Verbs followed by infinitive or -ing form

A. As object (directly following the verb) Some of these verbs and verb phrases have a different meaning when followed by an infinitive than when followed by an -ing form.

Verbs	Meaning	Sentences
attempt	make an effort at; try	I attempted to speak but I was told to keep quiet. The patient attempted walking, but soon fell down.
begin	start; take the first step	He began to tell us the plot in great detail. She rolled up her sleeves and began unpacking the basket.
can't bear	can't put up with; can't endure; can't suffer	He can't bear to be laughed at. He can't bear being laughed at.
can't stand	can't bear; can't put up with	I can't stand to wait. I can't stand waiting.
cease	stop	You never cease to amaze me. The teacher told him to cease his whistling.
commence	begin; start	After the election, the new government commenced to develop the roads. They have commenced studying law.
continue	go on doing or being something; keep on with	After graduating I continued to devote myself to research. He continued playing the piano long after everyone had left.
deserve	be entitled to; merit; be worthy of getting	He deserves to be treated well after all he has done. He deserves being treated well after all he has done.
dislike	consider unpleasant; not like	I dislike to go there. I dislike going there.
dread	fear greatly	I dread to think what will happen if we're late. He dreads meeting people.
endure	stand; tolerate; bear (especially in negative)	She can't endure to see ani¬mals cruelly treated. She can't endure seeing ani¬mals cruelly treated.
forget	fail to keep in mem¬ory; lose the remembrance of; neglect	He forgot (= neglected) to tell her about it. He forgot (= lost the memory of) having told her about it.
go on	do or say something next; proceed to; continue	He went on (- proceeded next) to explain why that point was important. It went on (= continued) raining all day.
hate	strongly dislike	Some people hate to get up early in the morning. I hate having to get up early.
intend	plan; have in mind as a purpose or plan	What do you intend to do today? What do you intend doing about that?
like	enjoy; be fond of; take pleasure in	I like to read in bed, but I don't like having meals in bed.
loathe	dislike intensely	I loathe to wash dishes. He loathes travelling by air.
love	like very much; take great pleasure in	She loves to have a lot of young people around her. She loves having a lot of young people around her.
mean	intend, have as a purpose; signify, have the consequence of	I didn't mean to be rude to you. These new orders will mean working overtime.
need	require; be necessary	You need to learn the value of money. This chapter needs rewriting.
neglect	omit or fail to do something (usually because of carelessness or forgetfulness)	Don't neglect to lock the door when you leave. Don't neglect locking the door when you leave.
omit	neglect or fail to do something	Please don't omit to say who wrote it. Please don't omit saying who wrote it.
prefer	like better; choose one thing rather than another	I prefer to work in the morning. I prefer working in the morning.
regret	be or feel sorry for or about	I regret to inform you that we cannot publish it. I regret having said that.
remember	take care not to forget; keep in mind; recall to mind	I promise you I'll remember to post your letter. Certainly I posted your letter — I remember doing it.
require	need	The matter requires to be thought over. The seedlings will require looking after.
start	begin	It started to rain. It started raining.
try	attempt; make an effort; do as a test	He tried to stand on his head, but he couldn't. Try putting in some more vinegar; see if that helps.
want	desire, wish; need, require	I want to go to Toronto this weekend. Your hair wants cutting.

B. The following verbs are followed by an -ing form when the second verb is used as object (directly following the verb) and by an infinitive when the second verb is an object complement (following a noun or pronoun object).

Verbs	Meaning	Sentences
acknowledge	admit; agree to the truth of	He acknowledged having done it. They acknowledged him to be the best player in the Asian Games.
admit	confess; acknowledge	He admitted stealing the necklace. You must admit the task to be difficult.
advise	recommend; give advice to	I don't advise going by car — there's no place to park. I advise you to take the train.
consider	think about; regard, think to be	I'm considering going abroad. We consider it to be of strategic importance.
imagine	think of something as probable; form a picture or idea in the mind	I can't imagine marrying a girl like that. I imagine her to be both pretty and gentle.