After my students accept the fact that some verbs are followed by gerunds
and some are followed by infinitives, they always want to know if there
is a system to making this choice. In other words, is there any way
a person can figure this out on the spot, without having memorized a
list or having familiarized himself/herself with each verb?
Dorothy Avondstondt
davondstondt@miami.edu
I agree with Ann Raimes, a respected grammarian, who says:
“Grammarians have attempted to establish systems to explain the
use of the infinitive or -ing after certain verbs,
but these systems are, for the most part, complex and full of loopholes
and exceptions. Rather than trying to master these systems, you can
save time by simply memorizing the verbs that are regularly followed
by either ... . “
Barbara Matthies