Close menu
2

Unit 2: English In A Minute
Give us a minute and we'll teach you English

Select a unit

  1. 1 English In A Minute
  2. 2 English In A Minute
  3. 3 English In A Minute

Session 7

Welcome to English In A Minute. Give us a minute and we'll give you a hot tip about English. Grammar, vocabulary... there's so much to learn! And all taught by your favourite BBC Learning English staff!

Sessions in this unit

1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071

Session 7 score

0 / 3

  • 0 / 3
    Activity 1
  1. Activity 1

Activity 1

5 verbs followed by -ing

Do you have a minute to spare to learn some English? Here's James to explain 5 verbs that are followed by -ing. Give us 60 seconds and we'll give you the English!

Watch the video and complete the activity

Show transcript Hide transcript

James
Hi everyone, welcome back to English In A Minute. Today we're going to look at five verbs that are followed by an –ing noun. Not all verbs are followed by an -ing, but these five are. So, let's get started.

The couple avoided doing the housework. Avoid means to 'stay away from' or 'stop yourself from doing something'.

Sian denied taking the pen. Deny means to 'say that you didn't do something'.

I really enjoy cooking. Many verbs that are about likes and dislikes are followed by an –ing.

I recommend watching the new horror film. Recommend is a verb that we use to give advice.

I regret not going to university. Regret is a verb that means that 'you wish something in the past had been different'.

If you enjoyed watching this video, I recommend subscribing to the BBC Learning English channel. I promise you won't regret subscribing! 

5 verbs followed by -ing

Verb patterns

In English, when two verbs are used together, the first verb dictates which form the second verb should take regardless of the tense of the first verb or the subject of the sentence. The second verb most commonly takes the form of:

  1. An infinitive verb: I want to go home.
  2. A bare infinitive (infinitive without 'to') verb: I can play football.
  3. An -ing verb: Imagine living on the moon!

The following verbs are ONLY followed by an -ing form:

Avoid
Avoid means to 'stay away from' or 'stop yourself from doing something'.

  • The couple avoided doing the housework.

Deny
Deny means to 'say that you didn't do something'.

  • Sian denied taking the pen.

Enjoy
Enjoy means 'like'. Many verbs that are about likes and dislikes are followed by an –ing.

  • I really enjoy cooking.

Recommend
Recommend is a verb that we use to give advice. 

  • I recommend watching the new horror film.

Regret
Regret is a verb that means that 'you wish something in the past had been different'.

  • I regret not going to university.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

To do

Try our quiz to see how well you've learned today's language. 

English In A Minute Quiz

3 Questions

Test your understanding of this lesson with our quiz!

Congratulations you completed the Quiz
Excellent! Great job! Bad luck! You scored:
x / y

Downloads

You can download a PDF document for this episode here.

More

We hope you enjoyed English in a Minute. You can find more episodes here. 

Download centre

Latest course content