Verbs followed by the infinitive

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: Matching_MTY1MTg=
Verb + to + infinitive 2: GapFillTyping_MTY1MTk=

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: ReorderingHorizontal_MTY1MjA=
Verb + noun + to + infinitive 2: GapFillTyping_MTY1MzI=

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: GapFillTyping_MTY1MzM=.xml

Average

Hello. Is anybody here? Thank you.

Hi Ahmed Imam,

Oops! It seems we missed this question until now.

The correct sentence is the -ing verb form. Actually, both forms are grammatically correct, but they have different meanings.

try + -ing (try drinking): this presents the action (drinking) as the solution to a problem. You are asking someone to do this, in order to see whether it solves the problem (or not).
try + to + infinitive (try to drink): this emphasises the difficulty of the action (drink), and that the person needs to make a strong effort to do it. It suggests the person may not be capable of doing the action.

Does that make sense? You can find more examples on this page about verbs followed by -ing or to + infinitive.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear team, (I like them to trust me; that I am there for them.) Is this sentence true? Thank you.

Hello Hosseinpour,

It's hard to be sure without knowing the full context, but I think the sentence you are looking for is probably as follows:

I hope that they trust me and understand that I am there for them.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Peter, thank you for the time and help.

Hello. Could you please help me? What is the difference between the two forms John was left to dream about his new life as a teacher. John was left dreaming about his new life as a teacher. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

When we say leave somebody to do something there can be two meanings:

I left John to clean up

1. I went away so that John could clean up.

2. I went away because I needed to clean up.

When passive voice is used, as in your example, only the first meaning is possible.

When we say leave somebody doing something it means that we went away while they continue with the action:

I left John cleaning up.

When I went away, John was cleaning up.

Your sentence could have this meaning.

However, remember that language draws meaning from the context in which it is used, as well as from its own structures and forms. These sentences would like have more meaning in context, such as telling us something about whether or not John's dreams were real or some kind of delusion, for example.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Team! I have a quesiton. Is this a sentence? "Class 3000 to be used with schedule 80 pipes" I think "to be used with schedule 80 pipes" describes "class 3000".So its an adjective. But there is no verb here.And this is not a complete sentence.Can we use this as if it was a sentence?For example,when we describe a table. Thank you!

Hello Goktug123 You're right in thinking that that is not a complete sentence. What I understand it to mean is: 'Class 3000 *is* to be used with schedule 80 pipes'. Words are often left out when there's not much space and the meaning is thought to be clear. All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, every one. My bother asked me where my sister was. When I wanted to answer him, I got confused about the rule to use after "try". Here is my answer: I don't know where she is. Try (to call / calling) her on her phone. Thank you .

Hello Ahmed Imam, 'Try' is an example of a verb which can be followed by either 'to + verb' or 'verb-ing'. However, there is a difference in meaning. > try + verb-ing = do something to see if it is a good idea: I tried taking the medicine, but it didn't help. > try + to verb = attempt something which is difficult or not possible: I tried to phone him, but there was no answer. ~ In your example, both forms would be correct: Try calling her (maybe this will help) Try to call her (maybe you will succeed in contacting her) ~ Peter The LearnEnglish Team

Hola

Hi teachers, i have a little doubt over these following sentences: 1) I realize that there is a lot of money to be made; 2) There is a moral to be learned.If i were to write them in this different way ( I realize that there is a lot of money to make; 2) There is a moral to learn) they'd come to the same meaning. Thanks in advance.

Hello rosario70 Native speakers would understand both of the sentences with active infinitives to mean what the sentences with the passive infinitives mean, but I doubt a native speaker would intentionally use them. In other words, I'd recommend 'a lot of money to be made' and 'a moral to be learned' and not the other forms. All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hi. Is "admit doing" completely equal to "admit to doing" or there is a difference? Thank you

Hi Ahmed Imam, As far as I am aware there is no difference. The form without 'to' is more common, I would say. Peter The LearnEnglish Team

Hello team! I have a question. Do these two sentences have same meaning? "Bravery is not to be afraid of being afraid" "Bravery is not being afraid to be afraid" Thank you.

Hello Goktug123

Yes, I'd say them mean the same thing.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Could you please help me? Is the following sentence correct in meaning? Try putting the aerial over there. It might work better. Or it must be "Try to put"" Thank you

Hello Ahmed Imam

Yes, that is correct. In this case, 'try' followed by the -ing form means to put the aerial over there so we can see if it works better.

If you said 'try to put', it would be grammatically correct, but would have a different meaning: see if you can put the aerial over there (perhaps it's in a difficult place to reach or a place where the aerial might fall).

You can see more examples in the Cambridge Dictionary -- the first entry (attempt) refers to 'try to do' and the second entry (test) refers to 'try doing'.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, Not sure if it is the right topic. But Id like to learn the rule behind this sentence. ''We help bring attention to your business''. Why there is no TO before bring? Thank you

Hello Alex_R

Some people use a 'to' before the infinitive here, and some people do not. In the US, for example, people tend not to use 'to' there.

In any case, both are accepted as correct. If you'd like to see some more examples of how 'help' is used, there are several in the Cambridge Dictionary.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Could you please help me? If you can't find the key, try (to open - opening) the lock with something else, like a knife or a screwdriver. I think both choices are OK. If so, when to use each one? You are so helpful. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

Both choices are possible grammatically, but there is a difference in meaning.

try to do - this means attempt to succeed

try doing - this means see if you like it

In this context, try to open is the correct choice, I would say.

You can read more on the topic on this page:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-grammar/verbs-followed-ing-or-infinitive-2

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir , I don't understand the part of sentence in Activity 2: You will remenber to put the cat out, (won't you ? )

Hi medmomo,

'won't you' is a question tag. You can read more about what these mean and how we use them on our Question tags page. I think that should help you understand it, but if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

I have come across a popular children’s program where the narrator describes a bird. The sentence is as follows “ it is a tiny little bird come to look at sam’s tent” Is this sentence correct? Can you please explain the grammar behind this?

Hello Karth1,

The sentence is correct but I can see why it might look unusual. The speaker has used ellipsis, which means omitting certain words for reasons of style or other rhetorical preference. The 'full' sentence would be as follows:

it is a tiny little bird which has come to look at sam’s tent

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks Peter! On this context, can I say if this sentence works? “You can play the guitar after I mended it?”

Hello Karth1,

The verb form is not correct there. Time words such as after are followed by present forms when we want a future meaning, so you can use a present simple or a present perfect form here:

You can use the guitar after I mend it.

You can use the guitar after I have mended it.

You can read more about the verb forms used in time clauses on this page.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I wonder if the verb "use" belongs to the list of verbs followed by infinitive, as in "I used the key to open the door." If so, what is the function of the infinitive? Does it modify "key"?

Hello Vahid82,

It's great that you are trying to make sense of this, but 'use' is a verb that is used in many ways and isn't always used with an infinitive. In the sentence you ask about, the infinitive form is an infinitive of purpose, which is explained on our 'to'-infinitives page.

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

A dog tried to bite me yesterday. What's the passive ? I tried to be bitten yesterday. I was tried to be bitten yesterday. Or I was about to be bitten yesterday.

Hello Shaban Nafea,

The verb 'try' can be intransitive (having no object) or transitive (requiring an object. In this use (meaning 'attempt' and followed by an infinitive) it is intransitive and therefore there is no passive form.

When 'try' is used with the meaning 'sample' or 'test' it is a transitive verb and so has a passive form:

I tried the soup and it was awful!

The soup was tried by me and it was awful!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you,Peter but can't I use the passive form with "bite" ? How can I do this in the sentence " The dog tried to bite me yesterday"?

Hello Shaban Nafea,

It is possible to follow 'try' with a passive form but not to make 'try' itself passive. For example, imagine a situation in which a person wants to be sacked from their job and is doing everything to make their boss angry. We could say the following:

She tried very hard to be sacked from her job.

It's a very unusual form. As far as 'bite' goes, you could need to think of a situation in which a person wants to be bitten but finds it difficult to achieve. Then you might say:

He tried to be bitten.

Again, however, this is a very strange sentence. You need to imagine a highly unlikely context and the whole thing is rather artificial. You can see these sentences with other verbs from time to time:

I want to be informed immediately.

I hope to be chosen for the team.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

It's being said that used/ought is always followed by infinitive 'to + v1' but in the sentence " They ought to have insisted on some compensation. " why the word "insisted" is of a different form. If "have" is the main verb here then what role "insisted" is playing here. Also please clarify if there are cases where used/ought is followed by verb form other than v1.

Hello shivamgetz,

I'm afraid I don't agree with that rule. While 'ought' and 'used' can both be followed by a present infinitive ('to + v1'), they are also used in other, different ways. The sentence you cite is an example -- in it, 'ought' is followed by a perfect infinitive ('to have insisted') and this is correct. 'used' is not followed by a perfect infinitive.

I'd suggest you read up on 'ought to' and 'used to' by following the links.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Verbs followed by the infinitive

verb + to + infinitive

verb + noun + to + infinitive

make and let

dare

Online courses

***make* and *let***