Which verbs are followed by the to-infinitive?

The core set is want, would like, hope, decide, plan, intend, arrange, agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten, seem, appear, tend, learn, manage, afford, and fail. A second set inserts an object: ask, tell, advise, remind, warn, persuade, encourage, expect, allow. Example: She decided to apply; she advised him to apply.

What is the verb plus object plus infinitive pattern?

The first verb names the act of asking, telling, or wanting; the object names who should perform the next action; the to-infinitive names that action. We asked the skipper to delay the sailing means the skipper would delay it. Want, expect, and need work with or without the object: I want to stay versus I want her to stay.

Why can't I say suggest to wait?

Because suggest is not on the infinitive-verb list. It takes an -ing form (suggest waiting) or a that-clause (suggest that we wait). Enjoy, avoid, finish, and mind are in the same -ing camp. If you want a to-pattern with a similar meaning, use offer to wait or agree to wait.

Do all these verbs take to after an object?

No: make and let take an object plus a bare infinitive (make us wait, let them stay), and help takes either (help us (to) lift the crate). See, hear, and watch take a bare infinitive or -ing for perception: I saw her leave, I saw her leaving. The instruction group (tell, ask, advise, force) keeps to.

How is this different from the infinitive page?

The infinitive page teaches the form: to-infinitive versus bare infinitive, negatives, perfect infinitives, and use after adjectives and nouns. This page teaches the list: which verbs select a to-infinitive as their complement, grouped by meaning, plus the object-plus-infinitive frame. Use that page for the shape; use this one for the membership.

English grammar · Intermediate

Infinitive Verbs: Which Verbs Take the To-Infinitive

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Infinitive verbs are the verbs that take a to-infinitive after them: want to stay, decide to leave, hope to qualify. They group by meaning (wanting, deciding, promising, seeming), and a second pattern adds an object before the infinitive: ask someone to wait, tell someone to lock the hatch. This page is a list of which verbs take to, not a lesson on the infinitive form itself.

They arranged to inspect the loft at dawn.

arrange is a planning verb and takes a to-infinitive

What it is

After some verbs English names the next action with to plus a base form: I hope to qualify, she refused to sign, we can't afford to wait. Those verbs are not random. They cluster around intention, desire, decision, arrangement, promise, and appearance. A parallel list takes -ing instead (enjoy swimming, avoid waiting); that list lives on the verbs-ing page. A third set takes both with a change of meaning (try, stop, remember); that set lives on try-to-or-ing. Here the question is only: which verbs want to, and which of those also allow an object in the middle (want her to stay, advise us to wait).

He decided to apply for the residency. (decide plus to-infinitive, no object.) She advised him to apply. (advise plus object plus to-infinitive.)

How to spot it

Look at the first verb. If the next verb has to in front of it and no -ing, you are looking at an infinitive verb. If a person sits between the two verbs (told the intern to wait), you are looking at the object-plus-infinitive pattern. If the second verb is -ing with no to, this is the wrong page.

I intend to finish the index tonight. (intend as a planning verb plus to)
She promised to radio at dusk. (promise plus to-infinitive)
They seem to know the rota. (seem plus to: appearance, no object)
We asked the skipper to delay the sailing. (ask plus object plus to-infinitive)

To after look forward to, be used to, and object to is a preposition, so -ing follows: looking forward to seeing you. Those are not infinitive verbs.

Infinitive Verbs Quick Reference

Infinitive verbs grouped by meaning

Group	Verbs	Pattern
Wanting and hoping	want, would like, hope, wish, prefer, long	I hope to qualify.
Deciding and planning	decide, plan, intend, arrange, aim, prepare, choose	They arranged to meet at the marina.
Trying and managing	try, attempt, fail, manage, afford, struggle	We can't afford to wait.
Agreeing and refusing	agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten, consent	She refused to sign.
Appearing and tending	seem, appear, tend, happen, prove, turn out	The hatch seems to stick.
Learning and claiming	learn, forget, remember, claim, pretend, deserve	He claimed to know the combination.
Object + infinitive, instruction	ask, tell, advise, remind, warn, order, instruct, persuade, encourage, force, invite, teach	She told us to wait.
Object + infinitive, want/expect	want, would like, expect, need, allow, enable, get	I want her to stay.

Common Infinitive Verbs Examples in English

The same verbs in use, grouped so you can learn them as meaning families rather than as an alphabet:

Wanting, Hoping, Preferring

I want to keep the loft studio through winter.: want plus to, no object
She would like to sit in on the briefing.: would like plus to: a polite want
They hope to land the Bergen residency.: hope plus to names a desired outcome
He prefers to cycle along the boulevard.: prefer plus to; prefer -ing is also possible, with a weaker future feel

Would like is the polite twin of want and always takes to, never -ing, in this use: I would like to stay, not I would like staying, when you mean a wish.

Deciding, Planning, Arranging

The board decided to freeze the berth fees.: decide plus to: a completed choice
We plan to recaulk the hatch in March.: plan plus to: a future arrangement
She intends to file the monograph before Easter.: intend plus to
They arranged to inspect the allotment at dusk.: arrange plus to: a booking, not just a wish

These verbs look forward. The infinitive names the action that has been chosen, not an activity you enjoy in general (that would be enjoy plus -ing).

Promises, Offers, Refusals

He promised to radio once he cleared the sandbar.: promise plus to
She offered to cover the night shift.: offer plus to: volunteering
The landlord refused to renew the loft lease.: refuse plus to
They threatened to cancel the sailing.: threaten plus to: a hostile promise

Agree, refuse, offer, promise, and threaten all take to. Suggest does not: suggest waiting, or suggest that we wait, never suggest to wait.

Seeming, Tending, Happening

The barge appears to have listed overnight.: appear plus a perfect infinitive
The old rota tends to overwork the night shift.: tend plus to: a habit, not a plan
I happened to overhear the briefing.: happen to: by chance
The spare hatch proved to be warped.: prove to be: a result that became clear

Seem, appear, tend, happen, and prove take to and do not take an object in the middle. They comment on a situation rather than launching an action.

How Infinitive Verbs Work

One complement type, two frames, and a short list of verbs that look similar and are not on this list.

The Next Verb Takes To

After an infinitive verb the following verb is the base form with to: decide to leave, hope to qualify, refuse to sign. There is no -s, -ed, or -ing on that second verb. The first verb carries the tense and the person: she hopes to qualify, they hoped to qualify. The infinitive stays still.

She hopes to qualify. They hoped to qualify.

hopes and hoped change; to qualify does not

First verb inflects; to plus base stays still.

No Object vs. Object in the Middle

Some infinitive verbs go straight to to (decide, hope, refuse, seem). Others insert a person who will do the infinitive action: ask her to wait, tell us to lock the hatch, want them to stay. The object is the subject of the infinitive in meaning: we asked the skipper to delay means the skipper would delay. Mixing the frames gives decide her to leave, which is not English; use persuade or ask if you need an object.

I decided to wait. I asked her to wait.

decide has no object slot; ask has one

Who will do the second action? If it is not the subject, add an object.

Learn the Verbs in Meaning Groups

Lists stick when they share a job. Wanting verbs (want, hope, would like), planning verbs (decide, plan, arrange, intend), commitment verbs (promise, agree, refuse, offer, threaten), and appearance verbs (seem, appear, tend) cover most of the no-object set. Instruction verbs (tell, ask, advise, warn, remind, persuade, encourage) cover most of the object set. Adding one new verb to a group you already know is easier than memorising an alphabet.

We agreed to wait. We refused to wait. We offered to wait.

three commitment verbs, one pattern

Group by job, not by first letter.

A Few Lookalikes Take -ing or That

Enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, and suggest take -ing, not to. Suggest also takes a that-clause: suggest that we wait. Look forward to, object to, and be used to take -ing because to is a preposition. Try, stop, remember, forget, regret, go on, and need take both forms with different meanings; they are taught on the try-to-or-ing page, not here.

She suggested waiting. She decided to wait.

suggest is not an infinitive verb; decide is

Suggest, enjoy, avoid: not this list.

Common Mistakes with Infinitive Verbs

Incorrect: She suggested to wait by the hatch.

Correct: She suggested waiting by the hatch.

Suggest is not an infinitive verb. It takes -ing or a that-clause (suggested that we wait). Agree, offer, and refuse do take to, which is why the lists get mixed.

Incorrect: He decided her to apply for the residency.

Correct: He persuaded her to apply for the residency.

Decide has no object-plus-infinitive frame. If someone else is to do the action, switch to persuade, ask, want, or advise. He decided to apply keeps decide and drops the extra person.

Incorrect: I'm looking forward to see the marina.

Correct: I'm looking forward to seeing the marina.

The to after look forward is a preposition, so the next verb is -ing. The same trap sits in be used to, object to, and prefer... to as a preposition of comparison.

Incorrect: They made us to recaulk the hatch.

Correct: They made us recaulk the hatch.

Make plus object takes a bare infinitive, with no to. Let works the same way. Tell, force, and get keep to: they told us to recaulk it.

Verb + Object + To-Infinitive

A large group of infinitive verbs insert the person who is to perform the second action.

Instruction and persuasion

Ask, tell, advise, remind, warn, order, instruct, persuade, encourage, force, invite, teach, and urge take a person and then a to-infinitive. The person is the one who should act.

The harbour master told us to stay below.: tell plus object plus to
She persuaded the board to freeze the fees.: persuade: the board would freeze them
They invited the intern to sit in on the briefing.: invite plus object plus to

Make and let take an object plus a bare infinitive, with no to: make us wait, let them stay. They are not infinitive verbs in the to sense.

Want, expect, need, allow

These verbs work both with and without an object. I want to stay (I would stay). I want her to stay (she would stay). Expect, need, allow, enable, and get follow the same split.

I expect to finish the index tonight.: no object: I am the one finishing
I expect the intern to finish the index tonight.: object: the intern is the one finishing
The new hoist allows us to lift the crate.: allow plus object plus to

Allow someone to and let someone (bare infinitive) mean similar things. Allow keeps to; let drops it.

Reporting verbs in this pattern

Ask, tell, advise, warn, remind, and persuade are also reporting verbs. In reports they keep the object-plus-infinitive frame: She told us to wait, He advised me to reapply.

She warned the apprentices not to touch the hoist.: warn plus object plus negative infinitive
He reminded me to radio at dusk.: remind plus object plus to
They asked her not to file the monograph yet.: ask plus object plus not to

The negative sits on the infinitive: told us not to wait, not didn't tell us to wait, unless you mean the telling did not happen.

Quick Check: Infinitive Verbs

Put the verb in brackets into a to-infinitive, an -ing form, or object plus to-infinitive.

1. We can't afford ___ (wait) another week.

Answer: to wait

afford is an infinitive verb

2. She advised ___ (the intern / file) the index first.

Answer: the intern to file

advise plus object plus to

3. He refused ___ (sign) the loft lease.

Answer: to sign

refuse plus to

4. They suggested ___ (delay) the sailing.

Answer: delaying

suggest takes -ing, not to

5. I want ___ (her / stay) through winter.

Answer: her to stay

want plus object plus to

Infinitive Verbs FAQs

Which verbs are followed by the to-infinitive?: The core set is want, would like, hope, decide, plan, intend, arrange, agree, refuse, offer, promise, threaten, seem, appear, tend, learn, manage, afford, and fail. A second set inserts an object: ask, tell, advise, remind, warn, persuade, encourage, expect, allow. Example: She decided to apply; she advised him to apply.
What is the verb plus object plus infinitive pattern?: The first verb names the act of asking, telling, or wanting; the object names who should perform the next action; the to-infinitive names that action. We asked the skipper to delay the sailing means the skipper would delay it. Want, expect, and need work with or without the object: I want to stay versus I want her to stay.
Why can't I say suggest to wait?: Because suggest is not on the infinitive-verb list. It takes an -ing form (suggest waiting) or a that-clause (suggest that we wait). Enjoy, avoid, finish, and mind are in the same -ing camp. If you want a to-pattern with a similar meaning, use offer to wait or agree to wait.
Do all these verbs take to after an object?: No: make and let take an object plus a bare infinitive (make us wait, let them stay), and help takes either (help us (to) lift the crate). See, hear, and watch take a bare infinitive or -ing for perception: I saw her leave, I saw her leaving. The instruction group (tell, ask, advise, force) keeps to.
How is this different from the infinitive page?: The infinitive page teaches the form: to-infinitive versus bare infinitive, negatives, perfect infinitives, and use after adjectives and nouns. This page teaches the list: which verbs select a to-infinitive as their complement, grouped by meaning, plus the object-plus-infinitive frame. Use that page for the shape; use this one for the membership.