VERB PATTERNS 1. VERB PATTERNS1: Gerund, Infinitive with "to" and Bare Infinitive +ING Form +TO Infinitive sb/ sth TO Infinitive +sb/sth + Bare Infinitive LOVE*, ADORE*, WANT ENJOY*, LIKE*, NEED WANT MODALS: CAN, COULD, HATE*, DISLIKE*, AGREE ALLOW MAY, MIGHT, SHOULD, MIND* DECIDE WOULD LIKE MUST STOP* TRY TELL FINISH* START, BEGIN ENCOURAGE START*, BEGIN* FORGET ASK SPEND TIME REMEMBER INVITE GO (+ACTIVITY: LET swimming, fishing, shopping) (*) + NOUN (This verb can also be followed by a NOUN). This has to do with the fact that the GERUND (or -ING verbs) and NOUNS function in a very SIMILAR way. // () This verb appears on more than one list. 2.VERB PATTERNS 2: VERB + PREPOSITIONS 2.1 ZERO ( ) PREPOSITION Some verbs, which ARE followed by a preposition in Spanish, ARE NOT followed by a preposition in ENGLISH. In English, you... TELEPHONE/PHONE/CALL sb/a place. VISIT sb/a place. ENTER a place Susan phoned Philip last night and told him she was pregnant. Paul visited Mary when she was in hospital. Many people say they were lovers. When I entered the bathroom, I found Mary lying unconscious on the floor. 1 LEAVE a place She left the party at around 6 a.m. (See other patterns below ) HEAR sth/sb I think I heard Peter singing. Is that possible? FIND sb/sth When I entered the bathroom, I found Mary lying unconscious on the floor. INVITE sb Did Paul invite Mary to the party? HIT sb Paul hit the dog. ATTEND a lesson, mass, the church, university, a meeting, an appointment, a party, a funeral, a seminar, etc. RESCUE sb Did you attend yesterday's lesson? I need your notes because I was absent. The firemen rescued us. SAVE sb Superman saved her. JOIN sb, a group, a team, an I’d like to join the swimming club. organisation. KISS sb Susan kissed Peter on the cheek. 2.2 ZERO ( ) PREPOSITION + HOME With the words HOME, verbs of movement NEVER take a preposition GO WALK TO A PLACE RUN DRIVE HOME RIDE FLY RETURN (=come back) COME BACK 2 2.3. VERB (+ "TO") + RECEIVER: "TO" or NO "TO" (That is the question :P) GIVE sb sth sth TO sb She gave me a t-shirt as a present. She gave a t-shirt to me as a present. RETURN sb sth sth TO sb Did he return you the books you lent him? He returned the hairdryer to the store. TELL sb sth sth TO sb She told me the truth/her name/the time/a lie/a story/a joke He told the news to everyone. ASK sb sth He asked me too many questions. May I ask you a favour? The time? (=give back) 2.4. VERB + OTHER PREPOSITIONS Notice that some verbs in Spanish which Do NOT take a preposition DO take one in English. LIVE IN + a geographical place, a building, a street She lives in a flat in London. She lives in Tucumán St- ON+ an island, a farm, the university campus. AT+ address Our teacher lives on a farm. AT a place (home, school, university, the park) IN a city, country or continent ON an island, farm or coast Never "TO"!! Susan arrived at the cinema at 1. KNOCK ON/ AT the door/ the window. I knocked on the door three times but there was no answer. LOOK AT sth sb/sth He looked at me and smiled. LISTEN TO sb/sth Listen to me, please! WORRY ABOUT Sth Where have you been all this time? We were all worried about you! ARRIVE She lives at 234 Tucumán St. We arrived in London at 3. Susan saw the thieves when she arrived on the farm. 3. VERB PATTERNS 3: VERB + (That) Clause NOTICE: Have you noticed that he hasn't stopped looking at you? SEE: I saw that a man was trying to break into the house. HEAR: I heard that you are moving to York DECIDE: She decided that she would not talk to him anymore. SAY: The doctors say that it will take her a few weeks to recover. TELL sb: She told us that our dog had die 3 4. VERB BY VERB – Examples ALLOW sb TO do sth BEGIN sth -ING I began this novel last month and I haven't finished it yet. Everyone began talking when she fell on stage. TO At last the guests began to arrive. Did your dad allow you to go to the concert? CONTINUE -ING Even though the police told them to stop, they continued running. DECIDE TO do sth THAT In the end, we decided to go to the theatre. She decided she would travel to India. Wh-word I can't decide what to do. ENJOY -ING sth He enjoys reading fashion magazines. I enjoy holidays so much! EXPLAIN sth (to sb) That Susan explained everything (to me). She explained that she had not slept during the night. Wh-word Did she explain why she arrived late? FINISH sth -ING As soon as he finished his assignment, he handed it in. When you finish cleaning your bedroom, you can start playing. HATE -ING sth He hates getting up early in the morning. Susan hates cats. Notice that all verbs expressing likes and dislikes have the same pattern (like, love, enjoy, hate, not mind, prefer, dislike, etc.) HELP sb (TO) do sth She helped me to start my own business. INVITE sb to a place/ event sb TO do sth He invited me to a party. Peter invited me to go on holiday with him. LEAVE a place FOR a place She left home at around 5.(=to abandon a place) She left FOR the cinema at around 5 (=to go to a place) LET sb DO sth Nowadays parents let kids do whatever they want. sth TO do sth The doctor said she needed an operation. I need to talk to Ms Stuart. sb TO do sth Do you need me to help you choose an outfit? NEED 4 SAY (to sb) THAT + clause Wh-word + clause sth ABOUT She said to me that she would come at 6. Did she say where she was heading for? Did she say anything about tomorrow's meeting? Compare it with "TELL" SEE/HEAR sth sb doiING sth START sth -ING She started the car and drove away. Mary started dancing with another man, so Paul left the party. TO As I was leaving for university, it started to rain. sth -ING Susan stopped the car, because it was running short of fuel. Stop making that horrible noise, please! STOP Mary saw a shadow and I heard strange noises. I saw her sleeping in the bathroom. After hearing his comments, Mary stopped eating, stood up and left. TELL WANT sb sth/ABOUT sth Can you please tell me the time? When she arrived, she told us about the accident. THAT Susan told me that she would marry Peter. Wh- word. + clause She didn't tell me where shoe would go. Wh- word+ TO Inf. He told us what to say. TO do sth He told me hide and so I did. sth TO do sth I want another sandwich. She wants to make a chocolate cake. sb TO do sth Susan wants me to find a new job. 5 PRACTICE ON VERB PATTERNS 1. Put these words into the correct order to make sentences with verb patterns. Add punctuation where necessary. 1. both / at / we / galleries /art / to / enjoy / see / going / exhibitions 2. unless / like / really / necessary / don’t / going / to / the / it’s / dentist / I 3. should / job / an / take / your / new / that / girlfriend / accountant / as 4. you / mother / next / here / back / year / hopes / see / my / to 5. letters / she / home / finished / went / and / the / typing / then 6. can / o’clock / we / morning / the / in / hotel / leave / at / the / 9 7. the / in / I / brother / might / with / my / go / mountains / skiing 8. London / house / in / decided / they / the / buy / not / to 2. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets. 1. If you don’t enjoy _________________ (study), why are you doing it? 2. I’m learning _________________ (cook) Japanese food, but it’s very difficult. 3. We can’t leave until Jeremy finishes _________________(pack) all his suitcases. 4. I don’t mind _________________ (go) on the bus, but I hate _________________(travel) by car. 5. Can you let me _________________(watch) the TV for an hour? There’s a film on. 6. Stop _________________(make) so much noise. I’m studying! 7. His mother promised _________________(buy) him a computer if he was good. 8. You shouldn’t _________________ (smoke) because you are too young. 3. Are the following patterns correct or incorrect? 1. She wants you to go and pay for it. 2. I hope seeing you next time you come to the city! 3. It stopped to rain an hour ago. 4. My sister convinced me to give up smoking. 5. Would you like dancing to the next song? 6. Your aunt should eat less sugary foods. 7. The president decided explaining his decision on TV. 6 4. Use the correct pattern of the verbs in brackets. Add any necessary words but do not change the tenses. Some Annoying Events that may happen during the World Cup 1) People from your country .................................................. (enter / the stadium) by force, breaking down walls in order to find a way into it, without paying. 2) You ..................................................... (want / watch) the most important match but you do not ....................................................... (arrive / home) on time. 3) Your mother-in-law may................................................................ (explain / the match / you) as if she was a football expert! 4) Your girlfriend............................................................. (call / you) at the exact time in which Messi is about to score a goal! 5) You .............................................................. (give / your Argentinian flag / your mum), for her to put it away for the next match, but she washes it! 6) You ..................................................... (hate / miss) a second of the match, so you ask someone to do things for you and they unplug the TV wire by mistake! 7) Your boss arranges to have a business meeting the day and time of the football match, so you miss the match but your boss does not ...................................................... (attend / the meeting). 8) Your team is winning the game, the players are exhausted, the opponents threaten to score a goal and the referee ........................................................................................ (say / one of the other referees / the match has been extended). Even worse than that, the opponents score during those last minutes. 9) Your girlfriend paints her face in the colours of your country flag, she asks you what she looks like and you ................................................................. (tell / the truth / her)! 5. Fill in the blanks with the correct verb patterns. London is one of the world's leading tourism destinations, and the city is home to an array of famous tourist attractions. Here are some suggestions for people on a tight budget: You can 1)____________(enter) many museums and art galleries for free. Many of them are popular places for tourism. You can go on a walking tour for free. During the walking tour, you can 2)__________________________(ask / some questions / the tour guide). Tour guides are always willing to 3)______________________________(explain / tourists / any doubt about the city). After the tour, you can 4)_________________(give / a tip / tour guide). If you would like a more comprehensive tour, you can 5)___________(call) any travel agency in London and they will organize a tour which suits your needs. Buckingham Palace is by far the most popular tourist attraction in London. Many people travel to Buckingham Palace to watch the world famous event known as the 'changing of the guard'. Visitors who want to get a good view of this exciting event will need to 6)_____________(arrive) the palace just before 11:15 or even earlier if possible. If you like visiting churches, you can visit St. Paul’s Cathedral where Lady Di 7)_____________ (marry) Prince Charles. If you are interested in getting to know the Anglican rite, you can 8)______________(attend) a mass for free. London is a great place with a lot of history. Once you 9)______________(return /home), you will have the opportunity to 10)_________________tell / a lot of stories / your family). Have a good trip! 7 6. Complete the blanks with the corresponding verb pattern where necessary. The Cool School If you want fame…When people ask you what you want ______________ (1. be) in the future, they seem to enjoy ____________ (2. hear) 'a doctor' or 'a financial consultant'. But if you say 'an actor' or 'a dancer' or 'a DJ' they often laugh and tell ______________ (3) you it’s not a good idea. The Brit School takes such ambitions seriously: everything is done to make sure talented kids fully explore their passion for the creative arts. What you study there. The Brit School centres its studies on the performing arts. Singing, dancing, acting, music, theatre, TV and film production are all on the curriculum, as well as academic subjects like Maths and English. The staff stresses the importance of continuing academic studies. Students enter ______________ (4) the school when they are 14 and 16. There is a strict selection process because there is a lot of competition for each place. Entrants at 14 have _____________ (5. go through) an interview, and at 16 there is also an audition. They must _____________ (6. undergo) such tough procedure because the school is Britain's only non fee-paying entertainment school. How the kids feel about it. Everyone who goes there is incredibly enthusiastic about it. Even though the school's curriculum and hours make _______________ (7. students/work) hard, they don't mind ______________ (8. make) sacrifices. Monique, 18, said she loves ______________ (9. attend) this school because it is so different from her old school. "Everyone seems so creative here so I don't stand out much. Everyone's an individual, independent and single-minded and we are allowed ________________ (10. wear) the sort of clothes we like." Most of the students are outgoing, and shy students say that being there makes them more confident. 7. Use the correct pattern of the verbs in brackets. Add any necessary words but do not change the tenses. Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society? 74% of American adults online use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. When deciding ___________ (1. use) social media sites like these, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more. Promoters of social networking sites _______________ (2. say) the online communities encourage increased interaction with friends and family; and offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials. Those in favour also report that they started ______________ (3. access) these social websites because they facilitate social and political change. Another advantage is that social networking sites help ___________ (4. students/ do) better at school. 59% of students with access to the Internet report that they use social networking sites to discuss educational topics and 50% use the sites to talk about school assignments. A study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology _______________ (5.explained) first year college students that they should ______________ (6. use) social networking sites to build networks of new friends, feel socially integrated at their new schools, and reduce their risk of dropping out. Another benefit is that social networking sites allow __________ (7. people/ improve) their relationships and make new friends. Opponents of social networking don’t want ______________ (8. the sites/prevent) face-to-face communication and make ________________ (9. you/ waste) time on unnecessary activities. Moreover, those who are against have stated that they dislike __________________ (10. publish) personal information on social networks because there is very little privacy. 8
