Ing form and to Infinitive

Grammar

Grammar

-Ing Form or To-infinitive

go!

go!

Introduction

Introduction

-Ing Form

-Ing Form

The -ing form is used: - As the subject of a sentence - After prepositions (about, after, at, before, by, in, of, on, without...) - After some verbs (admit, avoid, carry on, deny, fancy, finish, spend...) - After some expressions (be keen on, can't help, can't stand, don't mind, feel like...)

Communicating trough text can be misleading.

I talked to Jim on Twitter before meeting him IRL.

Sandy has considered taking an online course with some friends.

We felt like laughing when we finally met

To-Infinitive

To-Infinitive

The to-infinitive is used: - When you want to express a reason or purpose - After many adjectives (afraid, anxious, eager, happy, lucky, nice, reluctant, right...) - After some verbs (advise, seem, agree, appear, promise, ask, attempt, choose, decide, pretend, expect...) - After some expressions (can't wait, would like, would love, would prefer...)

I came to London to make friends

She is lucky to have so many amazing friends

They were just pretending to be true friends

I can't wait to meet him face to face.

- The verbs begin, continue, intend, start can be followed by either an -ing form or a to-infinitive withouth causing a change in meaning. - The verbs hate, like, love, prefer can be followed by either form with a small difference in meaning. We often use:

The -ing form is used to suggest enjoyment (or lack of it):I like watching videos on YouTube. I prefer chatting online to meeting face to face.

The -to-infinitive is used to express habits or preferences:She likes to get up early in the morning. She prefers to dress more casually to work.