The '-ing' form after adjectives and possessives

Contrasting negatives [> 16.14] are possible with these forms: e.g. / don't enjoy having to . . I enjoy not having to .

16.42 Verb + '-ing' form (not + to-infinitive)[compare > 16.19, App 45]

When we want to use another verb immediately after the following verbs, the second verb can only be an -ing form, never a to-infinitive: admit, appreciate, avoid, celebrate, consider contemplate defer, delay, deny, detest, discontinue, dislike, dispute, endure, enjoy it entail(s), escape excuse, explain, fancy, feel like, finish, forgive, can't help, hinder, imagine, it involve(s), keep, loathe, it mean(s), mention, mmd(= object to), miss, it necessitate(s), pardon, postpone, practise, prevent recall, report, resent, resist, risk, suggest, understand-I don't fancy goingfor a walk in the rain Imagine not knowingthe answer to such an easy question! Deny and regret are often followed by having + a past participle: Susan denies/regrets having saidanything

16.43 The '-ing' form after 'come' and 'go'

The -ing form relating to outdoor activities (e.g. climbing, driving, fishing, riding, sailing, shopping skiing, walking, water-skiing, wind-surfing) is often used after go and come, e.g. when we are:

- making suggestions: Why don't we go swimming?

- inviting: Come dancing this evening

- narrating: Yesterday we went sight-seeingCompare go/come for a walk, etc. and have been + -ing [> 10.13.4],

16.44 The '-ing' form after 'need' and 'want'

The -ing form can follow need, want (and less commonly) require:

He needs (alot of) encouraging

The front gate needs/wants/requires mendingThe -ing form has a passive meaning here and can be compared to the passive infinitive (He needs to be encouraged).

16.45 Verb (+ accusative or possessive) + '-ing' form

With some of the verbs which can be followed by an -ing form, we can put another word between the verb and -ing. Sometimes this word must be an accusative (e.g. an object pronoun like me, a name like John); sometimes it must be a possessive (i.e. a possessive adjective like my; or 's, e.g. John's); sometimes it can be either.

16 The infinitive and the '-ing' form

16.45.1 Verb (+ accusative)+ '-ing'
After the following verbs, the -ing form functions as a participle. We
can include an accusative (e.g.me, John) between the verb and the
-ing form: hear, keep, smell, start, stop and watch . Compare:

When are you going to start working?

When are you going to start him working?The following must always have an accusative before -ing:catch, find leave notice, observe perceive and see [> App 38.4]:

I'd better not catch you doingthat again' Verbs of perception like hear and see can also be followed by an object + bare infinitive [> 16.9.2]:/ saw him climb the tree

16.45.2 Verb (+ possessive)+ '-ing'The following verbs can be followed by the -ing form on its own or by a possessive (e.g.my, John's) + -ing. Here the -ing form functions as a gerund (i.e. a noun), so we can use a possessive form (referring to people, but not things) in front of it: appreciate, avoid, consider (usually in questions and negatives), defer, delay, deny, enjoy postpone, risk and suggest: I don't think the children enjoy your/his/John's teasing

16.45.3 Verb (+ accusative or possessive)+ '-ing'Here is a selection of verbs that can be followed by -ing on its own or by an accusative or a possessive before -ing: anticipate, contemplate detest, dislike dispute, endure, escape, excuse, (can't) face, fancy, forgive hate, hinder, imagine, it involve(s), like, love mention, mind (= object to), miss, it necessitate(s), pardon, prevent, resent, resist, understand, can't bear can't help, can't stand In everyday speech, the accusative is generally preferred to the possessive, though not all native speakers approve of its use: