Using two verbs together to add information about actions
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Kinds of information represented by double-verb structures | page 6 of 6 |
Teaching implications
When coursebooks in Hong Kong deal with double-verb structures in English, the approach
is typically to provide a list of verbs which are followed by the infinitive, and a list
of verbs which are followed by the -ing form 
. Unfortunately, however, there is not usually any attempt to
draw attention to the types of meanings associated with such structures.
For teaching purposes, rather than encouraging students to learn lists of verbs, it seems more constructive to help students see that they can usefully make a broad distinction between "time" verbs on the one hand and "reality"/"effort"/"manner" verbs on the other hand.
The following tendencies can be taken as a useful rule of thumb:
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"Time" verbs are typically followed by -ing form. |
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"Reality"/"effort"/"manner" verbs are typically followed by the infinitive. |
Introduction
Teaching implications
