Lesson 5 of 125 min read
Verb Patterns: What Comes Next?
A verb's meaning is only half the job. Learn whether it takes an object, an infinitive, an -ing form or a preposition, and your sentences become easier to build.
Understand the pattern
Compare plan to apply and avoid applying late. Both describe actions related to an application, but the next verb has a different form. Store plan to do something and avoid doing something as patterns. A list containing only plan = intend and avoid = keep away will not remind you how to complete the sentence.
Some verbs need an object before an infinitive: encourage someone to participate. Others go directly to the object: discuss the proposal, without about. Learning the whole phrase prevents extra words from your first language slipping into an otherwise clear English sentence.
A verb can also have several legitimate patterns with different meanings. Remember to send the message means do not forget a future action; remember sending it refers to a memory of an earlier action. When reviewing an error, decide whether the problem is form, meaning or both. Do not assume one correction applies to every context.
Language in context
| Word or pattern | Meaning or use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| decide / plan to do | Followed by an infinitive | We plan to review the timetable. |
| avoid / consider doing | Followed by an -ing form | They are considering moving the meeting. |
| encourage someone to do | Object before the infinitive | The tutor encouraged us to ask questions. |
| discuss something | Direct object, no about | We discussed the revised deadline. |
Worked example
Reason through the choice
Correct: The team suggested to change the schedule.
Answer: The team suggested changing the schedule.
Suggest can be followed by an -ing form or a clause, such as suggested that we change the schedule. Suggested to change does not fit the intended pattern. The correction preserves the proposal rather than turning it into a completed action.
Try it yourself
Write your answers before opening the key. For open responses, the suggested answer is one possible version; keep the meaning and check the target pattern.
- Complete: Please avoid ___ late. (arrive / arriving / to arrive)
- Correct: We discussed about the cost.
- Explain the difference: I stopped working; I stopped to make a call.
Check answers and explanations
1. Arriving. Avoid takes an -ing form when followed directly by another verb.
2. We discussed the cost. Discuss takes a direct object. Talk about the cost would use a different verb pattern.
3. The first ends an activity; the second pauses another activity in order to make a call. The -ing form names the activity that stops, while the infinitive gives the purpose of stopping.
Use it in your PTE preparation
PTE Academic
In a summary or essay, check reporting and reasoning verbs with their structures: suggest that, propose doing, enable someone to do. A more ambitious verb is only useful if its grammatical pattern is accurate.
PTE Core
For practical messages, learn request patterns you can adapt: I would like to arrange, I suggest meeting and Could you help me complete. Practise changing the details rather than memorising one whole email.
Recall and transfer
Say a plan, a suggestion and something to avoid about the same event. Use to meet, meeting and arriving in suitable patterns. Listen for the word immediately after the main verb and correct it before adding more detail.