Mastering English Verbs: Infinitives and Gerunds

Verbs Followed by Infinitives

Here are some common verbs followed by infinitives, along with example sentences:

• Agree: I agreed to go to a party with my friend.
  Estar de acuerdo: Estuve de acuerdo en ir a la fiesta con mi amigo.
• Decide: The president decided not to participate in the discussions.
  Decidir: El presidente decidió no participar en las discusiones.
• Deserve: Everyone deserves to be respected.
  Merecer: Todo el mundo se merece respeto.
• Expect: I expect to know my exam grade by tomorrow.
  Esperar: Espero saber mi nota del examen mañana.
• Hope: We were hoping to avoid traffic by leaving early.
  Esperar: Esperábamos evitar el tráfico si salíamos antes.
• Learn: He learned not to trust anyone.
  Aprender: Aprendió a no confiar en nadie.
• Need: She needs to learn how to cook.
  Necesitar: Necesita aprender a cocinar.
• Offer: I offered to help my brother with homework.
  Ofrecer: Me ofrecí a ayudar a mi hermano con los deberes.
• Plan: We are planning to watch a movie tonight.
  Planear: Estamos planeando ver una película esta noche.
• Promise: My friend promised to find the time to help me move.
  Prometer: Mi amigo prometió que buscaría tiempo para ayudarme con la mudanza.
• Seem: We seem to be lost.
  Parecer: Parece que estamos perdidos.
• Wait: I cannot wait to see my family.
  Esperar: No puedo esperar a ver a mi familia.
• Want: I don’t want to go to bed yet.

Verbs Followed by Gerunds

Here are some common verbs followed by gerunds, along with example sentences:

• Admit: They admitted changing the schedule.
  Admitir: Admitieron haber cambiado el horario.
• Advise: I advise proceeding (moving forward) with caution.
  Aconsejar: Aconsejo continuar con cuidado.
• Avoid: She avoided looking me in the eye.
  Evitar: Evitó mirarme a los ojos.
• Consider: I considered staying silent, but I had to tell her.
  Pensar: Pensé en quedarme callada, pero tenía que decírselo.
• Deny: I denied knowing about his secret.
  Negar: Negué conocer su secreto.
• Involve: The course involved writing three tests.
  Incluir: El curso incluía escribir tres pruebas.
• Mention: She mentioned seeing my brother at a baseball game.
  Mencionar: Mencionó ver a mi hermano en un partido de béisbol.
• Recommend: I recommend practicing gerunds and infinitives.
  Recomendar: Recomiendo practicar los gerundios y los infinitivos.
• Risk: Don’t risk losing your job!
  Arriesgar: ¡No te arriesgues a perder tu trabajo!
• Suggest: I suggest reading more English short stories.
  Sugerir: Sugiero leer más historias cortas en inglés.

Using "Do" and "Does"

Here's a simple guide to using 'do' and 'does':

• We use 'do' with the pronouns I, you, we, and they.
• We use 'does' with the pronouns he, she, and it.

Examples:

• We do.
• They do.
• You do.
• He does.
• She does.
• It does.