Look at these examples:
- I enjoy reading. (not I enjoy to read)
- Would you mind closing the door? (not mind to dose)
- Chris suggested going to the cinema. (not suggested to go)
After enjoy, mind and suggest, we use -ing (not to ... ).
Some more verbs that are followed by -
ing:
- stop
- finish postpone
- admit
- consider
- deny
- avoid
- risk
- imagine
- fancy
- Suddenly everybody stopped talking. There was silence.
- I'll do the shopping when I've finished cleaning the flat.
- He tried to avoid answering my question.
- I don't fancy going out this evening. (= I'm not enthusiastic about it)
- Have you ever considered going to live in another country?
- They said they were innocent. They denied doing anything wrong.
The negative form is
not -
ing:
- When I'm on holiday, I enjoy not having to get up early.
With some verbs you can use the structure
verb + somebody + -
ing:
- I can't imagine George riding a motorbike.
- You can't stop me doing what I want.
- Did you really say that? I don't remember you saying that.
- 'Sorry to keep you waiting so long.' 'That's all right.'
Note the passive form (
being done/
seen/
kept etc.):
- I don't mind being kept waiting. (= I don't mind people keeping me ... )
When you are talking about finished actions, you can say
having done/
stolen/
said etc. :
- They admitted having stolen the money.
But it is not necessary to use
having (done). You can also say:
- They admitted stealing the money.
- I now regret saying (or having said) what I said.
After some of the verbs on this page (especially
admit/
deny/
suggest) you can also use
that ... :
- They denied that they had stolen the money. (or They denied stealing ... )
- Chris suggested that we went to the cinema. (or Sam suggested going ... )
