| 词组 | infinitive or ing form |
| 释义 | Contents overview infinitive or -ing form?95 infinitive or -ing form?Infinitives and -ing forms are often used in similar ways. For instance, they can follow certain verbs, adjectives or nouns (Section 9). Compare:–He agreed to wait.He suggested waiting. (not He suggested to wait.)–She's ready to listen.She's good at listening. (not She's good to listen.)–the need to talkthe idea of talking (not the idea to talk)Unfortunately, there is no easy way to decide which verbs, adjectives and nouns are followed by -ing forms, and which are followed by infinitives. It is best to check in a good dictionary.Expressions with -ing forms can be used both as subjects in sentences, or as complements after be. Infinitives are less common, especially in informal English. Compare:Smoking cigarettes can kill you. (More natural than To smoke cigarettes can kill you.)My favourite activity is reading thrillers. (More natural than My favourite activity is to read thrillers.)A bad ruleStudents' grammars sometimes say that infinitives are used when the reference is forward in time, and -ing forms in other cases (as in I expected to see Megan; I enjoyed meeting her parents). Unfortunately, this is not a reliable rule: it's true when it's true, but there are too many exceptions. (Compare I anticipated seeing her brother; I was sorry not to meet him.)Previous Next |
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