UNIT 61. Verb + preposition + ~ing (succeed in ~ing/accuse somebody of ~ing etc.)
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 apologize for what you said.
If the object is another verb, it ends in ~ing:
verb + preposition + ~ing (object)
We talked going to America.
She apologized for not telling the truth.
Here are some more verbs with this structure:
succeed (in)
Have you succeeded in finding a job yet?
insist (on)
They insisted on paying for the meal.
think (of)
I'm thinking of buying a house.
dream (of)
I wouldn't dream of asking them for money.
approve(of)
She doesn't approve of gambling.
decide (against)
We have decided against moving to London.
feel (like)
Do you feel like going out tonight?
look forward (to)
I'm looking forward to meeting her.
We say 'apologize to somebody for...':
* She apologized to me for not telling the truth. (not 'she apologized me')
B. With some of the verbs in A, you can use the structure verb + preposition + somebody + ~ing:
verb + preposition somebody + ~ing
She doesn't approve of me gambling.
We are all looking forward to Liz coming home.
C. The following verbs can have the structure verb + object + preposition + ~ing:
verb + object + preposition + ~ing
congratulate (on)
I congratulated Ann on passing the exam.
accuse (of)
They accused me of telling lies.
suspect (of)
Nobody suspected the man of being a spy.
prevent (from)
What prevented him from coming to see us?
stop (from*)
The police stopped everyone from leaving the building.
thank (for)
I forgot to thank them for helping me.
forgive (for)
Please forgive me for not writing to you.
warn (against)
They warned us against buying the car.
You can also say 'stop somebody doing' (without from). So you can say:
* You can't stop me doing what I want. or ... stop me from doing what I want.
Some of these verbs are often used in the passive. For example:
* I was accused of telling lies.
* The man was suspected of being a spy.
* We were warned against buying the car.


UNIT 62. Expressions + ~ing
A. When these expressions are followed by a verb, the verb ends in ~ing:
It's no use .../It's no good ...:
* There's nothing you can do about the situation, so it's no use worrying about it.
* It's no good trying to persuade me. You won't succeed.
There's no point in ...:
* There's no point in having a car if you never use it.
* There was no point in waiting any longer, so we went.
It's (not) worth ...:
* I live only a short walk from here, so it's not worth taking a taxi.
* It was so late when we got home, it wasn't worth going to bed.
You can say 'a film is worth seeing', 'a book is worth reading', etc.
* What was the film like? Was it worth seeing?
* I don't think newspapers are worth reading.
B. (Have) difficulty ~ing
We say 'have difficulty doing something' (not 'to do'):
* I had difficulty finding a place to live. (not 'I had difficulty to find')
* Did you have any difficulty getting a visa?
* People often have great difficulty reading my writing.
We usually say 'have difficulty' (not 'have difficulties'):
* I'm sure you'll have no difficulty passing the exam. (not 'have no difficulties')
C. We use ~ing after:
a waste of money .../a waste of time ... (to ... is also possible):
* It was a waste of time reading that book. It was rubbish.
* It's a waste of money buying things you don't need.
spend/waste (time) ...
* He spent hours trying to repair the clock.
* I waste a lot of time daydreaming.
(be) busy ...:
* She said she couldn't see me. She was too busy doing other things.
D. Go swimming/go fishing etc.
We use go ~ing for a number of activities (especially sports). For example, you can say:
go swimming/go sailing/go fishing/go climbing/go skiing/go jogging etc.
also: go shopping/go sightseeing.
* I'd like to go skiing.
* When did you last go shopping?
* I've never been sailing. (For been and gone, see Unit 7D.)
You can also say 'come swimming/come skiing' etc.:
* Why don't you come swimming with us?


UNIT 63. To ..., for ... and so that ... (purpose)
A. We use to ... to say why somebody does something (= the purpose of an action):
* 'Why did you go out?' 'To post a letter.'
* A friend of mine phoned to invite me to a party.
* We shouted to warn everybody of the danger.
We use to... to say why something exists or why somebody has/wants/needs something: