Gerund

Verb + Gerund

(verbs followed by another verb in the ing form) page 1 of 2

By Rick Shur, LaGuardia CC, New York    [ESLprof.com/handouts/Info/verb+gerund.doc]

Group 1: Preference

1. enjoy           I enjoy living on the Upper West Side. 2. mind            I hate vacuuming, but I don't mind doing the dishes. 3. dislike         I dislike listening to the boss's long speeches.

Group 2: Memory

4. remember        He remembers sitting on his mother's lap when he was little.                     (BUT remembering something that you need to do:                     She remembered to lock the door. Remember to call me!) 5. miss            I miss playing baseball. I used to do it a lot as a kid. 6. regret          I regret speaking to you like that. I'm so sorry. 7. report          The woman reported hearing gun shots outside her home.

Group 3: Stopping

8. stop            She stopped working when the bell rang.                     (BUT stopping for a break:                      We stopped to have a drink on our way home.)  9. can't help      I can't help laughing! You look so funny like that! 10. quit            You have to quit smoking if you want to live past 50. 11. finish          Have you finished painting your house yet? 12. give up         She gave up studying English after two years.

Group 4: Continuing

13. keep (on)       Please keep (on) working. It's not time to quit yet. 14. go on           Go on singing! You have a lovely voice!

Group 5: Thinking and Concentrating

15. think about     I'm thinking about moving to a different city. 16. consider        Are you considering buying a new house? 19. concentrate on  You have to concentrate on finding a job. 20. practice        She practiced typing until she could type a lot faster. 21. imagine         I can't imagine having a dog in this small apartment!

Group 6: Conversation

17. discuss         We discussed getting a new and bigger car. 18. talk about      We talked about taking a vacation.

Group 7: Being Careful

22. risk            Apologize to the boss! Don't risk losing this job! 23. avoid           You should avoid talking to her. She's a real gossip!

Group 8: Delaying

24. delay           We delayed sending payment until we had the money. 25. postpone        He postponed flying to England due to the bad weather. 26. put off         Don't put off doing the homework until Sunday night.

Verb + Gerund

(verbs followed by another verb in the ing form) page 2 of 2

By Rick Shur, LaGuardia CC, New York    [ESLprof.com/handouts/Info/verb+gerund.doc]

Group 9: Difficulty

27. have trouble    We had trouble finding a cheap hotel room there. 28. have problems   We're having problems getting our dog to sit up.

Group 10: Spending Time

29. have fun        We had fun riding horses on my uncle's farm. 30. have a good time  We'll have a good time talking with Grandpa. 31. spend [time]    We spent four hours looking for our lost cat.                     We spent three days relaxing at the resort hotel.

Group 11: Denial and Confession

32. deny            OJ Simpson denied killing Nicole. 33. admit (to)      OJ admitted (to) hitting Nicole once. 34. confess (to)    The thief confessed (to) stealing the diamond bracelet.

Group 12: Anticipation

35. look forward to     We look forward to seeing our grandparents again.

Group 13: Adapting

36. get accustomed to   I can't get accustomed to using English all the time. 37. get used to     Her husband died. She has to get used to being alone.

Group 14: Activities

38. go roller skating/blading   I used to go roller skating every weekend.                                 Now, I go roller blading. 39. go dancing      He goes dancing every weekend. He WENT DANCING Sunday. 40. go fishing      We went fishing with our father when we were young. 41. go sightseeing  We went sightseeing and saw Rockefeller Center. 42. go shopping/window shopping   We'll go shopping for groceries tomorrow.                                   I love to go window shopping on Fifth Avenue. 43. go hiking       He'll go hiking in the Catskill Mountains next March. 44. go skiing       did you go skiing in Aspen last week? How was the snow? 45. go camping      We're going camping soon. Get a tent and sleeping bag. 46. go sailing      We went sailing, but there wasn't any wind on the lake. 47. go boating      We went boating in the bay, but we ran out of gas. 48. go ice-skating  The lake has frozen over. Let's go ice-skating. 49. go jogging      I can't go jogging until I find my sneakers. 50. go hunting      My father went hunting. He brought home two ducks.

Group 15: The "Lucky Seven"         These verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive.

1. Continue      2. Start       3. Begin      4. Love      5. Like      6. Hate      7. Can't stand (=hate)               Continue working. Continue to work. We started to eat. We started eating.               He'll begin to learn. He'll begin learning. She loves to run. She loves running.               I hate to study. I hate studying. They can't stand to wait. They can't stand waiting.