Speako Pro Tip #1

The word catenative is derived from the mord Latin “catena” meaning "chain". Catenative verbs are basically a combination of verbs. They can form a chain of two, three or more verbs.

The main verbs (i.e. lexical verbs and not auxiliary or modal verbs) that can be followed by another main verb is called a catenative verb. In this example, the verbs want and like are catenative in nature:

• I want to dance.
• I like dancing.

Generally the verb following a catenative verb can be in one of these following forms:

• Infinitive (sing, to sing)
• -ing form (singing)
• Past Participle (sung)

Here are a few methods for simple catenative construction:

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Verb + Infinitive

Bare Infinitive

There are a very few catenative verbs which can be followed by the bare infinitive:

Hear - (say/tell), help, let - go, make - do

• I hear say that she left.
• Could you help wash up, please?
• Don't let go of my arm.

To-Infinitive

Quite a large number of catenative verbs can be followed by the to-infinitive, here are some examples:

afford, agree, aim, appear to, apply, arrange, ask, beg, care, choose, claim, condescend, consent, contract, contrive, dare, decide, decline, demand, deserve, determine, endeavour, expect, fail, happen to, help, hesitate, hope, long, manage, mean, offer, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, resolve, seek, seem to, strive, struggle, swear, threaten, undertake, volunteer, want, wish

You can find more verbs like these at  to-infinitive OR -ing(link)

• We didn't agree to work this early.
• They seem to like him.
• I want to play soccer.

Verb + -ing

A large number of catenative verbs may be followed by the -ing form, including these common ones:

be used to, (can) face, admit, advocate, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, can't help, can't stand, carry on, consider, contemplate, defer, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, entail, escape, fancy, favour, finish, get used to, give up, go, imagine, insist on, involve, justify, keep on, look forward to, mention, mind, necessitate, object to, postpone, practise, put off, report, resent, risk, save, stop, suggest, tolerate

You can find more verbs like these at  to-infinitive OR -ing(link)

• He admitted cheating in the test.
• I can't go swimming with you tomorrow.
• Does he keep on asking for more money?

Verb + to-infinitive or -ing

There are some catenative verbs which can be followed by the to-infinitive OR -ing, with or without a change in its meaning. Here are some examples:

1. With little or no change in meaning

can't bear, begin, bother, cease, continue, hate, intend, like, love, neglect, prefer, start

• Did you bother to report it toyour manager? = Did you bother reporting it to your manager?
• I love to swim in the river = I love swimming in the river
• It started to snow = It started snowing

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2. With significant change in meaning

come, go on, need, regret, remember, propose, try

• She came to understand the him [gradual realisation] ≠ She came swimming in the river [sporting activity]
• I remembered to lock the front door [I didn't forget to do it] ≠ I remember locking it [I have a memory of doing it]
• I have tried to lose weight, but its not working out for me [attempted] ≠ Did you try eating oats. [experiment with]?

Verb + past participle

Usualy we observe that one or two verbs can be followed by the past participle,  particularly:

“get”

• Get lost!
• He got robbed.
• It's hard to get going.

Speako Pro Tip #2

Beware False Catenatives!

You must understand that one verb following another verb can make a construction catenative. Consider these examples:

• She worked to earn her bread. ("in order to earn" - infinitive of purpose)
• She wanted to earn her bread. (catenative)
• We stopped to chat to the old women. ("in order to chat" - infinitive of purpose)
• We stopped chatting to the old women. (catenative)

Speako Pro Tip #3

There theoretically can be no limits to the number of catenative verbs in one specific chain. Look at these examples:

• I want to try to dance.
• I decided to arrange to start learning to speak French.

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