Verb patterns

Finn
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Finn.

Catherine
And me, Catherine. Hello.

Finn
In today’s programme we’re talking about three different verb patterns. First, what exactly do we mean by verb patterns, Catherine?

Catherine Well, here we mean the various language patterns that follow the main verb in a clause or sentence. And the first pattern we’re looking at is verbs which are followed by that. Here’s our first example:

Example My doctor explained that I had to go to hospital .

Catherine My doctor explained that I had to go to hospital . So, we have a verb - explain, plus that, and did you notice that the word that is followed by an independent clause? In other words, it’s followed by a group of words with a subject and verb, just like like a full sentence. In our example the independent clause was: I had to go to hospital . Now, other verbs that take this pattern include say , warn , explain , suggest and know .

Finn Right. The second pattern is verbs that are followed by the i-n-g form, or -ing form of another verb. Let’s have an example.

Example We discussed waiting until next year.

Catherine Now, lots of verbs take this pattern, including advise , try , love , like ,and hate . And the third pattern is verbs that are followed by the infinitive with to .

Example He offered to see me again in a month’s time.

Finn And verbs that take this pattern include want , need , hope , love and promise . But it ‘s important to know that with some verbs, you can choose between two of the patterns.

Catherine You can. So with the verbs suggest and recommend you can choose between that plus a clause or an - ing form. Here’s an example:

Example We suggest that you go to the hospital in Oxford.

Catherine Or:

Example We suggest going to the hospital in Oxford.

Finn And with the verbs ask , propose and promise , you can choose between either that plus a clause, or the infinitive with to . Another example:

Example I promised that I would let him know my decision.

Catherine Or:

Example I promised to let him know my decision.

Finn A good grammar book will give you a full list of verbs that take more than one pattern. Make sure you keep one handy!

Catherine Top tip. Now, another point is that some of these verbs can take an object before the infinitive with to . The verb ask is a good example. Listen to this:

Example I asked the doctor to change my medication.

IDENT
This is bbclearningenglish.com

Finn
And we’re looking at verb patterns. Well, we’ve said that some verbs can have an object before the infinitive with to . But there are a few verbs that must always have an object before the infinitive with to . The verbs advise , invite , tell and warn are like this.

Example He advised me to think carefully about it. He told me not to hurry.

Catherine Right. Actually that last example is an interesting one. It shows that when you use a negative form with the infinitive, the word not goes before, not after, the infinitive with to . Like this - He told me not to hurry.

Finn Good point. The verbs advise , ask and warn are like that too, aren ‘t they? He advised me not to worry , for example.

Catherine Yes, that’s right. Of course, you can use not before -ing forms as well. Listen to this:

Example They recommend not eating a big meal in the evening.

Finn But infinitives are a bit different because you lose the word to in the negative. So it ‘s possible to say:

Example They recommend that you not eat a big meal in the evening.

Finn But that sounds very formal. We usually use don ‘t instead of not .

Example They recommend that you don ‘t eat a big meal in the evening.

Catherine OK, by now you have probably noticed that most of the verbs we are talking about belong to a particular type.

Finn Exactly. They are mostly verbs that explain, suggest, advise, offer, promise, report or warn.

Catherine Try to look out for these verbs and you’ll soon get to know which patterns you need to use.

Finn
And now: it’s quiz time! Which sentence is correct? a) Carl explained me he would be late home. b) Carl explained that he would be late home.

Catherine b) is correct. Carl explained that he would be late home. Number 2. Which is correct? a) Which day do you advise us to come? b) Which day do you advise that we come?

Finn Aha. Both a) and b) are correct!

Catherine Aha, yes.

Finn
Which day do you advise us to come? and Which day do you advise that we come? Right, number three. a) She warned me not to go out. b) She warned me not going out.

Catherine And a) is correct. She warned me not to go out.

Finn And that is the end of the quiz. Congratulations if you got them all right.

Catherine
Congratulations indeed. And that’s all for now about verb patterns, but there’s more about this on our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Grammar.

Both
Bye!