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.
Hi there,
Why can we say, "He admitted stealing the necklace (checked by Grammarly, correct with or without "to")," but couldn't say, "She admitted cheating on the test (also checked by Grammarly, they stated it must be added with "to" to become correct),?"
Thanks a lot!
Best regards,
Honggo
Hello Honggo,
As far as I know, both 'admitted cheating' and 'admitted to cheating' are correct ways of accepting that you did something. I'm afraid you'd have to ask Grammarly to explain this inconsistency.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Thank you for your fast answer, Kirk.
"both 'admitted cheating' and 'admitted to cheating' are correct," noted.
Could this principle be applied to the other verbs? How about these:
- He admitted hearing their secret conversation.
- He admitted stalking that girl.
- He admitted talking to him yesterday.
- He admitted seeing a ghost.
- He admitted flying in his dream.
and so forth...
Is it still correct to use "to" or not?
Or are there any verbs (after "admit") that must be added with "to" to make sense on their own?
Hello honggo,
As Kirk said, both 'to' and without 'to' are fine with the verb 'admit'. The pattern is related to 'admit' and and it does not matter what the next word is. You can also use a noun as well as an -ing form:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello! I'd like to ask you for some advice.
They made a mistake and admitted it.
They ___________ a mistake.
This is an exercise and I have to complete the sentence using not more than 3 words.
I would say:
They admitted making a mistake.
They admitted having made a mistake.
I'm wondering if both options are correct. Is there any difference in meaning? Does "having made" sound more formal? Thanks a lot for your help!
Hello Marco Gaiotto,
Admit has several patterns. You can follow it with a direct object (a noun phrase or -ing form), with the preposition 'to' or with a clause beginning with 'that', for example. There is a good summary here:
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/admit
In most cases, including your examples, there is no difference between admit doing and admit having done, as the action is clearly in the past in both cases. After all, generally in order to admit to something it must already have happened . However, sometimes there is a difference. Compare these sentences:
Here, the first sentence describes an action which may still be true: she may still be a member. The second places the action in the past: she was a member but is not any more.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Peter,
Thank you for these explanations. I would like to know a bit more as to why certains verbs work with ing and others with the infinitive form.
For example, you could say 'he admitted to killing the dog' but you cannot say 'he admitted to kill the dog'.
Could you please explain why this is?
Thanks a lot!
Best regards,
B.
Hello Miss B,
In this particular case, it's because the word 'to' in 'he admitted to' is a preposition (not an infinitive); when a verb is the complement of a preposition, it always goes in an '-ing' form. Note that we can say 'he admitted to the crime' -- 'the crime' is a noun phrase, which couldn't be correctly used if 'to' was an infinitive. There are many other verb forms similar to 'admit' in this way; one very common is 'look forward to'. We say 'I look forward to seeing you', not *'I look forward to meet you'.
But to respond to your question about why sometimes an infinitive is used and other times an '-ing' form, I'm afraid there's no simple answer. Basically, it's because these are the forms that people have come to use over time as English has been spoken. In other words, there's normally no discernible logical reason -- it's just how we use these verbs!
I wish I could give you a more satisfying answer!
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hi Kirk,
Verbs can be used followed by another verb as part of verb patterns, but they don't need to be. We can still use these verbs in different syntactic contexts, for example, followed by a prepositional phrase. One does not negate the other :)
Prepositional verbs, such as look forward to, are always followed by a noun phrase or gerund. Again, although gerunds come from verbs they act like nouns.
All the best,
A
Dear kind teacher
Many thanks for your detailed explanation. I have a question: if LOVE is the first verb and it is followed by an object, what form of the verb (gerund or infinitive) is used for the second verb which goes after that object? I need examples. Many Thanks in advance.