-ing or to? Gerunds and infinitives
-ing ወይስ to? (gerunds and infinitives)
When one verb follows another, the second is either -ing (enjoy cooking) or to + verb (want to cook). Some verbs take both with a change of meaning, and after a preposition it is always -ing.
Verb + -ing and verb + to
Amharic uses one form for both: መሥራት እፈልጋለሁ (I want to work), መሥራት እወዳለሁ (I like working). So Amharic speakers often guess. In English, the first verb decides. There is no full rule, so learn the common verbs in two lists. Some verbs also take a person before to: I want you to come, she asked me to wait.
In Amharic
አማርኛ ለሁለቱም አንድ ቅርጽ ይጠቀማል፦ መሥራት እፈልጋለሁ (I want to work)፣ መሥራት እወዳለሁ (I like working)። ስለዚህ አማርኛ ተናጋሪዎች ብዙ ጊዜ ይገምታሉ። በእንግሊዝኛ የሚወስነው የመጀመሪያው ግሥ ነው። ሙሉ ደንብ የለም፤ ስለዚህ የተለመዱትን ግሦች በሁለት ዝርዝር ይማሩ። አንዳንድ ግሦች ከ to በፊት ሰው ይወስዳሉ፦ I want you to come፣ she asked me to wait።
| verb + -ing | verb + to + verb | verb + person + to + verb |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy: I enjoy cooking. | want: I want to cook. | want: I want you to cook. |
| finish: Did you finish eating? | need: I need to leave. | ask: She asked me to wait. |
| mind: Do you mind waiting? | decide: We decided to move. | tell: He told us to sit down. |
| avoid: Avoid driving at rush hour. | hope: I hope to see you. | help: Can you help me to carry this? |
| keep: She keeps calling. | plan: They plan to open a store. | remind: Remind me to call the bank. |
| suggest: He suggested waiting. | promise: I promise to pay. | expect: They expect us to arrive early. |
| practise, miss, consider, can't stand, quit | agree, learn, offer, refuse, afford, seem | allow, advise, encourage, invite |
- would like takes to: I'd like to make an appointment.
- like, love, hate, start, begin and continue take both with almost no change: I like cooking / I like to cook.
- help can drop to: Can you help me carry this?
- I enjoy walking in the park after work.
- We can't afford to buy a house yet.
- My manager asked me to work on Saturday.
- Do you mind opening the window?
- She decided to study nursing.
Both forms, different meanings
A few verbs change meaning. stop + -ing means quit; stop + to means stop one thing in order to do another. remember / forget + -ing look back at a memory; remember / forget + to look forward to a job you must do. try + -ing is an experiment; try + to is a difficult attempt.
In Amharic
ጥቂት ግሦች ትርጉማቸው ይለወጣል። stop + -ing ማለት መተው ነው፤ stop + to ማለት ሌላ ነገር ለመሥራት መቆም ነው። remember / forget + -ing ወደ ኋላ፣ ወደ ትዝታ ይመለከታሉ፤ remember / forget + to ወደፊት መሠራት ያለበትን ሥራ ይመለከታሉ። try + -ing ሙከራ ነው፤ try + to ደግሞ አስቸጋሪ ጥረት ነው።
| Verb | + -ing | + to + verb |
|---|---|---|
| stop | I stopped smoking. (I quit.) | I stopped to buy coffee. (I stopped in order to buy it.) |
| remember | I remember locking the door. (I have the memory.) | Remember to lock the door. (Don't forget the job.) |
| forget | I'll never forget meeting you. | I forgot to pay the bill. |
| try | Try restarting your phone. (an experiment) | I tried to lift the box, but it was too heavy. |
| regret | I regret saying that. (I'm sorry I said it.) | We regret to inform you… (formal bad news) |
- Memory of the past → -ing. A job for the future → to.
- try -ing: do it and see if it helps. try to: make an effort.
- He stopped drinking soda, and he feels better.
- On the way home, we stopped to get gas.
- Did you remember to bring the documents?
- I don't remember signing this form.
- If the baby can't sleep, try singing to her.
After prepositions, as a subject, and for purpose
After a preposition (in, on, at, of, for, about, before, after, without, instead of) the verb is always -ing. Watch out for to as a preposition: look forward to seeing, be used to working. An -ing form can also be the subject of a sentence: Smoking is not allowed. To say why you do something, use to + verb, not for + verb: I came here to work.
In Amharic
ከመስተዋድድ በኋላ (in, on, at, of, for, about, before, after, without, instead of) ግሡ ሁልጊዜ -ing ነው። to መስተዋድድ ሲሆን ይጠንቀቁ፦ look forward to seeing፣ be used to working። የ -ing ቅርጽ የዓረፍተ ነገር ባለቤትም ሊሆን ይችላል፦ Smoking is not allowed። አንድን ነገር ለምን እንደሚሠሩ ለመናገር to + ግሥ ይጠቀሙ እንጂ for + ግሥ አይደለም፦ I came here to work።
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| adjective + preposition + -ing | I'm interested in learning Spanish. She's good at fixing things. |
| before / after + -ing | Wash your hands before eating. |
| without / instead of + -ing | He left without saying goodbye. Take the bus instead of driving. |
| thank you for + -ing | Thank you for helping me. |
| look forward to / be used to + -ing | I look forward to hearing from you. I'm used to working nights. |
| -ing as subject | Finding an apartment here is hard. |
| to + verb for purpose | I'm saving money to buy a car. |
- Preposition + -ing, always: tired of waiting, afraid of driving.
- Test the to: if a noun can follow it (I look forward to the weekend), it is a preposition, so use -ing.
- Purpose: to + verb, or for + noun: I went out to buy milk / for milk.
- Thank you for calling the clinic.
- I'm thinking about going back to school.
- Speaking English every day is the best practice.
- She works two jobs to support her family.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I enjoy cooking. | enjoy is followed by -ing. | |
| I want to go home. | want is followed by to + verb. | |
| I'm interested in learning English. | After a preposition, use -ing. | |
| I look forward to hearing from you. | The to in look forward to is a preposition, so -ing follows. | |
| I came here to work at the airport. | Purpose with a verb is to + verb, not for + verb. | |
| Please remember to lock the door. | remember to = don't forget a job; remember -ing = a memory. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
I enjoy ___ with my kids on weekends.
We decided ___ (move) to Henderson. (two words)
She's good at ___ hair.
I'm looking forward to ___ (see) you. (one word)
He ___. Now he's much healthier. (He quit cigarettes.)
Did you remember ___ the electricity bill? It's due today.
The printer doesn't work. Try ___ (turn) it off and on again. (one word)
Can you afford ___ a new car?
I came to America ___ (study). (two words)
___ is not allowed in the building.
Would you mind ___ the window?