Look at these examples to see how the verb forms are used.
I enjoy learning languages.
I want to learn a new language.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
A verb can be followed by another verb. The second one usually needs to change into the -ing form or the to + infinitive form. Which form you need depends on what the first verb is.
Verbs followed by the -ing form
When enjoy, admit and mind are followed by another verb, it must be in the -ing form.
I enjoy travelling.
He admitted stealing the necklace.
I don't mind waiting if you're busy.
Other verbs in this group include avoid, can't help, consider, dislike, feel like, finish, give up, miss, practise and suggest.
Like and love can be followed by the -ing form and the to + infinitive form. They are both correct.
Verbs followed by to + infinitive form
When want, learn and offer are followed by another verb, it must be in the to + infinitive form.
I want to speak to the manager.
She's learning to play the piano.
He offered to help us wash up.
Other verbs in this group include afford, agree, ask, choose, decide, expect, hope, plan, prepare, promise, refuse and would like.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
Hello Zub0v,
Both a bare infinitive ('wash up') and a full infinitive ('to wash up') are correct after the verb 'help'. The bare infinitive is the correct form in American English and both forms are commonly used in British English.
You could say 'to help us washing up' because 'washing up' is sometimes used as a noun phrase, but this is not true of most other verbs. For example, it would be incorrect to say 'He offered to help us taking the children to school' or anything similar with most verbs.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mussorie,
Although ultimately one could say that it's a gerund derived from the verb 'wash up', 'washing-up' is listed as noun in the dictionary. There are other words like this (e.g. 'swimming', obviously derived from 'swim' -- which interestingly, is also a noun as well as a verb). These words ending in '-ing' are so common that they have the 'feel' of regular nouns rather than gerunds.
I realise that's not a very precise explanation, but as far as I know, this is the reason it can be used differently than gerunds.
It's great that you want to understand English in analytical terms, and without a doubt that will help you make sense of many forms, but with forms like this you run up against the fact that language is also shaped by how people use it. Although these uses can be broken down in analysis, it's often better to just accept them, observe how they are used and imitate them.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mussorie,
The first sentence ('He offered to help our washing up the clothes') is unnatural, though I don't think anyone would have trouble understanding it. First of all, 'washing-up' refers to dirty dishes, not dirty clothes. Also, instead of saying 'help our washing-up', people typically say 'help us with the washing-up' -- it's not really a task we use a possessive adjective with.
In the third sentence, instead of 'help someone with something', there's the pattern 'help someone do something'. In other words, 'we help someone do something' or 'we help someone to do something' are the typical patterns, not 'we help someone doing something'. You can find this in the example sentences in any decent dictionary.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Samin,
'will be going' is a future continuous form. 'are going' is a present continuous form.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Martina,
I can confirm for you that 'like' can be followed by both the '-ing' form and also an infinitive. I'm sorry that our explanation here is confusing and we'll fix that very soon. In any case, I'd recommend you have a look at our Verbs followed by the '-ing' form and Verbs followed by the infinitive pages, where you can fuller explanations of this topic.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team