Grammar Practice in Context - David Bolton, Noel Goodey 1997

52 Like, love, hate + infinitive with to or -ing: I hate flying. I'd love to come

Quick reference

• The verbs like, love, hate are usually followed by the -ing form, but can be followed by the infinitive with to. I like singing. (or I like to sing.)

• The verb enjoy must be followed by -ing, not the infinitive with to.

I enjoy reading. (not I enjoy to read.)

• When we think something is a good idea, we use like + the infinitive with to.

I like to go to the dentist’s twice a year. (Here, we don’t say I like going.)

• We must use the infinitive with to after would like/love/hate. I’d love to come.

• For present regrets and opinions about the past, we use would like/love/hate + to have + past participle. I’m a taxi driver. I’d love to have been a pilot.

1 Some people were asked about the things they liked and hated. Complete the sentences using these verbs: get, go back, talk, see, put, not know, find, answer, wake up.

1 I hate ... a pair of shoes I really like in a shop window and then ... they haven’t got them in my size.

2 I don’t like ... the phone and ... who the person at the other end is, because he doesn’t give his name.

3 I love ... on Saturday morning and then ... to sleep again.

4 I hate ... money in a vending machine and then ... nothing out of it.

5 I don’t like ... to an answer-phone.

2 Sophie Carr writes best-selling novels. Complete these sentences using an infinitive with to when something is a good idea, and -ing when something is/is not enjoyable.

1 She enjoys (write) ... She likes (write) ... five pages every morning.

2 She likes (revise) ... those five pages in the afternoon.

3 She likes (talk) ... to her editor because he’s a good friend. She likes (phone)

... him once a month to talk about her latest book.

4 She likes (keep) ... a copy of everything she writes on a floppy disk.

5 She doesn’t like people (ask) ... her questions about her next book.

3 Eileen Parry is talking about the £2 million she has just won in the National Lottery. Complete the sentences using would Cd) like/hate + infinitive or would (’d) like/hate + to have + past participle.

1 (I like/go on) ... working. I (2 hate/give up) ... my job. But I (3 like/move) ... to a house with a garden. I (4 not like/live) ... in a different area because I (5 hate/lose) ... touch with all my friends.

And I (6 love/go) ... on a world cruise - just once. But I (7 not like/spend) ... all the money. I (8 like/leave) ... a lot of it to my children. I’m glad I won only two million pounds. I (9 not like/have/win) ... £20 million. I (10 hate/have/be) ... on television. I’m just sorry my husband George isn’t still alive. He (11 love/have/go) ... on that cruise with me.