BASIC GRAMMAR STRUCTURES: THE BARE INFINITIVE

The bare infinitive refers to the infinitive form of the verb without the
particle to. When should you use this verb form?
1-After modal verbs: Can, could, may, might, should, must, shall, will,
would
Now I know I can do whatever I put my mind to
The lights are off, so they might be away
She must have seen him
I will go as long as you go with me
That would be a very good decision
2- After make, let y have when they are causative verbs: (the
subject kind of causes the action to take place, but the subject does
not perform the action)
She makes me laugh a lot when she tells her best jokes,
My mother doesnt by any means let me go out
I had my mother do my homework
3- After sense verbs when the action is perceived all through: (see,
watch, observe, notice, feel, hear)
I saw him play football = Lo vi jugar al futbol. (You saw the whole
match)
I heard her lock the door = La escuch cerrar la puerta. (You heard
the action from the start to the end)
4- We also use it with the expressions had better, would rather
and would sooner:
You had better do it now if you dont want me to tell you off (you
should do it)
I would rather go to the cinema (preferira ir al cine)
I would sooner marry a horse (Antes me casaba con un caballo)
5- Either the bare infinitive or the to-infinitive e can be harassed with
the verb help as well as the phrases All I do is and What I do is:

Could you please help me (to) take this box out?

All I did was (to) wait for the right moment
What Ive done is (to) hire a more competent worker
BASIC GRAMMAR STRUCTURES: TO INFINITIVE

Es la estructura con la que ms nos vamos a topar en ingls, as que

hay que aprender bien con qu verbos se usa. A continuacin tenis
una oracin con cada uno de esos verbos.
Wishes:
He doesnt want to hurt your feelings = l no quiere herir tus
sentimientos
We would like to have more friends = Nos gustara tener ms
amigos
I would love to go to Japan someday
I wish to speak to the manager, please = Deseo hablar con el
director, por favor
She yearned to escape from her office job = Anhelaba escaparse
de su trabajo de oficina
I hope to see you again = Espero verte otra vez
Orders:
They asked to leave the room
The teacher ordered to be quiet
She told me to take a picture of her
The police demanded to see my passport
I beg you to cease your relations with him
Decisions:
We agreed to go to the cinema tomorrow = Acordamos ir al cine
maana
He refused to help me yesterday = Ayer se neg a ayudarme
Have you arranged to meet him? = Has quedado con l para veros?
He decided to look for a more demanding job
Many people choose not to marry nowadays

Processes and outcomes:

It started to rain = Empez a llover
He began to pick on me = Empez a meterse conmigo
I will continue to improve my English = Seguir mejorando mi
ingls
She failed to get into art college
He managed to arrive at the airport in time
Intentions:
I intend to study abroad next year
Politicians are aiming to reduce unemployment by 50%
I will attempt to answer your question
The burglar threatened to break into the house again
I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
He promised to come back the next day
I didnt mean to hurt you
How long do you plan to stay?
Reality
He appears to be eating = Parece estar comiendo
He seems to be eating = Parece estar comiendo
I sometimes pretend to be studying so my parents dont tell me off
Other verbs:
You have to do it = T tienes que hacerlo
They need to study more = Necesitan estudiar ms
British speakers tend to use the word lift rather than elevator.
They expect to win the game easily
She learnt to speak English in only 2 years
The writer certainly deserves to win a Nobel prize
I cant bear to be alone
I cant stand to hear them arguing
BASIC GRAMMAR STRUCTURES: THE -ING FORM

Certain verbs are followed by an ing form. Here you have the most
important ones.

Tastes
I detest waking up early in the morning
He hates washing my car when its filthy
My sister dislikes being away from home
I like spending time with my friends at the weekend
I feel like having a snack
I have always fancied living in Japan
My brother enjoys watching films at the cinema
They love playing board games on rainy days
I prefer reading books to watching films
Saying and thinking
She admitted committing the crime
She admitted having committed the crime
She denied committing the crime
She denied having committed the crime
Would you consider buying a new car if you had enough money?
My suggested buying a new car when my brother was born
The author of the book recommends reading the book before
watching the film
Sense verbs:
I saw him reading a book in the park
They heard your dog barking as they crossed the street
*there are more sense verbs, but these two are the most common ones

Other verbs:
You should avoid mentioning his divorce
Ive already finished doing my homework
I keep forgetting to pay you back
I miss walking along the beach with my grandfather
You should practice playing the piano more often

The job involves travelling all around the world

Would you mind explaining that again, please?
Verbs with a notable change in meaning:
Remember
John remembers to take the rubbish out every evening
I remember walking along the beach with my grandfather
Regret
We regret to inform all the passengers that the flight has been
delayed
We regret hurting you by telling you so many lies
Forget
I forgot to phone you yesterday. Im so sorry!
I will never forget meeting him for the first time
Stop
He stopped to smoke a cigarette
The doctor said I should stop smoking immediately
Try
What are you trying to do?
If you find doing the dishes boring, you may want to try doing it
while listening to music
Verbs with a subtle change in meaning
Tastes: Love, like, hate, prefer
Processes: Start, begin, continue
Other verbs: Cant stand, cant bear