Grammar. Level C1. Week 8. Lesson 4. Asynchronous

1.

GRAMMAR.
Verb + infinitive with to or –ing form
Level C1 Week 8 Lesson 4
Asynchronous
Oxford Grammar for EAP, Unit 13.1-13.4, pp.117-120

2.

13.1 Verb + infinitive with to or -ing form
Verbs in this section can be followed by an infinitive with to or an -ing form.
1 No change in meaning
begin
love
prefer
like
continue
hate
start
These verbs can be followed by the infinitive with to, or the -ing
form, with no change in meaning.

3.

• As the recession of the early 1990s began biting/to bite,
companies looked for immediate savings in their daily costs.
• Most office workers hate to feel/feeling that their contribution to
the overall success of the company is being overlooked.
Note that would + like, love, prefer, or hate always takes the infinitive
with to.
• However much a successful research scientist would prefer to
claim all the credit for a new discovery, the likelihood is that it has
resulted from a team effort.
Tip
Two -ing forms are not used together.
• Davo plc was beginning enjoying to enjoy some success
when the UK entered a period of sustained recession.

4.

2 Different meaning
remember
stop
try
forget
go on
mean
Whether you use the infinitive with to, or the -ing form after these
verbs depends on the meaning. The pairs of examples below show
the difference.

5.

• Small businesses should remember to seek guidance before
placing job advertisements in order to ensure that they do
not contravene the existing legislation on discrimination. (=
not forget)
• Most tourist remember staying in a hotel that did not meet
their expectations. The difference nowadays is that
accommodation can be vetted in advance through the use o f
consumer-driven websites. (= have a memory)

6.

• The difficulty arises when a junior doctor who has been on
duty for eighteen hours forgets to check that a patient is, for
example, allergic to penicillin. (= not remember)
• Most people will never forget buying their first car. The
challenge to the trader is to replicate that excitement when
consumers are selecting their tenth vehicle. (= not have a
memory)
• If an employee cannot stop to take a reasonable lunch break,
their work may suffer in the afternoon. (= stop doing one thing in
order to do another)
• GlaxoWellcome plc stopped trading under that name in 2000,
when it merged with SmithKline Beecham pic to become
GlaxoSmithKline. (= finish doing something)

7.

• Madeleine Albright spent four years as US Ambassador to the
United Nations. She then went on to become the first female US
Secretary of State in 1997. (= do one thing after another)
• (in a presentation) I could go on talking about the various
interpretations of Kafka’s The Trial for several hours, but I want to
leave some time for questions, so I’ll finish there. (= continue doing
something)
• BP has tried to repair some o f the damage done to its
reputation in the USA following its response to the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill. (= attempt)
• A group o f families in Maine tried living without their computers
or mobile phones for a month. (= experiment)

8.

• Cadbury’s claimed that it did not mean to insult the model
Naomi Campbell in an advertisement that seemed to
compare her to a bar of chocolate. (= intend)
• Going global in a real sense means understanding how
business works across cultural boundaries. (= that is the
consequence).

9.

13.1 test yourself
Circle the correct option. If both are correct, circle both.
1 If patients stopped to take/taking this drug, it would put them at risk of a heart attack.
2 The legislation was meant discouraging/to discourage traders from buying illegallyacquired copper.
3 The 'Hayflick limit' is the point at which cells no longer continue to divide/dividing.
4 None of the witnesses remembered seeing/to see the helicopter drop before it
exploded.
5 Many business people travel because they prefer doing/to do business face-to-face.
6 Despite early setbacks, Lowton pic went on winning/to win the UK's largest defence
contract of 2009.
7 The research team noted the exact moment when the subject would start to hesitate/
hesitating before replying.
8 Some householders have tried lowering/to lower their heating thermostats by two
degrees to save energy.

10.

13.2 Verb + infinitive with to
In this section, the verbs listed are normally followed by
the infinitive with to, with or without an object.
1. Usually without an object

11.

The verbs in this group can be followed by an infinitive with to, and do not normally
take an object.
• No prime minister can afford to ignore the mistakes made by his or her
predecessors.
• We need to consider first of all the various types of protest that a modern
government can face in Europe.
• The BBC’s foreign correspondent pretended to be touring the sites, when she was
actually interviewing local inhabitants of the region.
• At several points during the night, both sides in the negotiations threatened to walk
out.
• The 02 development appears to have succeeded, where the Millennium Experience
- the original purpose of the dome - failed commercially and in the public mind.
Note the use of the perfect infinitive (the past form) in the last example, and the
continuous infinitive in the example about the BBC foreign correspondent.

12.

2 Usually with an object
These verbs are normally followed by an object and an infinitive with to.

13.

• Although the police persuaded the protestors to leave Parliament Square
quite quickly, the march had a significant effect on public opinion.
• Some commentators warned Marks and Spencer not to expand into the
USA in the late 1980s.
• American soldiers allowed photographers to enter some parts ofHelmand,
but advised them to hire security guards from one of the local agencies.
• A sophisticated computer model enables the likely deterioration pattern
of a new building to be examined.
Note the use of the passive infinitive in the example above, and the negative
infinitive in the Marks and Spencer example.

14.

3 Sometimes with an object
These verbs sometimes have an object.
• Universities expect most academics to have a research interest
and to publish articles or books in that area.
• The British company Dyson Ltd expected to attract criticism when
it moved production overseas.

15.

13.2 test yourself
Complete each sentence, using the past form of one of the verbs in the box.
help manage
invite
refuse
remind
agree
1 Professor Curnick___________ her team not to talk to journalists from the medical
press during the drug trial.
2 Selco only___________ to survive the recession by selling its assets in Spain.
3 When Muhammad Ali___________ to serve in the US Army during the Vietnam War,
his boxing licence was immediately revoked.
4 When he finally___________ to be interviewed by the BBC, Tony Hayward, former
chief executive of BP, admitted that he had made mistakes in his handling of the oil
spill in the Gulf.
5 In 1993 Louis Herman___________ Adam Pack to join him in establishing the
Dolphin Institute.
6 Cyclist Gino Bartali was honoured by Israel because he had____________Jews to
avoid deportation to concentration camps during the Second World War.

16.

13.3 Verb + infinitive without to
Three small groups of verbs are
followed by the infinitive without
to.
1 Modal verbs (can, could, may,
might, must, ought to, shall,
should, will, would)
• Some politicians have argued
that print media should fall under
the same kind o f regulatory
control as broadcast media.

17.

2 Let, make, had better, would rather
• (in a presentation) If we let sixteen-year-olds vote, they may develop a long-lasting interest in
politics.
• Recent opinion polls show that most Americans would rather their government cut spending
than enter into any new programme of stimulus investment.
• (in a seminar) We’d better move the discussion on to unemployment statistics, or we'll run out
of time.
• The assumption that water metering would make the public save water is difficult to argue
against.
Note that had better is normally used in spoken rather than written academic English.
Note that when the passive form of make is used, to is required.
• The argument o f the 'tiger mother’ movement is that children will benefit from a parenting
style through< which they are made to achieve their potential by disciplined practice.

18.

3 Feel, hear, notice, see, watch
With this small group, we tend to use the infinitive without to to focus on a
completed action. The -ing form can be used to focus on an action in progress.
• Investors in Broadman Enterprises saw the value of their shares fall by 45% in the
first quarter of the year.
• When junior members of the government saw the public turning against the poll
tax, they began to realize that it would make sense in terms o f their careers to
distance themselves from the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

19.

13.3 test yourself
Complete each sentence, u sin g one of the words in the box.
would
let
made
must
will watch
1 Chemicals can be ___________ to react through the input of an energy source such
as heat.
2 I ____________rather take all questions at the end of the presentation, if you don't
mind.
3 This essay___________ explore the organizational differences between Apple Inc.
and Microsoft Corporation.
4 Observers at the aquarium are able to octopuses feeding on crab.
5 There were reports that the hospital had ___________ patients he unattended in
corridors for up to eight hours. G Foreign companies___________ float at least 50% of
their shares if they wish to be considered for the FTSE's UK indices.

20.

Now do the quiz in Ms
Teams

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THE END