TEACHING SPOT: Catenative verbs

CATENATIVE VERBS

Catenative verbs are verbs followed directly by another verb in the infinitive, present participle, or base form. The adjective catenative from the verb catenate means "to connect, to link, to string together" and refers to the connecting of one verb to another.

1. -ING FORM:

• Verbs followed by -ING.
• After PHRASAL VERBS.
• After PREPOSITIONS.

2. TO FORM:

• Verbs followed by TO.
• After ADJECTIVES.

3. Verbs followed by BARE INFINITIVE (infinitive WITHOUT to):

• Verbs followed by BARE INFINITIVE.
• MODAL VERBS.
• AUXILIARY VERBS.

4. Verbs followed by -ING and TO (with NO DIFFERENCE of meaning):
 

5. Verbs followed by -ING and TO (with DIFFERENT meanings):

1. -ING FORM:

• Verbs followed by -ING:

Admit: He admitted committing the crime.

Avoid: He avoided answering my question.

Consider: I considered starting to talk about the subject.

Deny: He denied doing it.

Detest: I detest going to your house

Discuss: They discussed running the experiments again.

Dislike: I dislike eating vegetables.

Enjoy: She enjoys cooking.

Feel like: Do you feel like playing chess?

Finish: Finish drinking your tea.

Forgive: I forgive deluding myself

Hate: I hate packing suitcases.

Imagine: Imagine living in Mexico.

Keep: She kept asking silly questions.

Like: I don’t like eating potatoes.

Love: I love running in the park.

Mention: Did Alex ever mention playing baseball?

Mind: Do you mind drawing back the curtains?

Miss: They miss playing with their friends.

Practise: She practised playing hockey 

Prefer: I prefer studying English major.

Risk: You risk losing everything.

Spend: I will spend buying a lot of things

Stand: My sister stands playing ball.

Suggest: I suggest going to the cinema.

Understand: I never understand studying English.

• After PHRASAL VERBS:

Give up: The doctor has told me I must give up eating cheese.

Keep on: He kept on running because he knew he was going to win the race.

Put off: The boss put the meeting off because he was ill

Take up: I will taking the story up in a minute.

• After PREPOSITIONS:

Look forward to:  I am looking forward to your birthday party next week. 

At: I’m very good at remembering names.

By: She got the money by selling the car.

2. TO FORM:

• VERBS FOLLOWED BY TO:

Advise: I advised him to eat before the flight.

Afford: We cannot afford to hesitate.

Agree: The professors agreed to disagree.

Ask: The teacher asked us to leave quietly.

Appear: The results appear to support your theory.

Arrange: They had arranged to meet at noon.

Begin: Leaves begin to fall in autumn.

Choose: He chose to become an architect.

Continue: The weather will continue to be pleasant throughout the rest of the week.

Decide: She decided to get married.

Encourage: My boy friend encouraged me to apply for a job.

Expect: The committee expects to decide by tomorrow.

Fail: The trial failed to confirm his hypothesis.

Hope: What do you hope to accomplish?

Invite: We invite you to attend the ceremony.

Learn: She’s never learnt to drive.

Manage: How did she manage to find the solution?

Offer: We could offer to change the time of the meeting.

Plan: They had planned to attend the conference.

Pretend: I do not pretend to know the answer.

Promise: They promise to demonstrate the new equipment.

Refuse: She refused to cooperate any longer.

Seem: Something seems to be wrong with your design.

Teach: My dad taught me how to cycle.

Tell: He told her to clean her room

Want: She did not want to go first.

Warn: She warned her employees to be on time

Would like: I would like to go to other cities

• After ADJECTIVES:

- My flat is very easy to find.

3. VERBS FOLLOWED BY BARE INFINITIVE (INFINITVE WITHOUT TO):

•  Verbs followed by BARE INFINITIVE:

Help: I will help you study tomorrow.

Let: My parents don’t let me go out munch.

Make: She always makes me laugh.

• MODAL VERBS:

Can: I can’t drive.

Must: We must hurry.

4. Verbs followed by -ING and TO (with NO DIFFERENCE of meaning):

Begin: He began talking. / He began to talk.

Continue: They continue smoking. / They continue to smoke.

Need: Your hair needs cutting. / I need to make a phone call

5. Verbs followed by -ING and TO (with DIFFERENT meanings):

Come: She came running across the field. / This word has come to mean something quite different.

Forget: She forgot reading the book when she was a kid. / She forgot to pay the rent this month.

Mean: If you take that job in London it will mean travelling for two hours every day. / I mean to finish this job by the end of the week.

Regret: I regretted being late to the interview. / We regret to inform you that your position at the company is being eliminated.

Remember: I remember mentioning the meeting yesterday. / He remembered to turn off the lights before he left.

Stop: He stopped to smoke. / He stopped smoking.

Try: Try to be on time. / Try doing yoga.