Level: beginner
Many verbs in English are followed by the infinitive with to. Some of these verbs take the pattern:
- Verb + to + infinitive
We planned to take a holiday.
She decided to stay at home.
Others verbs take the pattern:
- Verb + noun + to + infinitive
She wanted the children to learn the piano.
I told him to ring the police.
Two very common verbs – make and let – are followed by the infinitive without to. They take the pattern:
- Verb + noun + infinitive
My parents made me come home early.
They wouldn't let me stay out late.
The verb dare can be followed by the infinitive with or without to:
- Verb (+ to) + infinitive
I didn't dare (to) go out after dark.
verb + to + infinitive
Some verbs are followed by the infinitive with to:
I decided to go home as soon as possible.
We all wanted to have more English classes.
Common verbs with this pattern are:
- verbs of thinking and feeling:
| choose decide expect forget |
hate hope intend learn |
like love mean plan |
prefer remember want would like/love |
- verbs of saying:
| agree | promise | refuse | threaten |
- others
| arrange attempt |
fail help |
manage tend |
try |
- Verb + to + infinitive 1
- Verb + to + infinitive 2
verb + noun + to + infinitive
Some verbs are followed by a noun and the infinitive with to:
She asked him to send her a text message.
He wanted all his friends to come to his party.
Common verbs with this pattern are:
- verbs of saying:
| advise ask encourage |
invite order |
persuade remind |
tell warn* |
* Note that warn is normally used with not:
The police warned everyone not to drive too fast.
- verbs of wanting and liking:
| hate intend |
like love |
mean prefer |
want would like/love |
- others:
| allow enable |
expect force |
get |
teach |
Many of the verbs above are sometimes followed by a passive infinitive (to be + past participle):
I expected to be met when I arrived at the station.
They wanted to be told if anything happened.
I don't like driving myself. I prefer to be driven.
- Verb + noun + to + infinitive 1
- Verb + noun + to + infinitive 2
Level: intermediate
make and let
The verbs make and let are followed by a noun and the infinitive without to:
They made him pay for the things he had broken.
The doctor made me wait for almost an hour.
They let you go in free at the weekend.
Will you let me come in?
But the passive form of make is followed by the infinitive with to:
He was made to pay for the things he had broken.
I was made to wait for almost an hour.
let has no passive form. We use allow instead:
We were allowed to go in free at the weekend.
I was allowed to go in.
dare
The verb dare is hardly ever found in positive sentences. It is almost always used in negative sentences and questions.
When it is used with an auxiliary or a modal verb, dare can be followed by the infinitive with or without to:
I didn't dare (to) disturb him.
Who would dare (to) accuse him?
But when there is no auxiliary or modal, dare is followed by the infinitive without to:
Nobody dared disturb him.
I daren't ask him.
- make, let and dare
Comments
Hello team. Is the following sentence correct? If not, why?
- I think I prefer to spend my money on a holiday rather than on a new car.
Thank you.
Hi Ahmed Imam,
Yes, it's correct!
It's also possible to use an -ing form after prefer. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the -ing form places more emphasis on the action itself, e.g.: I prefer walking to cycling.
Using the to + infinitive form places more emphasis on the result of the action. The result (in this example, a holiday) seems more relevant to emphasise here than the action of spending itself.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello. I think both choices are correct in the following sentence? If not, please why?
- I spoke kindly to him (not to - so as not to) frighten him.
Thank you.
Hello Ahmed Imam,
I would recommend 'so as not to' here. When using a negative infinitive of purpose, 'so as not to' and 'in order not to' are generally preferred and 'not to' is generally avoided.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Team
I understand that the verb 'need' must be followed by the infinitive, but how about if I wrote "I think you need cheering up"?
To me that sounds perfectly ok, and to write "I think you need to cheer up" has a slightly different meaning.
So is it grammatically correct to write "I think you need cheering up"?
If so, could you explain why?
Thanks for your help,
Lexeus.
Hi lexeus,
Yes, it is correct! In this sentence, cheering up is a gerund, i.e., a verb form which functions as a noun. It's not a verb. The verb need can be followed by a gerund. Need with a gerund has a meaning similar to the passive voice. This sentence means I think you need to be cheered up.
Another example is This computer needs fixing (= This computer needs to be fixed).
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Team, I want to learn something.
Some verbs have diffrent patterns, but their patterns are the same meaning.
For example "get somebody to do something" and "get somebody doing something"
Can we use anyone in sentence?
For instance
1)He got his sister to help him with his homework.
2)He got his sister helping him with his homework.
Do two sentences have some meaning? And why the word "get" have different patterns although the patterns are the same meaning?
Hi Aysn,
Some verbs are followed only by the -ing form and some only by the to-infinitive. Some, as you say, can be followed by either form. Usually in these cases there is a change in meaning, however slight or nuanced. That's also the case with your example.
The -ing form suggests an ongoing result, while the to-infinitive form suggests a particular event. I'll use another context to illustrate it more clearly:
In your example, the second sentence sounds a little strange to me. This is because the -ing form suggests and ongoing activity, while the past form got implies finished time. It's not a grammatically impossible sentence, but there is a dissonance. I think the -ing form is more likely to occur with the present perfect, indicating an unfinished time period and telling us that she is still helping him.
All languages have multiple ways of expressing the same or similar ideas. This is true of lexis and of grammar. It allows to express ourselves in a myriad of styles, to use different rhetorical devices and to make our language beautiful and individual. If a given idea could only be expressed in one way our languages would be far poorer.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you teacher,I think I am understand.But,I have one more question.
For example in this sentence;
"My mom made me clear my room."
when I want to make passive that sentence, I saw I must add "-to infinitive"
Such as "I am made to* clean my room"
Why I must add "-to infinitive" in passive sentence although verb pattern that is make somebody do something has no infinitive in its active sentence?
Could you explain this is a rule or like something?
Hello Aysn,
I think this is just a quirk of the verb. There are some verbs whose form is different when used with passive voice, such as help:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
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