VERBS FOLLOWED BY '-ING' & INFINITIVE WITH CHANGE OF MEANING

 

VERBS+ '-ING' / INFINITIVE

 

More detailed info on the same topic VERBS+'-ING'/Infinitive

PATTERNS WITH REPORTING VERBS: INFINITIVE & '-ING' (1)

REPORTED SPEECH: REPORTING VERBS

 

CONFUSING 'TRY'

 TRY is one of the verbs that can be followed either by TO+infinitive or gerund -ING with a change of meaning. Here BBC Learning English flashcards show the difference:

ZERO INFINITIVE (Infinitive without 'TO')

 

EXPRESSING PURPOSE & REASON. INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE

These charts show the different ways to express Purpose & Reason in English. 

You can also also ask: 

WHAT'S the AIM / PURPOSE / POINT OF something? 

WHAT'S something FOR? 

CONFUSING: 'LIKE TO+infinitive' vs 'LIKE+-ing'

This chart shows the difference in meaning between these two structures with the verb LIKE.

STOP TO + INFINITIVE vs STOP + -ING FORM

STOP is one of the verbs that can be followed either by infinitive or the -ing form, but with a change of meaning. You can see the difference in the infographic above with many examples.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...

I suppose we're all LOOKING FORWARD TO the Christmas holidays... Here are different ways to express it.

'TO' vs 'FOR'

Clarifying the confusing uses of 'TO' and 'FOR'.

CAUSATIVE: HAVE SOMETHING DONE

'LET', 'MAKE', 'HAVE' & 'GET' are verbs used with a causative sense. Someone is set to do something, following the pattern:

      causative verb+person+infinitive without TO