Verbs followed by infinitive (with or without to) or gerund

Advise: (aconsejar) My friends advised me to accept the offer / I wouldn’t advise taking the car

(-ing cuando no se dice a quién se le aconseja).

Afford: (permitirse) I can’t afford to go on holiday.

Agree: (estar de acuerdo, acordar) We agreed to start early.

Allow: (dejar, permitir) My parents allowed me to go to the party / We don’t allow smoking in

this room (-ing cuando no se dice a quién se le permite).

Appear: (aparecer, parecer) You appear to have made a mistake.

Arrange: (quedar en, asegurarse de que alguien haga algo, organizar que alguien haga algo):

We arranged to meet at four / He arranged for his son to meet me.

Ask: (pedir) I didn’t ask you to pay for the meal.

Attempt: (intentar) The murderer attempted to kill another man.

Avoid: (evitar) They avoided mixing with the other boys.

Be used/accustomed to: (estar acostumbrado a) I was used to getting up early when I lived in

England.

Bear /stand: (soportar) He can’t bear being laughed at (casi siempre en forma negativa con

can’t). (bear-bore-borne), (stand-stood-stood).

Beg: (pedir, suplicar) He begged the doctor to visit her husband.

Begin: (empezar) He began learning / to learn English (no hay diferencia). (begin-began-

begun).

Believe: (creer) People believed him to be a millionaire =People believed he was a millionaire.

La misma estructura con think, consider, know, find, imagine, suppose and feel.

Cause: (hacer que, causar) The earthquake caused the house to collapse.

Choose: (elegir, decidir) I only chose to do it because of you. (choose-chose-chosen).

Command: (ordenar) The officer commanded his men to fire.

Compel (obligar) My father compelled me to go with him.

Consent: (acceder, consentir) She has consented to marry him.

Continue: (continuar, seguir haciendo algo) She continued to dance / dancing all night (sin

diferencia).

Dare: (atreverse a) I daren’t look. I didn’t dare (to) ask you.

Decide: (decidir) They decided to go on holiday.

Deny: (negar algo previo, por ejemplo, haber hecho algo)) He denied knowing anything about

it. He denied stealing the bag. (no confundir con refuse)

Determine: (decidirse a hacer algo) He determined to fight for her love.

Encourage: (animar) My friends encouraged me to enter the competition.

Expect: (esperar, suponer) You can’t expect (me) to learn a foreign language in a week.

Fail: (no conseguir hacer algo) He failed to break the record = He didn’t break the record.

Feel: (sentir) Did you feel the earth move? But Was the earth felt to move? (en activa va

seguido de infinitivo sin to y en pasiva con to). (feel-felt-felt).

Forbid: (prohibir, impedir) Discretion forbids me to repeat it. (forbid-forbade-forbidden).

Force: (forzar, obligar) The bully forced the little boy to give him his money.

Forget: (olvidar) He forgot to pay me / He forgot paying me (he forgot that he had paid me)

(con infinitivo, olvidarse de hacer algo, con gerundio, olvidarse de haber hecho algo). (forget-

forgot-forgotten).

Get: (persuadir, convencer) Get her to stay for dinner if you can. (get-got-got).

Get/become used to: (acostumbrarse a) I got used to going out every evening when I went to

live in Spain. (get-got-got), (become-became-become).

Go on: (continuar) How long do you intend to go on playing the same song? (lo mismo). He

welcomed the students and then went on to explain the college regulations (algo nuevo). (go-

went-gone).

Happen: (si por casualidad) If you happen to go into town, would you please let me know?

Hate: (odiar, lamentar) People hate to work / working in the early morning (no hay diferencia) /

I would hate you to think I didn’t care (cuando va con would, tiene que ir seguido de infinitive).

Hear: (oír) I heard her say that she was fed up but She was heard to say... (en activa va seguido

de infinitivo sin to y en pasiva con to). (hear-heard-heard).

Help: (ayudar; evitar) Could you help (me) (to) unload the car? (cuando significa ayudar, con

infinitivo con to o sin to) / I can’t help falling asleep (cuando significa evitar, va seguido de

gerundio)..

Hesitate: (dudar) Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help.

Hope: (esperar) I hope to see you soon.

Instruct: (dar instrucciones) I’ve instructed them to keep the room locked.

Intend: (tener la intención de) I intend you to take over (hacerse cargo) = I intend that you shall

take over.

Invite: (invitar) They invited me to attend the meeting.

Learn: (aprender) He’s learning (how) to swim. (learn-learnt-learnt. También puede ser

regular).

Leave: (en el sentido de dejar hacer algo sin interferir) I’ll leave him to find that out for

himself. (leave-left-left).

Let: (dejar, permitir) She lets her children stay up very late. (let-let-let).

Like: (gustarle a uno algo) I like to play / playing football (no hay diferencia). I like to have

breakfast in bed / I like to clean the bathroom in the morning (cuando se dice que gusta o se

prefiere hacer algo de una manera concreta, se prefiere el infinitivo). I would like (her) to pass

the test (would like va seguido de infinitivo).

Look forward to: (esperar con ansiedad o con muchas ganas algo) I’m looking forward to

seeing you.

Love: (encantarle a uno algo) I love lying/ to lie on my back (no hay diferencia)./ I would love

to come / We’d love you to come to dinner (would love va seguido de infinitivo).

Make: (hacer=obligar) I made them give me the money back but He was made to pay back the

money (en activa va seguido de infinitivo sin to y en pasiva con to). (make-made-made).

Manage: (arreglárselas para) Although he wasn’t a mechanic, he managed to repair the car.

Mean: (pretender, tener intenciones de) I really meant to do it but I forgot. (mean-meant-

meant).

Need: (necesitar) I need (you) to do something.

Neglect: (omitir hacer algo; descuidar) You neglected to mention that he was jailed in 1985.

Oblige: (obligar) He obliged me to accept the deal.

Offer: (ofrecer) They offered to help.

Order: (ordenar) He ordered me to attack the enemy

Persuade: (convencer) he persuaded me to help him.

Prefer: (preferir) I prefer to work / working in the morning (sin diferencia); I would prefer to

work in the morning (would prefer va seguido de infinitivo). Prefer (doing) something to

(doing) something else. Prefer to do something rather than (do) something else.

Prepare: (prepararse) He prepared to receive his guests.

Press: (presionar) The police pressed the man to tell the truth.

Pretend: (fingir) I pretended to be asleep.

Prevent: (impedir, evitar) The police prevented the hooligans (from) going into the stadium.

Promise: (prometer) The match promises to be very close.

Propose: (proponer) What do you propose to do about it.

Recommend: (recomendar) I recommended him to visit the doctor.

Request: (pedir, como ask, pero más formal) The headmaster requested the teachers to be

careful with the little children).

Refuse: (negarse a) He refused to speak to me.

Regret: (lamentar) I regret to say that you are wrong but I don’t regret telling her what I thought

(con infinitivo, lamentar hacer algo. con gerundio, lamentar haberlo hecho).

Remember: (recordar) Remember to go to the post office, won’t you? But I’ll always remember

meeting you for the first time (con infinitivo, acordarse de hacer algo. con gerundio, acordarse

de haberlo hecho).

Remind: (recordarle a alguien algo) Remind me to telephone him.

See: (ver) I didn’t see you come in but you weren’t seen to come in. (en activa va seguido de

infinitivo sin to y en pasiva con to). / I saw Mary crossing the road (only part of the action).

Seem: (parecer) They seem to know what they are doing.

Start: He started learning / to learn English (sin diferencia).

Stop (dejar de, parar) I stopped working and went home but I stopped (working) to talk to him

(seguido de gerundio, parar, dejar de hacer algo, seguido de infinitive, parar para hacer algo).

Swear: (jurar) I swore to keep the secret. (swear-swore-sworn).

Teach: (enseñar) He taught me to drive a car. (teach-taught-taught).

Tell: (decir a alguien que haga algo) The teacher told the children to be quiet. (tell-told-told).

Think: (pensar, creer) I thought him to be an excellent choice= I thought he was... La misma

construcción con believe, consider, know, find, imagine, suppose and feel .(tell-told-told).

Try: (intentar, probar) I tried to get there in time but I couldn’t. I even tried going by taxi

(seguido de infinitivo, intentar hacer algo, con gerundio, probar a conseguir algo de esa

forma).

Used to: (hábitos y estados del pasado que ya no son así): I used to do my homework before I

went to bed when I was a little boy.

Wait: (esperar) He was waiting for the bus (to arrive).

Want: (querer) I wanted to go out but my parents wanted me to stay at home.

Warn: (avisar) I warned him to be careful with the car.

Watch: (obsevar, mirar) I watched her cross the road. I watched her crossing the road (solo

parte de la acción).

Wish: (desear, querer) She wishes (me) to be alone.

Would rather + infinitivo sin to: (preferiría) I would rather (not) stay here. I would rather you

stayed (o didn’t stay) here (seguido de infinitivo sin to si uno preferiría hacer algo: Seguido de

un pasado simple si uno preferiría que otra persona hiciera algo).