The gerund (-ing form) and the infinitive (to + base form) of verbs may be used as nouns, and therefore they sometimes function as the object of a verb. In idiomatic English, certain verbs are followed only by the gerund, certain verbs by the infinitive, and certain verbs by either the gerund or the infinitive. The following is a reference list of some common verbs.

Verbs Followed by Gerunds

admit          He admitted stealing the money.
advise         She advises waiting until tomorrow.
anticipate     I anticipate having a good time on vacation.
appreciate     I appreciate hearing from you.
avoid          He avoided answering my questions.
complete       She finally completed writing her term paper.
consider       I will consider going with you.
delay          He delayed leaving for school.
deny           She denied knowing anything about it.
discuss        They discussed opening a new business.
enjoy          We enjoyed visiting them.
finish         She finished studying at about ten.
keep           I keep hoping she will come.
mention        She mentioned going to a movie.
mind           Would you mind helping me?
miss           I miss being with my family.
postpone       Let's postpone leaving until tomorrow.
practice       The athlete practiced throwing the ball.
quit           He quit trying to solve the problem.
recall         I don't recall meeting him before.
recommend      She recommended seeing that play.
regret         I regret telling him my secret.
resist         I could not resist eating dessert.
risk           She risked losing everything.
stop           She stopped going to classes.
suggest        She suggested going to a movie.
tolerate       He won't tolerate cheating during an examination.

Verbs followed by Infinitives

afford         I can't afford to buy it.
agree          They agreed to help us.
appear         She appears to be tired.
arrange        We arranged to meet at ten.
ask            He asked to come with us.
beg            He begged to come.
care           I don't care to see that show.
claim          She claims to be a descendent of Karl Marx.
consent        She finally consented to marry him.
decide         I have decided to leave on Monday.
demand         I demand to know who is responsible.
deserve        She deserves to win the prize.
expect         I expect to enter graduate school in the fall.
fail           She failed to return the book to the library.
forget         I forgot to mail the letter.
hesitate       Don't hesitate to ask for my help.
hope           Jack hopes to arrive next week.
learn          He learned to play the piano.
manage         She managed to finish her work early.
mean           I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
need           I need to have your opinion.
offer          They offered to help us.
plan           I am planning to have a party.
prepare        We prepared to welcome them.
pretend        He pretends not to understand.
promise        I promise not to be late.
refuse         I refuse to believe his story.
regret         I regret to tell you that you failed.
seem           That cat seems to be friendly.
struggle       I struggled to stay awake.
swear          She swore to tell the truth.
threaten       She threatened to tell my parents.
volunteer      He volunteered to help us.
wait           I will wait to hear from you.
want           I want to tell you something.
wish           She wishes to come with us.


Verbs followed by Infinitives or Gerunds

begin          He begins to work as soon as he arrives.
               He begins working at ten a.m.
continue       He continues to study.
               He continues studying.
hate           I hate to argue with you.
               I hate arguing about politics.
help           It helps to know your limits.
               I cannot help worrying about him.
like           They like to ski.
               They like skiing.
love           Children love to play.
               Children love playing with their friends.
neglect        She neglected to tell her the whole story.
               She neglected telling her about the fire.
prefer         She prefers to eat a light dinner.
               She prefers eating a light dinner.
remember       I remembered to lock the door.
               I can remember meeting him when I was young.
start          He started to run.
               He started running.