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Luyện ngữ pháp English Grammar in Use (Unit 62: Verb preposition -ing)


A

Many verbs have the structure verb + preposition (in/for/about etc.) + object. For example:

verb + preposition + object
We talked about the problem.
You must apologise for what you said.

If the object is another verb, it ends in -ing:

verb + preposition + object
We talked about going to South America.
You must apologise for not telling the truth.

Some more verbs with this structure:

approve (of) He doesn't approve of swearing.
decide (against) We have decided against moving to London .
dream (of) I wouldn't dream of asking them for money.
feel (like) Do you feel like going out tonight?
insist (on) They insisted on paying for the meal.
look forward (to) I'm looking forward to meeting her.
succeed (in) Have you succeeded in finding a job yet?
think (of/about) I'm thinking of/about buying a house.

You can also say 'approve of somebody doing something', 'look forward to somebody doing something' etc :
  • I don't approve of people killing animals for fun.
  • We are all looking forward to Andy coming home.
B

The following verbs can have the structure verb + object + preposition + -ing:

  verb + + object preposition + -ing (object)
accuse (of) They accused us of telling lies.
congratulate (on) We all congratulated Lisa on winning the first prize.
excuse (for) Excuse me for phoning you so late.
prevent (from) What prevented you from coming to see us?
stop (from) The rain didn't stop us from enjoying our holiday.
suspect (of) Nobody suspected the general of being a spy.
thank (for) I forgot to thank them for helping me.

You can say 'stop somebody doing' or 'stop somebody from doing':
  • You can't stop me doing what I want. or You can't stop me from doing what I want.

The following examples are with not -ing:
  • They accused us of not telling the truth.
  • Excuse me for not replying to your email until now.

Some of these verbs are often used in the passive. For example:
  • We were accused of telling lies.
  • The general was suspected of being a spy.

Note that we say 'apologise to somebody for ... ':
  • I apologised to them for keeping them waiting. (not I apologised them)
Exercises - 62.1


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