English — Verbs followed by -ing
Some English verbs are followed by the gerund (the -ing form) rather than the infinitive. After enjoy, finish, avoid and others, you say enjoy reading, not "enjoy to read".
How it works
When one of these verbs is followed by another verb, that second verb takes the -ing form: I enjoy cooking, She finished writing, We avoided talking about it, He suggested going out. The pattern also holds when the verb ends in a preposition — give up smoking, look forward to seeing you (here to is a preposition, so -ing follows).
Common verbs + -ing
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy | like doing | I enjoy swimming. |
| finish | complete | She finished eating. |
| avoid | keep away from | He avoids driving at night. |
| suggest | propose | They suggested meeting later. |
| mind | object to | Do you mind waiting? |
| keep | continue / repeat | He keeps forgetting my name. |
| practise | train / rehearse | We practise speaking every day. |
| give up | stop / quit | She gave up smoking. |
| can't help | be unable to stop | I can't help laughing. |
| look forward to | await with pleasure | We look forward to hearing from you. |
Good to know
The to in look forward to is not an infinitive marker, so learners often wrongly write "look forward to hear from you". It must be look forward to hearing from you. A few verbs (like start, like, prefer) allow both -ing and the infinitive with little change in meaning.