Verbs: Catenatives

Verb	to-infinitival	Bare infinitival	Gerund-participial	Notes
admit			✓
afford	✓
agree	✓
aim	✓
appear	✓			Raising verb
arrange	✓
ask	✓			Object-control
attempt	✓
avoid			✓
begin	✓		✓
bother	✓		✓	Meaning differs
care	✓
cease	✓		✓
choose	✓
claim	✓			Raising/control
come	(✓)			come to understand
consider			✓
consent	✓
continue	✓		✓
dare	✓	✓		Lexical and modal uses
decide	✓
delay			✓
deny			✓
deserve	✓
dislike			✓
endeavour	✓
enjoy			✓
expect	✓			Raising/control
fail	✓
fear	(✓)			Rare
feel		✓	✓	Perception verb
finish			✓
forget	✓		✓	Meaning differs
get	(✓)			get to know
go on	✓		✓	Meaning differs
happen	✓			Raising verb
hate	✓		✓	Meaning differs
have (causative)		✓
hear		✓	✓	Perception verb
help	✓	✓
hesitate	✓
hope	✓
intend	✓
keep			✓
know	(✓)			Rare (know to lock)
learn	✓
let		✓		Causative
like	✓		✓	Meaning differs
long	✓
love	✓		✓	Meaning differs
make		✓		Causative
manage	✓
mean	✓		✓	Meaning differs
mind			✓
need	✓		✓	Meaning differs
neglect	✓
notice		✓	✓	Perception verb
observe		✓	✓	Perception verb
offer	✓
plan	✓
postpone			✓
prefer	✓		✓	Meaning differs
pretend	✓
proceed	✓
promise	✓
propose	✓		✓	Meaning differs
quit			✓
recall			✓
recollect			✓
recommend			✓
refuse	✓
regret	✓		✓	Meaning differs
remember	✓		✓	Meaning differs
risk			✓
seem	✓			Raising verb
start	✓		✓
stop	✓		✓	Meaning differs
strive	✓
suggest			✓
swear	✓
tend	✓			Raising verb
threaten	✓			Raising/control
try	✓		✓	Meaning differs
undertake	✓
use	✓			Lexical (use to excluded)
venture	✓
volunteer	✓
wait	✓
want	✓			Object-control also possible
watch		✓	✓	Perception verb
wish	✓
yearn	✓

High frequency core set

• admit

• afford

• agree

• appear

• avoid

• begin

• continue

• decide

• enjoy

• expect

• fail

• forget

• happen

• help

• hope

• keep

• manage

• need

• plan

• remember

• seem

• start

• stop

• try

• want

Verbs whose meaning changes with the complement

Verb	to-infinitival clause	gerund-participial clause	Main contrast
bother	bother to reply	bother replying	make the effort vs engage in the activity (less common)
forget	forget to lock	forget locking	omission vs forgotten memory
go on	go on to become	go on talking	subsequent situation vs continuation
hate	hate to interrupt	hate interrupting	regret this particular situation vs general dislike
like	like to walk early	like walking	preferred practice/habit vs enjoyment of the activity
love	love to read	love reading	preferred practice vs enjoyment
mean	mean to offend	mean offending	intend vs involve/entail
need	need to wash the car	the car needs washing	active requirement vs passive-like interpretation
prefer	prefer to drive	prefer driving	preferred choice vs preferred activity
propose	propose to resign	propose resigning	intend vs suggest
remember	remember to lock	remember locking	prospective obligation vs memory of a past situation
regret	regret to inform	regret telling	present communicative act vs past situation
stop	stop to smoke	stop smoking	pause in order to… vs cease…
try	try to open it	try opening it	make an effort vs experiment

Note

When a catenative verb licenses both complement types:

• To-infinitival clauses usually present the situation as prospective, intended, or viewed as a whole.

• Gerund-participial clauses usually present the situation as an activity or realized situation considered as an entity.

That is a strong tendency—not an absolute rule—but it explains the vast majority of these alternations.