By Olga Koliichuk

Learning the hard way, by Ludovic Bertron

 

The ing- form is an impersonal verb form (You may sometimes find it’s called a verbal).

An impersonal verb form means that it doesn’t refer to a person.

When we add ING to an infinitive, we don’t add TO.

Here is an example: I feel like learning something new.

After “feel like” you should use a verb with –ing.

It can be any verb, as long as you add the –ing.

Have a look at some more examples:

I feel like eating pizza.

I feel like visiting my parents.

He feels like going on a trip.

She feels like staying home tonight.

There are a bunch of verbs after which you can only use the ING– form of the verb. (So you can’t use to and the infinitive.)

Verb	Example with –ing form
admit to	I admitted to telling a white lie.
approve of	They have approved of selling this amount of goods to my enterprise.
argue about	We were arguing about the quality of learning in public or private schools.
believe in	My father-in-law believes in his being acquitted from the claim against him soon.
care about	One should care about bringing up one’s children in a decent way.
complain about	They were complaining about having too many lectures at University.
concentrate on	I can’t concentrate on working when there are many interesting things happening around.
confess to	He must confess to putting the gift into her room, otherwise she will never pay attention to him.
depend on	The success of the project depends on his presenting it to the board.
disapprove of	My boyfriends’ parents disapprove of our sleeping over at their house.
discourage from	She discouraged me from buying this dress.
dream about	We used to dream about visiting in the Middle East once upon a time.
feel like	I don’t feel like going to the beach because it is too windy.
forget about	Oh, I forgot about learning this poem by heart!
insist on	I am insisting on visiting this museum because we won’t have another chance any time soon.
object to	We are objecting to accepting this decision; it’s too radical.
plan on	I plan on immigrating to Canada with my husband and children.
prevent (someone) from	I am happy to have prevented you from making this stupid choice.
refrain from	I refrained from voting because I don’t trust politicians.
succeed in	Our daughter succeeded in entering university.
talk about	They were talking about aliens invading the Earth.
think about	I can’t think about selling spoilt food to my customers.
worry about	His mother worries about having to save as much money as possible for his college.

 

As you’ve probably seen, all the verbs are followed by a PREPOSITION (on, in, for, about, etc). So this can be your helping point. If you see a preposition after a verb you can put an ING-form.

For example, you are eager to travel across Europe. Your friend asks you what country you would like to visit first, you can answer, “I am thinking about TRAVELLING to Switzerland first.”

More examples, in which I’ve underlined the prepositions for you:

a)     I prevented him from flying to Paris with this bad company.

b)     We object to paying this fee.

c)      I’m thinking about studying at the Community College.

d)     He insists on visiting the reception on Friday.

e)     I care about helping people.

Exercise

Rewrite the sentences using an ing-form

Example: I wish I could fly to the Moon (dream). – I dream about flying to the Moon.

1. The President’s aides didn’t say that they wanted to change this issue. (talk)
2. He didn’t switch off the fan when he left the room. It was blowing the whole night. (refrain)
3. He disagreed to buy that car. (disapprove)
4. She managed to enter the best Musical School in the country. (succeed)
5. I don’t want to go to the theatre; there is nothing interesting on tonight. (feel)
6. They are nervous because she left early and still hasn’t returned home. (worry)
7. They have discussed the best way to treat influenza ever since the start of the autumn. (argue)
8. We have a strong belief that he will propose to her sooner or later.  (believe)

 

You can check your answers at the bottom of this page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers: 

1. The President’s aides didn’t talk about wanting to change this issue.
2. He refrained from switching off the fan when he left the room. It was blowing the whole night.
3. He disapproved of buying that car.
4. She succeeded in entering the best Musical School in the country.
5. I don’t feel like going to the theatre; there is nothing interesting on tonight.
6. They worry about her leaving early and still not returning home.
7. They have argued about treating influenza in the best way ever since the start of the autumn.
8. We believe in his proposing to her sooner or later.