Today, while I was writing a comment on a blog, I had to google because I wanted to make sure that I was writing correctly.
I was trying to use a phrasal verb (look forward to). I was almost sure that the following verb should be written using gerund (actually I was right). But, I decided to check on Google (decide is followed by infinitive, I still remember this).
I solved my problem, but I found an interesting explanation at BBC Learning English website about the usage of the verb agree. I've never completely understood why agree could be followed by infinitive or gerund. I just learned by heart the rules. I hate to memorize rules. I prefer to understand.
According to the article there are two ways of using agree with practically the same meaning:
- Agree to can be a phrasal verb; thus, followed by gerund.
- Or it can be the non-phrasal verb (just agree); so, followed by infinitive.
I recommend this article if you are not an English native speaker and have this kind of difficulty.
That's a good article. I also ask myself why English teachers are so addicted to trying to teach the language without any insight about real grammar rules, "protecting" us from them (don't we need to study these rules for our native language? Why not English?). Maybe they think this method would make students quit more often. "It must be easy, so don't show them the real thing" - they may think. My point is that this is ridiculous, since everything you learn by heart only makes sense if you use it everyday. If you don't, sooner or later you will forget, and that's what happens with foreign language usage.
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