Collins Cobuild English Grammar (86 page)

The following verbs from the above list are not usually used with a passive infinitive, because of their meanings:

claim

dare

forget

intend

learn

manage

mean

neglect

pretend

threaten

trouble

venture

Appear
,
claim
,
happen
,
pretend
,
prove
,
seem
, and
tend
are quite often used with a perfect infinitive.

They seemed
to have disappeared
.

Note that
help
is also followed by the infinitive without
to
.

Coffee
helped keep
him alert.

USAGE NOTE

3.193
  Note that
afford
is always preceded by a modal, and that
care
is normally used with a negative.

Can
we
afford to ignore
this source of power as other sources of energy are diminishing? …a kitchen for someone who
doesn’t care to cook
.

3.194
  The use of
have
followed by a
to
-infinitive clause is explained in paragraph
5.242
.

verbs used with either form

3.195
  A few verbs can be used with either an
-ing
participle or a
to
-infinitive without changing the meaning of the verb.

It
started raining
.
A very cold wind
had started to blow
.
We both
love dancing
.
He
loves to talk
about his work.

Here is a list of verbs that can be followed either by an
-ing
participle or a
to
-infinitive without greatly changing the meaning:

attempt

begin

bother

cease

continue

deserve

fear

hate

like

love

prefer

start

Note that
bother
is often used with a negative or a broad negative.

He
didn’t bother complaining
about it.
We
hardly
even
bother to clean
it.

USAGE NOTE

3.196
  With a few verbs, the meaning is altered depending on whether you use an
-ing
participle or a
to
-infinitive. These verbs are
come
,
go on
,
remember
,
try
, and
regret
.

If someone
comes running
,
flying
, or
hurtling
somewhere, they move in that way. If you
come to do something
, you gradually start doing it.

When they heard I was leaving, they both
came running
out.
People
came to believe
that all things were possible.

If you
try to do something
, you attempt it, to see if you can do it. If you
try doing something
, you do it in order to find out if it is effective.

She
tried to think
calmly.
Try lying down
in a dark room for a while. That usually helps.

With the other verbs, the difference in meaning relates to the timing of the action.

If you
go on doing something
, you continue to do it, but if you
go on to do something
, you subsequently start doing it.

They
went on arguing
into the night.
She
went on to talk
about the political consequences.

If you
remember doing something
, you did it in the past, but if you
remember to do something
, you do it at the present time.

I
remember promising
that I would try.
We
must remember
to say thank you.

Similarly, if you
regret doing something
, you have already done it, but if you
regret to do something
, you have to do it at the present time.

She did not
regret accepting
his offer.
I
regret to say
rents went up.

Regret
is only used with the
to
-infinitive of a small number of verbs that share the meaning of giving or receiving information. These verbs are:

announce

inform

learn

say

see

tell

BE CAREFUL

3.197
  When you have a choice between an
-ing
participle and a
to
-infinitive, you do not use the
-ing
participle if the first verb is in a progressive form.

The Third World
is beginning to export
to the West.
The big clouds
were starting to cover
the sun.
Educational budgets
are continuing to increase
.

With verbs that cannot be followed by a
to
-infinitive, you normally use a noun phrase instead of the
-ing
participle.

I knew Miss Head would just be finishing
her cello practice
.

3.198
  Note that a few verbs, principally
need
,
want
,
have
,
buy
, and
choose
, are used with an object and a
to
-infinitive when talking about two actions performed by the same person. The
to
-infinitive must be transitive. It is understood as relating to the noun, rather than being closely connected with the first verb.

I
need a car to drive
to work.
She
chose the correct one to put
in her bag.

to
-infinitive showing purpose

3.199
  Note that verbs that refer to a deliberate action are sometimes followed by a clause expressing purpose. Here,
to
means
in order to
.

Several women
moved to help
her.
The captain
stopped to reload
the machine-gun.

Note that the first verb has a complete meaning of its own; the second verb is giving a reason for the first action, not completing the information about it.

See paragraphs
8.43
to
8.46
for more details on expressing purpose.

USAGE NOTE

3.200
  When the base form of
try
is used, for example as an
imperative
or with a
modal
, it is sometimes used with
and
followed by the base form of the second verb, rather than with a
to
-infinitive. The two actions seem to be separate, because of the
and
, but are in fact very closely linked.

Try and get
a torch or a light, it’s terribly dark down here.
I’ll
try and answer
the question.