Talking about closely linked actions: using two verbs together in phase

Talking about closely linked actions: using two verbs together in phase

183 This section describes the ways in which you use two verbs in a clause in order to talk about two actions or states which are closely linked. This structure is called phase.

These two actions may be performed by the same person. See paragraphs 190 to 20

She stopped speaking.

Davis likes to talk about horses.

Alternatively, the actions may be performed by different people. If they are, the performer of the second actions the object of the first verb. See paragraphs 203 to 21

I don't want them to feel I've slighted them.

One of the group began pumping her chest to help her breathe.

184 Note that the first verb needs the second verb after it because it does not give enough information on its own. For example 'I want' does not give enough information to be a useful statement, but 'I want to talk to you' does.

Some of the verbs dealt with below, for example 'want' and 'like', can also be ordinary transitive verbs, with a noun group after them. Transitive verbs are explained in paragraphs 15 to 26.

185 If you want to talk about two actions that are less closely linked, you refer to each action in a separate clause. Ways of combining clauses are explained in Chapter 8.

verb forms 186 The first verb involved in a phase structure is the main verb of the structure. It is usually finite; that is, it inflects for tense and agrees in number with the subject of the clause.

I wanted to come home.

Lonnie warns to say 'sorry'.

More and more people are coming to appreciate the contribution which Muslims make to our society.

However, it can be a non-finite form.

There is a tendency for teachers to advise people to take their best school subjects at A Level.

187 The second verb in the combination is always non-finite, which means that it does not inflect for tense and or change its form at all.

Castle tried to read.

They had been trying to read.

Information about finite and non-finite forms can be found in the Reference Section.

188 There are four non-finite verb forms that are used for the second verb in phase:

the present participle

the 'to'-infinitive form

the infinitive without 'to'

the past participle

Note that the infinite without 'to' and the past participle form of the verb are used in only a few combinations.

Other kinds of '-ing' form and infinitive are also sometimes used. They are combinations of non-finite forms.

Those very close to the blast risk being burnt.

Neither Rita nor I recalled ever having seen her.

She wanted to be reassured.

They claimed to have shot down 22 planes.

189 The position of 'not' in negative phase structures is explained in paragraphs 4.53 and 4.54.

Talking about two actions done by the same person: phase verbs together

190 When you are talking about two actions that are done by the same person, you use the second, non-finite, verb directly after the first verb.

Children enjoy playing alongside each other.

You deserve to know the truth.

191 Some verbs are always followed by a present participle clause in phase structures of this kind.

He contemplated setting up a private estate in Hungary.

I could avoid putting too much weight on my arm.

He missed having someone to dislike.

I recall being very impressed with the official anthems.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with a present participle, but not a 'to'-infinitive:

These verbs are also sometimes used with a passive '-ing' form.

They enjoy being praised.

'Admit', 'celebrate', 'deny', 'mention', and 'recall' are quite often used with a perfect '-ing' form.

Carmichael had denied having seen him.

192 Note that 'need' can be used with a present participle after it, but the present participle then has the same meaning as a passive 'to'-infinitive. For example, 'The house needs cleaning' means the same as 'The house needs to be cleaned'.

'Require' and 'want' are also occasionally used in the same way, although some people do not like this use of 'want'.

193 Other verbs are used with a 'to'-infinitive clause.

Mrs Babcock had always longed to go to Ireland.

She forgot to bring a suitcase.

She wishes to ask a favour of you.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with a 'to'-infinitive, but not a present participle:

Most of these verbs can be used with a passive infinitive.

She refused to be photographed.

He deserves to be shot.

The following verbs from the above list are not usually used with a passive infinitive, because of their meanings:

'Appear', 'claim', 'happen', 'pretend', 'prove', 'seem', and 'tend' are quite often used with a perfect infinitive.

They seemed to have disappeared.

Note that 'help' is also followed by the infinitive without 'to'.

Coffee helped keep him alert.

USAGE NOTE 194 Note that 'afford' is always preceded by a modal, and that 'care' is normally used with a negative.

Can we afford to ignore this source of power as other sources of energy are diminishing?

I wouldn't care to put money into it.

195 The use of 'have' followed by a 'to'-infinitive clause is explained in paragraph 4.248.

verbs used with either form 196 A few verbs can be used with either a present participle clause or a 'to'-infinitive clause without altering the meaning of the verb.

It started raining.

A very cold wind had started to blow.

Maureen began dancing.

Anne began to cry.

Babies prefer sleeping on their back.

Russians prefer to give gifts at New Year.

We both love dancing.

He loves to talk about metalwork.

Here is a list of verbs which can be followed either by a present participle or a 'to'-infinitive without greatly altering the meaning:

Note that 'bother' is often used with a negative or a broad negative.

He didn't bother complaining about it.

We hardly even bother to clean it.

197 With a few verbs, the meaning is altered depending on whether you use a present participle clause or a 'to'-infinitive clause. These verbs are 'come', 'go on', 'remember', and 'regret'.

If someone 'comes running, flying, or hurtling' somewhere, they move in that way. If you 'come to do something', you gradually start doing it.

When they heard I was leaving, they both came running out.

People came to believe that all things were possible.

With the other verbs, the difference in meaning relates to the timing of the action.

If you 'go on doing something', you continue to do it, but if you 'go on to do something', you subsequently start doing it.

We went on fighting the Incomes Policy for 18 months after that.

She went on to talk about the political consequences.

If you 'remember doing something', you did it in the past, but if you 'remember to do something', you do it at the present time.

I remember promising that I would try.

She must remember to get the wood under cover.

Likewise, if you 'regret doing something', you have already done it, but if you 'regret to do something', you have to do it at the present time.

She did not regret accepting his offer.

I regret to say rents went up.

'Regret' is only used with the 'to'-infinitive of a small number of verbs which share the meaning of giving or receiving information. These verbs are:

198 When you have a choice between a present participle and a 'to'-infinitive, you do not use the present participle if the first verb is in a continuous tense.

The Third World is beginning to export to the West.

The big clouds were starting to cover the sun.

Educational budgets are continuing to increase.

With verbs that cannot be followed by a 'to'-infinitive, you normally use a noun group instead of the present participle.

I knew Miss Head would just be finishing her cello practice.

199 Note that a few verbs, principally 'need', 'want', 'have', 'buy', and 'choose', are used with an object and a 'to'-infinitive when talking about two actions performed by the same person. The 'to'-infinitive must be transitive. It is understood as qualifying the noun, rather than being closely connected with the first verb.

I wanted some goods to place in the window.

She chose the correct one to put in her bag.

'to'-infinitive showing purpose 200 Note that verbs which indicate a deliberate action are sometimes followed by a 'to'-infinitive clause which expresses purpose.

Several women moved to help her.

The captain stopped to reload the machine-gun.

This is not a phase structure because the first verb has a complete meaning of its own; the second verb is giving a reason for the first action, not completing the information about it.

Note that in this structure, 'to' can be extended to the phrase 'in order to'. See paragraphs 8.43 to 8.46 for more details.

USAGE NOTE 201 When the base form of 'try' is used, for example as an imperative or with a modal, it is sometimes used with 'and' followed by the base form of the second verb, rather than with a 'to'-infinitive. The two actions seem to be separate, because of the 'and', but are in fact very closely linked.

Try and get a torch or a light, it's terribly dark down here.

I'll try and answer the question.

Some speakers consider this to be informal or incorrect.

'Come' and 'go' are often used in a similar way with 'and', in simple tenses as well as in the base form. The verb after 'and' can also inflect.

Come and see me whenever you feel depressed.

I went and fetched another glass.

'get' with a past participle 202 In informal English, 'get' is sometimes used with a past participle directly after it, in a structure with a passive meaning.

Then he got killed in a plane crash.

Talking about two actions done by different people: phase verbs separated by an object

203 If you want to talk about two closely linked actions which are performed by different people, you follow the first verb with an object. This object then functions as the subject of the second verb. For example, in 'She asked Ginny to collect the book', 'Ginny' is the person who is asked, and she is also the person who performs the action of collecting the book.

I saw him looking at my name on the door.

She knew her father wouldn't dare to stop her associating with her friends.

They left her to lie on the wooden floor.

The committee's lawyers had advised certain people to stay away.

use of possessive determiner 204 Note that when the second verb is a present participle, a possessive determiner is sometimes used in front of it, instead of a pronoun. This is rather formal.

a set of professional ethics to prevent their discussing their clients with the public.

She did not like my living in London.

Note that a possessive determiner is only used in this way when the second verb can have a human subject.

205 Some verbs are used with an object and a present participle clause.

He caught Hooper looking at him.

She felt her grip tightening.

l heard him gasping and shrieking.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with an object and a present participle:

'Listen to' also belongs in this group. The object after it is the object of the preposition 'to'.

I listened to Kaspar talking.

These verbs are sometimes used with a passive '-ing' form, but not usually with a perfect '-ing' form.

He felt himself being snatched upright and shoved across a flat space.

206 Some of the verbs in the above paragraph can also be used with an infinitive without 'to'.

She felt her hair rise on the back of her neck.

Dr Hochstadt heard her gasp.

There is a slight change of meaning depending on which form is used. If you choose the present participle, you emphasize that the action continued happening for a period of time.

But I lay on, listening to her singing.

I looked over and saw Joe staring at me.

If you choose the infinitive without 'to', you emphasize that the action completed.

We listened to Jenny finish the Sonnet.

It was the first time she had heard him speak of his life.

Here is a list of verbs which can be used with a present participle or an infinitive without 'to', with the change of meaning described above:

Note that these verbs can only be used in the active when they are followed by an infinitive without 'to'. See also paragraph 209.

transitive verbs with a 'to'-infinitive 207 Other verbs are used with an object and a 'to'-infinitive clause.

His sister had taught him to sew.

I encourage students to do these exercises at home.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with an object and a 'to'-infinitive:

Note that some of the verbs in the above list are used for reporting orders, requests and advice. For more information on this use, see paragraph 7.36.

Here is a list of verbs which are always or usually used in the passive when followed by a 'to'-infinitive:

They refer to saying, thinking, or discovering. The 'to'-infinitive that follows them is most commonly 'be' or 'have', or a perfect infinitive.

The house was believed to be haunted.

Over a third of the population was estimated to have no access to the health service.

the primitive molecules which are believed to have given rise to life on Earth.

using the passive 208 If you do not know who the subject of the second verb is, or you do not want to mention them, you can use a passive construction.

A gardener was immediately sacked if he was caught smoking.

I was asked to come for a few days to help them.

Their children are left to play among the rubble.

The following verbs are not usually used in the passive when followed by a present participle:

The following verbs are not usually used in the passive when followed by a 'to'-infinitive:

209 'Hear', 'observe', and 'see' are not used with a 'to'-infinitive when they are active but they can be used with either a present participle or a 'to'-infinitive when they are passive.

You use them with a present participle when you want to show that the action described by the second verb took place over a period of time.

A terrorist was seen standing in the middle of the road.

Her companions could be heard playing games.

If a 'to'-infinitive is used, you are implying that the action was completed.

She could distinctly be seen to hesitate.

The baby was seldom heard to cry.

See also paragraph 206.

210 There is a group of verbs used in phase structures with a 'to'-infinitive which are followed by the preposition 'for' and its object, rather than by a direct object. The object of 'for' is the performer of the second action.

He arranged for Waddell to have the services of another solicitor.

They called for action to be taken against the unions.

I waited for him to speak.

Note that the 'to'-infinitive is often a passive one.

Here is a list of verbs which can be used in this way:

211 A few verbs are followed by an object and an infinitive without 'to', not a present participle or a 'to'-infinitive. They are 'let', 'make', and 'have' in the sense of 'cause to happen' or 'experience'.

Jenny let him talk.

My father made me go for the interview.

so that he could lie in a darkened room and have her bring him meals on trays.

Verbs which can be used either with an infinitive without 'to' or with a present participle are explained in paragraph 206.

212 A special use of 'have' in phase structures is to say that the subject causes something to be dealt with by someone else. In this case, 'have' is followed by an object referring to the thing dealt with, and then by the past participle of a transitive verb or of an intransitive verb followed by a preposition.

He went to have a cavity filled and had an injection.

This structure is also used to say that something belonging to the subject of 'have' is affected in some way.

She'd just lost her job and had some money stolen.

If you want to mention the performer of the second action, you use 'by' followed by a noun group.

Gary Jones twice had his face trampled on by Butts.

'Get' can also be used with an object and a past participle to talk about causing something to be dealt with or affected in some way.

We must get the car repaired.

One of these days I am going to get myself elected to Parliament.

'want' and 'need' with past participle 213 'Want' is also used with an object and a past participle, to indicate that you would like something to be done.

l want the whole approach changed.

I don't want you hurt.

'Need' is used in a similar way, usually when the object is something that belongs to the subject.

You need your eyesight tested.