.
• ✗ Stop to talk, please. (meaning: end the conversation)
  ✓ Stop talking, please.
  Stop + -ing ends the activity. Stop + to means you interrupt something else in order to do the action.
• ✗ I am looking forward to see you.
  ✓ I am looking forward to seeing you.
  Here to is a preposition, and prepositions are followed by -ing. Test: if you can put a noun after to (looking forward to the weekend), the verb needs -ing.
• ✗ He suggested to go by train.
  ✓ He suggested going by train. / He suggested that we go by train.
  Suggest never takes a to-infinitive. Because запропонував поїхати and предложил поехать use an infinitive, this verb is a frequent trap.

Try it