Verb Patterns

Sometimes in a sentence, one verb follows another.
For example, I want to buy an electric car. = The first verb is ‘want’, the second verb is ‘buy’.

In sentences like this, there are different possible patterns. For example:

(a) I want to buy an electric car.

(b) I hate driving.

In sentence A, the first verb is followed by an infinitive.

In sentence B, the first verb is followed by a gerund (-ing) form.

The verb patterns are dependent upon the first verb. There are several different types of patterns. When you learn a new verb, you need to learn the verb pattern. Unfortunately, some verbs have more than one possible pattern! Sometimes, if a verb has two patterns, each pattern can have a different meaning or use.

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