Week 5 Vocabulary and Grammar Verb Complementation II Theory

8/16/2019 Week 5 Vocabulary and Grammar Verb Complementation II Theory

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Week 5 – Verb complementation II Practical course – Vocabulary and Grammar

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Verbs followed by – ing or infinitive

A. Verbs foll owed by either – ing or infi nitive with to

a) can’t bear, hate, like, love, prefer normally followed by – ing , though to-infinitive is common in US English. IN GB English, using – ing

means that the activity is enjoyed (or not) I love going to the cinema. / I can’t stand working on a Saturday.

b) attempt, begin, continue, in tend, plan, propose, start there is no difference in meaning whether we use – ing or infinitive with to; intend, plan

and propose can be followed by that -clause. This may include should .c) for get, remember + to both refer to an obligation I had to phone the office but I forgot to do it.

+ -ing both refer to past events I don’t remember learni ng to walk.

both can be followed by that -clause I remember that I had to pay the phone bil l.

d) tr y + to something attempted, which might fail or succeed I tri ed to warn him, but it was too late.

+ -ing reference to making an experiment or to a new experience Try taking an aspirin. You’ll feel better. / Have you tried

windsurfing ? It’s great!

e) go on + -ing continuation of an action She went on worki ng even though it was late.

+ to continuation of a speech The Prime Minister went on to praise the Chancellor.

f) mean + to meaning intend Sorry, I meant to tell you about the party.

+ -ing + an impersonal subject refers to what is involved If we catch the early train, it will mean getting up at 6.00.

+ that-clause possible when meaning is being explained This means that you have to report to the police station.

g) regret + to refers to the speaker’s regrets about what is going to be said; often in formal statements We regret to inf orm you that your

application has been unsuccessful.

+ -ing refers to a regret about the past I regret saying that to him.

+ that -clause also possible We regret that we didn’t tell her earlier.

h) stop + to refers to an intention Jane stopped to check the oil level in the engine.

+ -ing refers to the ending of an activity The baby has stopped waking up during the night now.

i) hear, see, watch + to the action is complete We watched all the cars cross the finishing line.

+ -ing the action is still in progress I heard someone coming up the stairs.

B. Verbs with an object, foll owed by either – ing or inf initive with to

a) admit ± to followed by – ing They admitted (to) being members of the gang.

+ that-clause also possible He admitted that he was wrong.

b) allow, forbid, permit + object and to The school for bids students to smoke in the classrooms.

+ object – ing form The school does not allow smoking .

c) consider + object and to refers to an opinion She is considered to be the finest pianist of her generation.


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+ -ing = think about At one point I considered emigrating to Canada.

+ that -clause refers to an opinion We consider that she has behaved badly.

d) imagine + object and to I imagined the castle to be haunted.

+ -ing ; an object is also possible I couldn’t imagine (her) l iving in a place like that.

+ that-clause = suppose I imagine that you’d like a cup of tea after your long journey!

e) require + object and to They required him to fil l out a farm. + -ing These letters require typing.

C. Verbs normally fol lowed by inf ini tive with to the verbs underlined can also be followed by that -clause

agree, appear, arr ange, attempt, ask, choose, dare, decide, demand, deserve, expect, fail , grow, hasten, happen, hope, hur ry, l earn, l ong,

manage, neglect, of fer , pay, plan, pledge, pretend, promi se, refu se, resolve, seek, seem, struggle, swear, threaten, vow, warn, wish

appear, (so) happen and seem are only used impersonally with that -clause It appears that I ’ve made a mistake. / It so happens that he is my

brother! / It seems that Mary is going to win.

want can be used colloquially with – ing , like need The car wants cleaning.

D. Verbs foll owed by – ing

appreciate, avoid, contemplate, delay, deny, detest, di sli ke, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, f ace, f ancy, fi nish, involve, menti on, mi nd, mi ss,

postpone, practise, resent, r isk, suggest

, burst out, it’s no good/use, feel like, give up, keep on, leave off, put off, can’t stand, spend/waste time

appreciate is often followed by possessive + -ing I appreciate your trying to help.

involve has an impersonal subject Being an athlete involves regular training.

E. Verbs foll owed by infi niti ve without to

help ± to I helped George (to) car ry the bags.

make and expressions with make They made me leave. / We shall have to make do.

- in the passive, to is used I was made to leave. let and expressions with let They didn’t let me leave. / Let me go!

F. Verbs fol lowed by an object and to the verbs underlined can also be followed by that -clause

advise, assist, beg, bribe, command, dare, employ, enable, encourage, instruct, in vite, lead, order, persuade, select, send, teach, tell , tr ain,

ur ge, warn

advise, order, persuade, tell , warn + person + to

dare ± to when there is no object They dared him to jump. / I didn’t dare (to) say anything. / How dare you speak like that to me!


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Verbs followed by as defining role or function a number of verbs are followed by a phrase with as that helps to define the thing we are talking about

its role/function My father worked as a chef for many years.

the role/function it pretends to have William loves dressing up as Batman.

is perceived as having We viewed the whole activity as rather mundane.

as + noun after some verbs we use as + noun (phrase) practi se, act, begin , rank, qual if y, function , conti nue, rate, train , operate,

emerge, count , serve, fi ni sh, regard, t reat, disguise, see, doubl e, start off , end up, come across This gadget doubles as a bottle openerand corkscrew. / He started off as an ordinary sailor but ended up as admiral. / To be honest, she comes across as a bit of a know-all.

as + adjective condemn, depict, diagnose, attack, confi rm, characteri se, denounce, r eveal, brand, expose, categori se, di smiss,

describe The police have condemned the attacks as cowardly. / He has been depicted as shallow and bru tal.

defining the object as + noun (phrase) can be used to define the object of some verbs I have always acknowledged my fir st

teacher as a great influence on me. / They appointed the vice-president as chairman. / The dealer tried to pass various for geries off as the

real thing.

this structure can also be used in the passive I was regarded as a problem child.

more examples name, in terpret, elect, proclaim, label, perceive, nomi nate, treat, classify, keep, recognise,

employ, defi ne, use, select, dismiss, accept, r ate

similar structures we use for , not as, after a few verbs similar to those above Do you take me for a fool? / I was mistaken for a

foreigner.

we use like, not as, with some verbs She behaves li ke a child.

sometimes a verb can be followed by like or as He treated me l ike a child . / Let’s treat thi s as a lesson.

with some similar verbs, we don’t use like, as or for My teacher considers me a fool. / The youngest woman

proved the best candidate. / He ended up unemployed. ( end up can be followed buy as + noun as it can be see above)

Vocabulary – Competition, opposition, disagreement

A. Collocation a number of verbs and adjectives collocate with competition and opposition encounter fierce oppositi on; stimul ate

competiti on; meet stif f opposition ; ar ouse / come up against considerabl e opposit ion; voice someone’s opposition we can also use some adverb / adjective collocations to describe competition and opposition fi ercely competiti ve; vehemently

opposed

B. Prepositi ons compete compete in a tournament / championship / race

compete with / against somebody

compete for business

competition competiti on between rivals


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opposition oppositi on to the idea

oppose I’m opposed to the idea. / I opposed the scheme. (no preposition)

disagree disagree with you / your idea

disagreement have a disagreement wi th the others on the team

have a disagreement over unimportant issues

fight fight against the new road scheme fight somebody (no preposition)

beat I beat him. (no preposition)

Vocabulary – Starting and ending; creating and destroying

A. Starti ng common phrases related to starting things give birth to; plant one ’ s crops; sow the seed; set up; open accounts

B. Ending common phrases related to ending things die; pass away; ‘ go to meet one ’ s maker ’ ; fail ; fall on stony ground, close accounts; massacre;

annihi late; wipe out; slaughter; butcher; r uin ; destroy; tarni sh; stain; in tatters; i n ru ins; cut down to size; bri ng down to earth; stri p of;

reduce to; consign to; ki ck out of ; stand down; close; shut down; cease smth (e.g. cease trading / fire); be taken over; go out of business;

go bankrupt; go to the wall ; go into li quidation; call it a day

C. Phrasal verbs there are many phrasal verbs related to starting and ending. Note how particles and prepositions can have quite different meanings

according to the verb we use with them start up; open up; sign up; close up; f ini sh up; dry up; start out; branch out; open out; die

out; wipe out; f ade out; start off; li ft off; shoot off; go off; wear off; fi nish off

Week 5 Vocabulary and Grammar Verb Complementation II Theory

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