Page 120 - English Grammar in Use

Unit
54 Verb + to … (decide to … / forget to … etc.)

A After these verbs you can use to … (infinitive):
off er plan manage deserve
agree arrange fail aff ord
refuse hope promise learn
decide forget threaten tend
It was a long way to walk, so we decided to take a taxi home.
Simon was in a difficult situation, so I agreed to help him.

I waved to Karen, but failed to attract her attention.
I like Dan, but I think he tends to talk too much. Dan tends to talk too much.
How old were you when you learnt to drive?
or … learnt how to drive?
The negative is not to … :
We decided not to go out because of the weather.
I promised not to be late.

After some verbs, we use -ing (not to …). For example, enjoy/think/suggest:
I enjoy reading. (not enjoy to read)
Andy suggested meeting for coffee. (not suggested to meet)

Are you thinking of buying a car? (not thinking to buy)
For verb + -ing, see Units 53 and 62.

B Aft er dare you can use the infinitive with or without to:
I didn’t dare to tell him. or I didn’t dare tell him.
But after dare not (or daren’t), we do not use to:

I daren’t tell him what happened. (not I daren’t to tell him)

C We also use to … aft er seem, appear, pretend and claim. For example:
They seem to have plenty of money.
Ann pretended not to see me when she passed me in the street.
You can also use to be -ing (continuous infinitive) and to have (done) (perfect infinitive):
I pretended to be reading the newspaper. (= I pretended that I was reading)
Have you seen my keys? I seem to have lost them. (= it seems that I have lost them)
She claimed not to have seen me. (= she claimed that she hadn’t seen me)

D After these verbs you can use a question word (what/how etc.) + to … .
ask know decide remember forget learn explain understand wonder
For example:
We asked how to get to the station.
Have you decided where to go on holiday?
I don’t know whether to apply for the job or not.
Do you understand what to do?

also
show/tell/ask/advise/teach somebody what/how/where to do something:
Can somebody show me how to use this camera?
Ask Jack. He’ll tell you what to do.

Verb + -ing ➜ Unit 53 Verb + object + to … (want etc.) ➜ Unit 55
108 Verb + to … and -ing ➜ Units 55C, 56–58