Difference in meaning between the to-infinitive and -ing form 2

Ya vimos en una entrada anterior que había una serie de verbos que podían ir seguidos de to-infinitive o de -ing form y usar uno u otro suponía una pequeña diferencia en el significado (si quieres recordar dicha entrada puedes verla pinchando aquí).

En esta entrada vamos a tratar los verbos like, love y hate. Cualquiera de ellos puede ir seguido de to-infinitive o de -ing form con una diferencia en el significado que vamos a ver a continuación:

like/love/hate + to-infinitive -> cuando piensas que algo es buena (o mala) idea. Por ejemplo:

     I like to do my tax returns early.

Puede parecerte una buena idea por algún motivo (que haya menos gente y, por tanto, tengas que esperar menos tiempo para realizar dicho trámite). Ojo, que te parezca una buena idea por el motivo indicado no significa que realmente te guste pagar impuestos.

like/love/hate + -ing form -> cuando dices lo que sientes sobre algo. Por ejemplo:

     I hate doing my tax returns.

En este caso estás diciendo que no te gusta nada el pagar impuestos.

Nota:  like, love, hate, etc + to-infinitive puede ser usado también  para mostrar lo que sientes sobre algo. Por ejemplo, te gustaría visitar China. En este caso dirías:

     I'd like to visit China.

Pues creo que ya he puesto todo lo que tenía que poner acerca de las diferencias en el significado entre verb + to-infinitive y verb + -ing form. En caso de encontrar más información escribiré una nueva entrada al respecto.

Adjective structures

Adjective + to-infinitive

Un adjetivo puede estar seguido por un verbo en infinitivo, to-infinitive, en la siguiente estructura:

          It's difficult to know with Sarah.

          The poor chap is unlikely to last very long.

Adjective + for + object + to-infinitive

Si quieres mencionar una persona específica o tipo de persona, una for + object entre el adjetivo y el verbo en infinitivo, to-infinitive.

          It's important for fim to have some qualifications.

          It's easy for me to hide at work.

Nota: es incorrecto decir For me it's easy to hide at work.

Adjective + dependent prepositions

Algunos adjetivos van seguidos de una preposición en particular. Aquí hay una lista de algunos ejemplos más comunes:

          certain about                        afraid of

          optimistic about                    fond of

          serious about                        proud of

          good at                                dependent on

          hopeless at                           keen on

          useless at                             reliant on

          famous for                            accustomed to

          late for                                 allergic to

          ready for                               used to

          covered in                             angry with

          interested in                         compatible with

          lacking in                              fed up with

Verb pattern

Verbs followed by to-infinitive

1) verb + to-infinitive -> aim, arrange, attempt, can't afford, decide, hope, intend, manage, offer, plan, refuse, seem, tend, try.

          She manage to stay in shape.

          We tend to go on camping holidays.

2) verb + (object +) to-infinitive -> expect, help, pay, prefer, want, would like.

          I wanted to go out but I couldn't afford to.

          I wanted her to go out with me, but she said she was busy.

3) verb + object + to-infinitive -> allow, encourage, force, invite, order, remind, teach, urge, warned (not).

          My father taught me to swim when I was five.

          My parents allowed me to go to the party.

Verbs followed by the -ing form

Verb + -ing form -> avoid, can't stand, consider, detest, dislike, don't mind, dread, enjoy, fancy, finish, keep, miss, spend/waste time.

          My mother keeps embarrasing me.

          I can't stand being the centre of attention.

Verb + preposition structures

Verb + preposition structure + -ing form -> accuse somebody of, apologise for, approve of, believe in, blame someone for, concentrate on, congratulate someone on, consist of, dream about/of, forgive someone for, insiste on, look forward to, object to, prevent someone from, rely on, specialise in, succed in, think of, worry about.

          Gina's mother succeeds in staying slim.
          I look forward to hearing from you.

Difference in meaning between the to-infinitive and -ing form

Algunos verbos pueden ir seguidos por to-infinitive o por -ing form con un cambio en el significado.

forget + to-infinitive = not remember - He forgot to lock the door.
forget + -ing form = not recall - I'll never forget travelling around India.


remember + to-infinitive = not forget - Did you remember to turn off all the lights?
remember + -ing form = recall - I remember talking to Jane at the party.


mean + to-infinitive = intend to - I'm sorry I never meant to upset you.
mean + -ing form = involve - If I get this job I'm afraid it will mean moving nearer to the city centre.


regret + to-infinitive = be sorry to (usado normalmente en el presente simple con verbos como say, inform, tell) - We regret to inform passengers that the British Airways flight to Heathrow has been cancelled.
regret + -ing form = feel sorry about - I regret losing touch with my old friend Stuart.


try + to-infinitive = do one's best, attempt - She tried to call you but she couldn't get through.
try + -ing form = do something as an experiment - Why don't you try changing the batteries?


stop + to-infinitive = stop temporarily in order to do something else - After a couple of hours we stopped to have a rest.
stop + -ing form = finish doing something - At five o'clock everyone stopped working  and went home.

to-infinitive

El infinitivo con to, to-infinitive, es usado:

• para expresar propósito

          Carl called to talk about our plans for tomorrow.

• después de ciertos verbos (agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse, etc)

          They expect to finish the building work this afternon.

• después de would like, would prefer, would love, etc para expresar una preferencia específica

          I would prefer to go out for dinner tonight.

• después de adjetivos que describan sentimientos/emociones (happy, sad, glad, etc), expresan buena o mala disposición (willing, eager, reluctant, etc), relativos al carácter de una persona (clever, kind, etc) y los adjetivos lucky y fortunate.

          I was sad to hear that Carol had lost her job.

       Con adjetivos que se refieren al carácter podemos usar una construcción 

       impersonal.

          It was kind of you to help Andrea with her essay.

• después de too/enough

          It isn't warm enough to go out without a coat.

• para hablar sobre un evento inesperado, normalmente con only.

          I finally arrived at the airport only to find that my flight had been 

          cancelled.

• con it+be+adjective/noun

          It was easy to find the house after all.

• después de be+first/second/next/last etc

          She was the first person to congratulate me after the game was over.

• después de verbos y expresiones como ask, learn, explain, decide, find out, want, want to know, etc cuando van seguidos de una palabra de pregunta (question word)

          The maths teacher explained how to solve the problem.

       Pero hay excepciones como why que va seguido por sujeto + verbo y 

       NO por un infinitivo.

          I wonder why she didn't tell us.

• en expresiones como to tell you the truth, to be honest, to sum up, to begin with, etc

          To tell you the truth I didn't expect that you would come.

       Nota: cuando dos to-infinitives están unidos por and u or, el to del 
       segundo infinitivo puede ser omitido.

          I would like to go and see what is happening for myself.

El infinitivo sin to, infinitive without to, es usado:

• después de verbos modales

          Beth can speak German and Italian.

• después de los verbos let, make, see, hear and feel pero usamos el infinitivo con to en la forma pasiva de los anteriores verbos. Compara las siguientes oraciones:

          They made him fill out a lot of forms.

          He was made to fill out a lot of forms.

       Nota: cuando see, hear y watch están seguidos por la forma -ing no 

       hay cambio en la pasiva.

          He saw me talking to Anna.

          I was seen talking to Anna.

• después de had better y would rather

            We had better take the train because the traffic is very bad at the 

          moment.

• help puede ir seguido de to-infinitive o infinitive without to

          She helped me (to) choose the carpet for the living room.