Resposta rápida
Quando um verbo é seguido de outro, o segundo vem em -ing ou em to + verbo, dependendo do primeiro verbo. Alguns pedem só -ing (enjoy, avoid, finish), outros só to (want, decide, plan). Alguns aceitam os dois sem mudar o sentido (like, start). E quatro — stop, remember, forget, try — mudam de sentido dependendo da escolha. Depois de preposição, é sempre -ing.
“I enjoy to read” ou “I enjoy reading”? Essa escolha — gerúndio (-ing) ou infinitivo (to) — depende do primeiro verbo, e não tem tradução do português que ajude (em PT usamos infinitivo pra quase tudo). A boa notícia: dá pra agrupar em quatro casos e decorar as listas.
Como saber se um verbo pede -ing ou to?
| Padrão | Verbos comuns | Exemplo |
|---|---|---|
| verbo + -ing | enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, mind, keep, practice | I enjoy working here. |
| verbo + to | want, need, decide, plan, hope, agree, promise, learn | We decided to hire her. |
| aceita os dois (sem mudar sentido) | like, love, hate, prefer, start, begin, continue | I like reading. / I like to read. |
| muda de sentido | stop, remember, forget, try | I stopped smoking. ≠ I stopped to smoke. |
| depois de preposição → -ing | good at, interested in, before, after, look forward to | I'm good at solving problems. |
Quais verbos são seguidos de -ing (gerúndio)?
Esses verbos nunca vêm seguidos de "to + verbo". Alguns são expressões com preposição, que caem na mesma regra.
| Verbo | Exemplo |
|---|---|
| admit | He admitted lying to his boss. |
| appreciate | I appreciate you helping me. |
| avoid | We avoided talking about money. |
| consider | She's considering changing jobs. |
| delay | They delayed announcing the results. |
| deny | He denied stealing the money. |
| dislike | I dislike waiting in line. |
| enjoy | I enjoy working here. |
| escape | She escaped being fired. |
| finish | Finish writing the report first. |
| imagine | Imagine living on the beach. |
| involve | The job involves traveling a lot. |
| keep / keep on | Keep practicing every day. |
| mention | She mentioned meeting him before. |
| mind | Do you mind opening the window? |
| miss | I miss living in Brazil. |
| postpone | We postponed launching the product. |
| practice | I practice speaking English daily. |
| quit | He quit smoking last year. |
| recommend | I recommend reading that book. |
| resent | She resents being told what to do. |
| resist | I couldn't resist eating the cake. |
| risk | You're risking losing the client. |
| suggest | I suggest calling her first. |
| tolerate | He won't tolerate being ignored. |
| can't help | I can't help laughing. |
| can't stand | I can't stand waiting. |
| give up | She gave up smoking. |
| put off | Don't put off answering that email. |
| feel like | I feel like eating pizza tonight. |
Quais verbos são seguidos de to + verbo (infinitivo)?
Esses verbos nunca vêm seguidos de "-ing" direto (sem preposição no meio).
| Verbo | Exemplo |
|---|---|
| afford | We can't afford to hire more people. |
| agree | They agreed to meet on Friday. |
| aim | We aim to launch in March. |
| appear | She appears to know the answer. |
| arrange | I arranged to see him tomorrow. |
| ask | He asked to leave early. |
| attempt | They attempted to fix the bug. |
| choose | She chose to stay quiet. |
| claim | He claims to be an expert. |
| decide | We decided to postpone the launch. |
| demand | She demanded to speak to the manager. |
| deserve | You deserve to get a raise. |
| expect | I expect to finish by Friday. |
| fail | He failed to submit the report. |
| hope | I hope to see you soon. |
| learn | She's learning to drive. |
| manage | We managed to fix it in time. |
| offer | He offered to help. |
| plan | We plan to expand next year. |
| prepare | They prepared to leave. |
| pretend | He pretended to be asleep. |
| promise | I promise to call you. |
| refuse | She refused to answer. |
| seem | It seems to be working. |
| tend | Prices tend to rise in December. |
| threaten | He threatened to quit. |
| wait | We're waiting to hear back. |
| want | I want to go home. |
| wish | I wish to speak with the director. |
| would like / would love | I'd like to ask you something. |
| need (uso ativo) | I need to leave now. |
Quais verbos aceitam os dois sem mudar o sentido?
Com esses verbos, tanto faz — o sentido é o mesmo (às vezes com diferença bem sutil de ênfase, que não importa no dia a dia).
| Verbo | -ing | to |
|---|---|---|
| like | I like reading. | I like to read. |
| love | I love traveling. | I love to travel. |
| hate | I hate waiting. | I hate to wait. |
| prefer | I prefer working alone. | I prefer to work alone. |
| start | It started raining. | It started to rain. |
| begin | She began speaking. | She began to speak. |
| continue | He continued talking. | He continued to talk. |
| can't bear | I can't bear seeing this. | I can't bear to see this. |
| intend | I intend visiting them. | I intend to visit them. |
Quais verbos mudam de sentido com -ing ou to? (stop, remember, forget, try...)
Os quatro clássicos: stop, remember, forget, try
- stop doing = parar de fazer algo (o hábito acaba) · stop to do = parar (uma ação) para fazer outra coisa. He stopped smoking. (largou o cigarro) ≠ He stopped to smoke. (parou o que fazia para fumar)
- remember doing = lembrar de algo que já aconteceu · remember to do = não esquecer de fazer algo antes. I remember locking the door. (lembro que tranquei) ≠ Remember to lock the door. (não esqueça de trancar)
- forget doing = esquecer que fez algo (raro, geralmente negativo: never forget) · forget to do = esquecer de fazer algo. I'll never forget meeting her. (nunca vou esquecer aquele encontro) ≠ I forgot to call her. (esqueci de ligar)
- try doing = experimentar, testar uma alternativa · try to do = se esforçar para conseguir algo (pode falhar). Try restarting the computer. (tenta reiniciar, como teste) ≠ I tried to fix it, but I couldn't. (me esforcei, mas não consegui)
Mais três casos comuns em provas e no inglês formal, que seguem a mesma lógica:
| Verbo | + -ing | + to |
|---|---|---|
| regret | regret doing = lamentar algo que já fez. I regret saying that. | regret to do = lamentar informar algo (formal). We regret to inform you that... |
| mean | mean doing = implicar, resultar em. Working overtime means missing dinner. | mean to do = ter a intenção de. I didn't mean to hurt you. |
| go on | go on doing = continuar fazendo a mesma coisa. She went on talking for an hour. | go on to do = passar a fazer outra coisa em seguida. He went on to become CEO. |
Depois de preposição, é sempre -ing?
Sim — sem exceção. Depois de qualquer preposição (at, in, for, of, before, after, about) e de expressões que terminam em preposição (look forward to, be used to, get used to), o verbo seguinte vem em -ing, nunca no infinitivo com "to".
O ângulo executivo: expressões fixas que você usa direto
- look forward to + -ing (atenção: “to” é preposição aqui!): I look forward to hearing from you.
- be responsible for + -ing: responsible for managing the budget.
- be interested in / be good at + -ing: interested in expanding the team.
- be/get used to + -ing: I'm used to working late. (diferente de "used to" + verbo base, que fala de hábito passado: I used to work late.)
Os erros que entregam o brasileiro
⚠ Evite estes
- enjoy/avoid + to: ❌ I enjoy to read → ✅ I enjoy reading.
- want/need + -ing: ❌ I want going → ✅ I want to go.
- preposição + verbo base: ❌ good at solve → ✅ good at solving.
- look forward to + verbo base: ❌ look forward to hear → ✅ look forward to hearing.
- try to vs try doing trocados: ❌ Try to restart the computer, as a first step quando o certo é sugestão neutra → ✅ Try restarting the computer.
🎮 Teste agora
-ing ou to?
Depende do primeiro verbo (e da preposição). Feedback na hora.
I really enjoy _____ with this team. (enjoy)
We decided _____ the launch. (decide)
I look forward to _____ from you. (preposição “to”)
Please remember _____ the client before noon. (lembrar de fazer)
I tried _____ the door, but it was locked. (experimentar)
He stopped _____ coffee two years ago. (largar o hábito)
Treine gerúndio e infinitivo na prática
O Fill The Song treina padrões verbais com música.
Praticar no Fill The Song →Perguntas frequentes
Quando usar -ing e quando usar to depois de um verbo?
Depende do primeiro verbo: enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest pedem -ing; want, need, decide, plan pedem to. Depois de preposição, sempre -ing.
Quais verbos são seguidos só de -ing?
Entre os mais comuns: enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, mind, keep, admit, consider, deny, postpone, practice, quit, recommend, risk, can't help, can't stand, give up, put off.
Quais verbos são seguidos só de to?
Entre os mais comuns: want, need, decide, plan, hope, agree, promise, learn, wish, expect, offer, refuse, manage, arrange, choose, would like.
Quais verbos aceitam -ing e to sem mudar o sentido?
like, love, hate, prefer, start, begin, continue, can't bear e intend aceitam as duas formas com o mesmo significado.
“stop doing” e “stop to do” são iguais?
Não. stop doing = parar de fazer/largar o hábito; stop to do = parar para fazer outra coisa. He stopped smoking ≠ He stopped to smoke.
Qual a diferença entre “try doing” e “try to do”?
try doing = experimentar algo como teste (Try restarting the computer). try to do = se esforçar para conseguir algo que pode falhar (I tried to fix it, but I couldn't).
Qual a diferença entre “forget doing” e “forget to do”?
forget doing = esquecer que já fez algo (raro, geralmente com "never": I'll never forget meeting her). forget to do = esquecer de fazer algo (I forgot to call her).
Qual a diferença entre “remember doing” e “remember to do”?
remember doing = lembrar de algo que já aconteceu. remember to do = não esquecer de fazer algo antes de um momento.
É “look forward to hear” ou “to hearing”?
“look forward to hearing” — o “to” aqui é preposição, então vem -ing.
Depois de preposição é sempre -ing?
Sim, sem exceção: at, in, for, of, before, after, about e expressões como look forward to, be used to e get used to sempre pedem -ing.
Pratique inglês com música e jogos no Fill The Song — outra ferramenta gratuita da nossa rede. E se o objetivo é evoluir para o trabalho, conheça o curso de inglês para executivos da Lingualize.