Master verb patterns with 21 progressive exercises and 420 practice questions
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420
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Enjoy, want, finish, decide, avoid, hope, mind, agree, suggest, refuse
Consider, keep, offer, promise, imagine, learn, recommend, manage
Admit, deny, practice, risk, delay, claim, deserve, fail, hesitate, afford
Verbs that accept both forms with no change in meaning
Gerund expressions for spoken English
Want, ask, tell, advise, expect + someone + to do
Mixed: verb + object + infinitive vs gerund-only verbs
No 'to' after make, let, and have (causative)
Interested in, good at, tired of + gerund (always)
The 'to' trap: when 'to' is a preposition, not infinitive marker
Past habit (used to do) vs accustomed to (be used to doing)
Meaning changes: past memory vs future action
Meaning changes: cease vs pause, experiment vs attempt
Advanced meaning changes with formal/informal differences
'The car needs washing' = needs to be washed
Action in progress (gerund) vs complete action (bare infinitive)
Can't help, would rather, had better, it's worth doing
Too tired to continue, old enough to vote, easy to understand
To have done, to be doing, to be done, having done, being done
All patterns combined - random, unpredictable
Comprehensive test: A2-B1 to C1 progressive difficulty
Gerunds are the -ing form of a verb used as a noun.Infinitives are to + base verb.
| Always GERUND | Always INFINITIVE | BOTH (Same Meaning) |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy, finish, avoid | want, decide, hope | like, love, hate |
| mind, suggest, consider | agree, refuse, offer | prefer, begin, start |
| keep, imagine, recommend | promise, learn, manage | continue |
| admit, deny, practice | pretend, claim, deserve | |
| risk, delay, postpone | fail, hesitate, afford |
Some verbs have different meanings depending on whether you use the gerund or infinitive:
remember doing = have a memory of a past action
I remember meeting her at the party. (I met her and I recall it)
remember to do = don't forget to do a future action
Remember to lock the door. (before you leave)
stop doing = cease the activity
He stopped smoking. (he quit the habit)
stop to do = pause to do something else
He stopped to smoke. (he paused to have a cigarette)
try doing = experiment to see if it works
Try restarting the computer. (see if this helps)
try to do = attempt with effort/difficulty
I tried to open the door, but it was stuck.
In "look forward to", the word "to" is a PREPOSITION, not an infinitive marker!
CORRECT: I look forward to meeting you.
WRONG: I look forward to meet you.
Same applies to: object to, be used to, confess to, admit to
used to + infinitive = past habit
I used to live in London. (I lived there before, not now)
be used to + gerund = be accustomed to
I'm used to living in London. (it's normal for me now)
Corpus research reveals that gerunds and infinitives are among the most frequently used structures in English. Analysis of the British National Corpus (BNC) shows over 50 common verbs require learners to choose between gerund and infinitive complements.
50+
Common verbs with complement choice
15%
Verbs change meaning with form
B1+
CEFR level for full mastery
Research by Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman found that learner errors with gerunds and infinitives persist even at advanced levels. The most common error is using infinitives after prepositions ("I look forward to meet you") because learners confuse the preposition "to" with the infinitive marker "to".
Practice using gerunds and infinitives naturally in conversation! These questions use common verb patterns like "enjoy doing", "want to do", and "look forward to doing". Click on a question to see helpful vocabulary and answer structures.
Pinterest-optimized charts showing verb patterns and meaning differences.
Printable worksheets for classroom use are in development. They will include gap-fill exercises, matching activities, and answer keys.
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