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📚 LexPacks: Verbs followed by Gerunds

Verbs Followed by Gerunds: Essential Patterns

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1 Understanding Gerunds After Verbs

In English, certain verbs are always followed by the -ing form (called a gerund). You can’t use ‘to + infinitive’ with these verbs – it would sound wrong to native speakers. For example, we say ‘I enjoy reading’ (not ‘I enjoy to read’). This lesson focuses on 22 essential verbs that follow this pattern.

✓ Important tip: These verbs don’t follow a simple rule – you need to learn which verbs take gerunds through practice and exposure. However, we can organize them into helpful categories based on their meanings, which makes them easier to remember.

The good news? Once you learn these patterns, you’ll sound much more natural when speaking English. Native speakers use these verbs constantly in everyday conversation, so mastering them will significantly improve your fluency.

2 Category 1: Thinking and Memory Verbs

These verbs relate to mental processes – how we think about and remember things. They all require the -ing form when talking about actions or events.

Imagine works when you’re thinking about possible situations:
– Can you imagine living in another country?
– I can’t imagine working in such a noisy office.

Recall and recollect both mean to remember something (they’re quite formal):
– I don’t recall meeting him before.
– She couldn’t recollect seeing the document.

Understand means to know why or how something happens:
– I don’t understand wanting to work on weekends.
– Do you understand needing more time for this project?

Mention means to talk about something briefly:
– She mentioned visiting Paris last summer.
– Did he mention changing the meeting time?

✓ Learning tip: Notice how these verbs describe what happens in your mind – imagining, remembering, understanding, and mentioning are all mental activities.

Key Terms

imagineto form a picture in your mind of something that might happen or exist

recallto remember something from the past (formal)

recollectto remember something, especially by making an effort (formal)

understandto know why or how something happens or exists

mentionto talk about something briefly, without giving much detail

3 Category 2: Suggestion and Communication Verbs

These verbs are about giving advice, making suggestions, or sharing information with others.

Recommend means to say something is good or suitable:
– I recommend trying the new restaurant on Main Street.
– The doctor recommended getting more exercise.

Suggest means to mention an idea or plan for others to consider:
– He suggested meeting at 3 PM instead.
– They suggested taking a different route.

Report means to give information about something that happened:
– The newspaper reported finding new evidence.
– Witnesses reported seeing a blue car.

✓ Usage note: In professional contexts, you’ll use these verbs frequently. For example, in meetings people constantly recommend and suggest doing things – always with the -ing form!

Key Terms

recommendto say that something is good or suitable for a particular purpose

suggestto mention an idea or plan for someone to consider

reportto give information about something that has happened

4 Category 3: Continuation and Delay Verbs

These verbs describe continuing actions or delaying them until later.

Keep (+ -ing) means to continue doing something:
– She kept talking during the movie.
– They keep asking the same questions.

Practice means to do something regularly to improve:
– You should practice speaking English every day.
– He practices playing the guitar for an hour daily.

Resume means to start again after stopping:
– We’ll resume working after lunch.
– The meeting resumed discussing the budget.

Postpone and put off both mean to delay something until later:
– They postponed making a decision.
– Don’t put off doing your homework!

✓ Common mistake: Students often say ‘keep to do’ or ‘practice to play’ – remember, these verbs always need the -ing form!

Key Terms

keepto continue doing something without stopping

practiceto do an activity regularly to improve your skill

resumeto start doing something again after stopping

postponeto arrange for an event to happen at a later time

put offto delay doing something until later

5 Category 4: Avoidance and Resistance Verbs

This group includes verbs about avoiding things, disliking them, or preventing them from happening.

Mind (in questions and negatives) means to dislike or object to something:
– Do you mind waiting a few minutes?
– I don’t mind helping you with that.

Miss means to feel sad about not doing something you enjoyed:
– I miss living near the beach.
– Don’t you miss seeing your old friends?

Prevent means to stop something from happening:
– The rain prevented us from going out.
– What can prevent making this mistake again?

Risk means to do something that might have a bad result:
– Don’t risk losing your job by being late.
– He risked failing the exam by not studying.

Resent means to feel angry about something unfair:
– She resented having to work late every day.
– They resent being treated differently.

Resist means to stop yourself from doing something you want to do:
– I can’t resist eating chocolate.
– He resisted checking his phone during the meeting.

Shun means to avoid someone or something deliberately:
– Some people shun using social media.
– He shuns attending large parties.

Tolerate means to accept something unpleasant without complaining:
– I can’t tolerate working in such heat.
– She won’t tolerate being interrupted.

Involve means to include something as a necessary part:
– The job involves traveling to different cities.
– Does this course involve giving presentations?

✓ Pattern observation: Many of these verbs express negative feelings or prevention – they’re about things we don’t want or try to avoid.

Key Terms

mindto dislike or feel annoyed about something (usually in questions and negatives)

missto feel sad because you cannot do something you enjoyed in the past

preventto stop something from happening

riskto do something that might cause something bad to happen

resentto feel angry about something because you think it is unfair

resistto stop yourself from doing something you want to do

shunto avoid someone or something deliberately

tolerateto accept something unpleasant without complaining

involveto include something as a necessary part

6 Practice Patterns

Now let’s see how these verbs work in connected speech. Notice how natural they sound when you use the -ing form:

Making suggestions in conversations:
– ‘I suggest starting with the easier tasks first.’
– ‘The guide recommended visiting the museum in the morning.’

Talking about habits and routines:
– ‘I keep forgetting to send that email!’
– ‘She practices speaking French with her neighbor.’

Expressing preferences and feelings:
– ‘Do you mind opening the window?’
– ‘I really miss going to the gym regularly.’

Describing work and responsibilities:
– ‘My job involves meeting new clients every week.’
– ‘We postponed launching the product until next month.’

✓ Fluency tip: When you’re not sure if a verb takes a gerund or infinitive, pay attention to how native speakers use it. These 22 verbs ALWAYS take the -ing form, so you can use them with confidence once you’ve learned them.

📝 Complete Terms List

Verbs:

– imagine: to form a picture in your mind of something that might happen or exist

– involve: to include something as a necessary part

– keep: to continue doing something without stopping

– mention: to talk about something briefly, without giving much detail

– mind: to dislike or feel annoyed about something (usually in questions and negatives)

– miss: to feel sad because you cannot do something you enjoyed in the past

– postpone: to arrange for an event to happen at a later time

– practice: to do an activity regularly to improve your skill

– prevent: to stop something from happening

– recall: to remember something from the past (formal)

– recollect: to remember something, especially by making an effort (formal)

– recommend: to say that something is good or suitable for a particular purpose

– report: to give information about something that has happened

– resent: to feel angry about something because you think it is unfair

– resist: to stop yourself from doing something you want to do

– resume: to start doing something again after stopping

– risk: to do something that might cause something bad to happen

– shun: to avoid someone or something deliberately

– suggest: to mention an idea or plan for someone to consider

– tolerate: to accept something unpleasant without complaining

– understand: to know why or how something happens or exists

Phrasal Verbs:

– put off: to delay doing something until later

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