Two ways to put a verb after a verb
When one verb follows another, the second often appears as a gerund, the -ing form, or as an infinitive with to. Compare “I enjoy writing” with “I hope to write.” Both sentences are natural, but “I enjoy to write” and “I hope writing” do not work in the same way. The first verb largely determines which form follows it.
A gerund names an activity: “Writing helps me think.” An infinitive can also name an action, often one being considered or intended: “I want to write.” That difference is a useful starting point, not a rule you can apply to every sentence. The most reliable approach is to learn common verbs with a short example, then notice what the whole sentence means.
Verbs that usually take a gerund
Common verbs followed by a gerund include enjoy, avoid, consider, finish, keep, mind, miss and suggest. You might “enjoy reading aloud,” “avoid repeating a word,” “consider changing the ending” or “finish editing a paragraph.” In these examples, the -ing form identifies the activity being enjoyed, avoided, considered or finished.
Pay particular attention to suggest. “She suggested taking a break” is natural; “She suggested to take a break” is not the usual pattern. If you need to say who would take the break, you can write, “She suggested that we take a break.” Learning that alternative is more useful than trying to force an infinitive after suggest.
Some phrases end in a preposition that also calls for a gerund: “I look forward to reading it” and “He is interested in learning more.” The word to in “look forward to” is a preposition, not the start of an infinitive. That is why “look forward to read” sounds wrong, even though many other expressions use to before a base verb.
Verbs that usually take an infinitive
Common verbs followed by a to-infinitive include decide, hope, plan, promise, refuse, want and learn. We “decide to leave,” “hope to improve,” “plan to revise” and “promise to reply.” These verbs often point toward an action that has not happened yet, though that idea alone will not predict every pattern.
Some verbs need a person or thing between the two verbs. Compare “I want to read the draft” with “I want you to read the draft.” Ask, tell, encourage and remind commonly use this structure: “Ask her to check the title” or “Remind me to send the email.” The middle word matters because it tells us who is expected to perform the second action.
When both forms are possible, meaning matters
Some verbs allow both forms with little difference in many contexts. “I like reading before bed” and “I like to read before bed” both express a preference. The gerund can emphasize enjoyment of the activity, while the infinitive can suit a choice or habit. Those shades of meaning are flexible, so context matters more than a rigid distinction.
With other verbs, changing the form changes the message. “I stopped writing” means I ended the activity. “I stopped to write” means I paused another activity in order to write. “I remembered locking the door” looks back on an action I believe I completed; “I remembered to lock the door” means I did not forget to do it. Likewise, “I tried opening the window” suggests testing one possible solution, while “I tried to open the window” focuses on the attempt, whether or not it succeeded.
These pairs are worth learning as complete sentences. If you memorize only that stop or remember can take either form, you miss the part that helps you choose.
A quick way to practice the choice
Start with a sentence you might actually say, then change only the first verb. For example: “I enjoy drafting the introduction,” “I plan to draft the introduction” and “I finished drafting the introduction.” Reading the three sentences aloud makes the pattern easier to recognize than studying isolated verb lists.
Next, test a meaning-changing pair. Complete these thoughts in your own words: “I stopped checking my notes because…” and “I stopped to check my notes because…” In the first, checking ends; in the second, checking is the reason for a pause. Try the same exercise with remembered doing and remembered to do.
When editing, look at both the verb before the gap and the meaning you intend. If a form feels uncertain, recast the sentence using a pattern you know: “She suggested that we revise the opening” is as clear as “She suggested revising the opening.” The goal is not to memorize every possible combination at once. It is to build a set of dependable examples you can use and expand.
