Topics

Intermediate

Verb Complementation

What verbs require infinitives, gerunds, or clauses as objects in Spanish, English and Chinese.

Compare languages

Different verbs select different types of complements. Spanish and English share Latinate patterns. Chinese uses coverbs and serial verb constructions.

Overview

Verb complementation refers to what kinds of structures can follow a verb: another verb (infinitive, gerund), a clause, or a noun phrase.

Spanish: Most verbs take the infinitive. Perception verbs take infinitive or gerund (-ndo). Causative hacer takes infinitive. Verbs of influence trigger subjunctive in clauses.
English: Verbs are idiosyncratic — some take to-infinitive (want to go), some take gerund (enjoy swimming), some take bare infinitive (make him go), some change meaning between forms (stop doing vs stop to do).
Chinese: Verbs are followed directly by other verbs without special marking. Coverbs (叫jiào, 让ràng, 使shǐ) introduce causative complements. Resultative compounds express completion.

Spanish

Infinitive complements

Most Spanish verbs take the infinitive:

Desire / intention:

Quiero ir. (I want to go.)
Espero llegar pronto. (I hope to arrive soon.)
Decidí quedarme. (I decided to stay.)
Intento hacerlo. (I try to do it.)
Necesito estudiar. (I need to study.)

Obligation:

Debo ir. (I must go.)
Tengo que hacerlo. (I have to do it.)
Es necesario venir. (It’s necessary to come.)

Ability:

Puedo ayudarte. (I can help you.)
Sé nadar. (I know how to swim.)

Gerund (-ndo) with estar

Progressive only:

Estoy comiendo. (I am eating.)
Estaba leyendo. (I was reading.)

Perception verbs: infinitive vs gerund

Construction	Meaning
Lo vi hacer algo.	I saw him do something. (completed)
Lo vi haciendo algo.	I saw him doing something. (in progress)

Lo oí cantar. (I heard him sing. — completed)
Lo oí cantando. (I heard him singing. — in progress)

Causative hacer

Hizo reír a todos. (He made everyone laugh.)
Me hizo esperar. (He made me wait.)
La hice llorar. (I made her cry.)

Dejar / permitir

Dejó salir a los niños. (He let the children go out.)
Permitió entrar a Juan. (He allowed Juan to enter.)

Verbs of influence (subjunctive in clause)

Quiero que vengas. (I want you to come. — subjunctive clause)
Mando que lo hagas. (I order you to do it.)
Prefiero que vengas temprano. (I prefer that you come early.)

Gustar-type verbs

Me gusta nadar. (I like swimming. — infinitive)
Me encanta viajar. (I love traveling.)

English

To-infinitive

Desire / intention:

I want to go.
I hope to win.
I decided to stay.
I need to study.
I tried to help.

Obligation:

I must go. (bare infinitive with modal)
I have to go. (semi-modal)
It’s necessary to come.

Future / arrangement:

I plan to leave tomorrow.
I promise to call.

Gerund (-ing)

Enjoyment:

I enjoy swimming.
I love traveling.
I hate waiting.

Avoidance / completion:

I avoid eating meat.
I finished reading the book.
I suggested going early.

Preposition + gerund:

I’m interested in learning.
She insisted on paying.
He apologized for being late.

Verbs that change meaning

Verb + to-infinitive	Verb + gerund
I stopped to smoke (in order to smoke)	I stopped smoking (quit the habit)
I remembered to call (didn’t forget)	I remembered calling (have the memory)
I tried to open it (attempt)	I tried opening it (experiment)
I forgot to call (didn’t do it)	I forgot calling (don’t have the memory)
I regret to inform you (formal bad news)	I regret telling him (past action)

Object + to-infinitive

I told him to leave.
She asked me to help.
They warned us not to go.

Object + bare infinitive

I made him laugh. (causative)
Let me go.
I had him fix it. (causative have)
I saw him leave. (perception)
I heard her sing. (perception)

Object + gerund

I caught him stealing.
I found her waiting.
I smell something burning.

Chinese

Bare verb complements

Chinese verbs take other verbs directly:

Desire / intention:

我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu。(I want to go.)
我wǒ希xī望wàng赢yíng。(I hope to win.)
我wǒ决jué定dìng留liú下xià。(I decided to stay.)

Ability:

我wǒ能néng帮bāng你nǐ。(I can help you.)
我wǒ会huì游yóu泳yǒng。(I know how to swim.)

Like / enjoy:

我wǒ喜xǐ欢huan游yóu泳yǒng。(I like swimming.)
我wǒ爱ài旅lǚ行xíng。(I love traveling.)

Coverb causatives

叫jiào / 让ràng / 使shǐ (tell/let/make):

他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu。(He told me to leave.)
他tā让ràng我wǒ等děng。(He made me wait.)
他tā使shǐ我wǒ生shēng气qì。(He made me angry. — formal)

把bǎ construction (causative/resultative)

我wǒ把bǎ他tā逗dòu笑xiào了le。(I made him laugh.)
我wǒ把bǎ门mén开kāi了le。(I opened the door.)

Resultative compounds

看kàn见jiàn (look + perceive = see)
听tīng懂dǒng (listen + understand = understand by hearing)
做zuò完wán (do + finish = finish doing)
吃chī完wán (eat + finish = finish eating)

在zài for progressive

我wǒ在zài吃chī饭fàn。(I am eating.)
他tā在zài看kàn书shū。(He is reading.)

了le / 过guò / 着zháo as aspect markers

我wǒ吃chī了le。(I ate. / I have eaten.)
我wǒ吃chī过guò。(I have eaten before.)
我wǒ吃chī着zhe饭fàn。(I am eating [state].)

Comparison at a glance

Pattern	Spanish	English	Chinese
Want to go	Quiero ir	I want to go	我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu
Enjoy swimming	Me gusta nadar	I enjoy swimming	我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān游yóu泳yǒng
Tell someone to go	Decir que vaya / Mandar ir	Tell someone to go	叫jiào/让ràng某mǒu人rén走zǒu
Make someone laugh	Hacer reír	Make someone laugh	把bǎ某mǒu人rén逗dòu笑xiào
See someone leave	Ver salir	See someone leave	看kàn见jiàn某mǒu人rén走zǒu了le
Try to do	Intentar hacer	Try to do	试shì着zháo做zuò
Try doing (experiment)	Probar haciendo	Try doing	做zuò做zuò看kàn
Stop to do (in order to)	Parar para hacer	Stop to do	停tíng下xià来lái去qù做zuò
Stop doing (quit)	Dejar de hacer	Stop doing	不bù做zuò了le

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
Quiero ir.	I want to go.	我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu。
Me gusta nadar.	I enjoy swimming.	我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān游yóu泳yǒng。
Me dijo que me fuera. / Me mandó irme.	He told me to leave.	他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu。

Common mistakes

English speakers learning Spanish: Me gusta nadando → Me gusta nadar (infinitive)
Spanish speakers learning English: I enjoy to swim → I enjoy swimming (gerund)
English speakers learning Chinese: 我wǒ想xiǎngto走zǒu → 我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu (no to)
Chinese speakers learning English: I make him to laugh → I make him laugh (bare infinitive)

Gerunds: How -ing forms work
Causatives: How causative constructions work
Modals: How modal verbs combine with complements
Light Verbs: How verb-noun compounds work

Examples

I want to leave

Quiero irse (infinitive)

I enjoy swimming

Me gusta nadar (infinitive)

I decided to stay

Decidí quedarme (infinitive)

He told me to leave

Me dijo que me fuera (subjunctive) / Me mandó irme (infinitive)

I saw him leave

Lo vi irse (infinitive) / Lo vi salir (infinitive)

I made him laugh

Lo hice reír (hacer + infinitive)

I hope to win

Espero ganar (infinitive)

I can't help laughing

No puedo evitar reírme / No puedo por menos de reír

Examples

I want to leave

I want to leave (to-infinitive)

I enjoy swimming

I enjoy swimming (gerund)

I decided to stay

I decided to stay (to-infinitive)

He told me to leave

He told me to leave (object + to-infinitive)

I saw him leave

I saw him leave (bare infinitive)

I made him laugh

I made him laugh (causative make + bare infinitive)

I hope to win

I hope to win (to-infinitive)

I can't help laughing

I can't help laughing (gerund)

Examples

I want to leave

我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu (bare verb)

I enjoy swimming

我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān游yóu泳yǒng (bare verb)

I decided to stay

我wǒ决jué定dìng留liú下xià (bare verb)

He told me to leave

他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu (coverb + object + verb)

I saw him leave

我wǒ看kàn见jiàn他tā走zǒu了le (verb + complement)

I made him laugh

我wǒ把bǎ他tā逗dòu笑xiào了le (把bǎ + object + result verb)

I hope to win

我wǒ希xī望wàng赢yíng (bare verb)

I can't help laughing

我wǒ忍rěn不bù住zhù笑xiào (verb + 不bù住zhù + verb)

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
I want to leave	Quiero irse (infinitive)	I want to leave (to-infinitive)	我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu (bare verb)
I enjoy swimming	Me gusta nadar (infinitive)	I enjoy swimming (gerund)	我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān游yóu泳yǒng (bare verb)
I decided to stay	Decidí quedarme (infinitive)	I decided to stay (to-infinitive)	我wǒ决jué定dìng留liú下xià (bare verb)
He told me to leave	Me dijo que me fuera (subjunctive) / Me mandó irme (infinitive)	He told me to leave (object + to-infinitive)	他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu (coverb + object + verb)
I saw him leave	Lo vi irse (infinitive) / Lo vi salir (infinitive)	I saw him leave (bare infinitive)	我wǒ看kàn见jiàn他tā走zǒu了le (verb + complement)
I made him laugh	Lo hice reír (hacer + infinitive)	I made him laugh (causative make + bare infinitive)	我wǒ把bǎ他tā逗dòu笑xiào了le (把bǎ + object + result verb)
I hope to win	Espero ganar (infinitive)	I hope to win (to-infinitive)	我wǒ希xī望wàng赢yíng (bare verb)
I can't help laughing	No puedo evitar reírme / No puedo por menos de reír	I can't help laughing (gerund)	我wǒ忍rěn不bù住zhù笑xiào (verb + 不bù住zhù + verb)

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
I want to leave	Quiero irse (infinitive)	I want to leave (to-infinitive)	我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu (bare verb)
I enjoy swimming	Me gusta nadar (infinitive)	I enjoy swimming (gerund)	我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān游yóu泳yǒng (bare verb)
I decided to stay	Decidí quedarme (infinitive)	I decided to stay (to-infinitive)	我wǒ决jué定dìng留liú下xià (bare verb)
He told me to leave	Me dijo que me fuera (subjunctive) / Me mandó irme (infinitive)	He told me to leave (object + to-infinitive)	他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu (coverb + object + verb)
I saw him leave	Lo vi irse (infinitive) / Lo vi salir (infinitive)	I saw him leave (bare infinitive)	我wǒ看kàn见jiàn他tā走zǒu了le (verb + complement)
I made him laugh	Lo hice reír (hacer + infinitive)	I made him laugh (causative make + bare infinitive)	我wǒ把bǎ他tā逗dòu笑xiào了le (把bǎ + object + result verb)
I hope to win	Espero ganar (infinitive)	I hope to win (to-infinitive)	我wǒ希xī望wàng赢yíng (bare verb)
I can't help laughing	No puedo evitar reírme / No puedo por menos de reír	I can't help laughing (gerund)	我wǒ忍rěn不bù住zhù笑xiào (verb + 不bù住zhù + verb)

Examples in context

I want to leave

Spanish

Quiero irse (infinitive)

English

I want to leave (to-infinitive)

Chinese

我wǒ想xiǎng走zǒu (bare verb)

I enjoy swimming

Spanish

Me gusta nadar (infinitive)

English

I enjoy swimming (gerund)

Chinese

我wǒ喜xǐ欢huān游yóu泳yǒng (bare verb)

I decided to stay

Spanish

Decidí quedarme (infinitive)

English

I decided to stay (to-infinitive)

Chinese

我wǒ决jué定dìng留liú下xià (bare verb)

He told me to leave

Spanish

Me dijo que me fuera (subjunctive) / Me mandó irme (infinitive)

English

He told me to leave (object + to-infinitive)

Chinese

他tā叫jiào我wǒ走zǒu (coverb + object + verb)

I saw him leave

Spanish

Lo vi irse (infinitive) / Lo vi salir (infinitive)

English

I saw him leave (bare infinitive)

Chinese

我wǒ看kàn见jiàn他tā走zǒu了le (verb + complement)

I made him laugh

Spanish

Lo hice reír (hacer + infinitive)

English

I made him laugh (causative make + bare infinitive)

Chinese

我wǒ把bǎ他tā逗dòu笑xiào了le (把bǎ + object + result verb)

I hope to win

Spanish

Espero ganar (infinitive)

English

I hope to win (to-infinitive)

Chinese

我wǒ希xī望wàng赢yíng (bare verb)

I can't help laughing

Spanish

No puedo evitar reírme / No puedo por menos de reír

English

I can't help laughing (gerund)

Chinese

我wǒ忍rěn不bù住zhù笑xiào (verb + 不bù住zhù + verb)

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Most verbs take the infinitive. Perception verbs take infinitive or gerund (-ndo). Causative hacer takes infinitive. Verbs of influence trig.

English: Verbs are idiosyncratic — some take to-infinitive (want to go), some take gerund (enjoy swimming), some take bare infinitive (make him go),.

Chinese: Verbs are followed directly by other verbs without special marking. Coverbs (叫jiào, 让ràng, 使shǐ) introduce causative complements. Resultativ.

Key concepts compared: I want to leave, I enjoy swimming, I decided to stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Spanish and English require infinitive markers ('to,' 'a,' 'de') after certain verbs while Chinese concatenates verbs directly?

English uses 'to' + infinitive after many verbs: 'I want TO leave.' Spanish uses *a* or *de* + infinitive: *Quiero ir* (want to-go), *Decidí ir* (decided to-go). Chinese concatenates bare verbs: <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>想<rt>xiǎng</rt></ruby><ruby>走<rt>zǒu</rt></ruby> (I want leave). An English speaker learning Chinese will insert 'to' where it does not exist: <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>想<rt>xiǎng</rt></ruby><ruby>去<rt>qù</rt></ruby><ruby>走<rt>zǒu</rt></ruby> (I want go leave — ungrammatical). A Chinese speaker learning English will omit 'to': 'I want leave.' The pattern is predictable: Spanish and English are 'marker languages' that require explicit links between matrix verbs and complements, while Chinese is a 'concatenation language' that strings verbs together.

How does the English gerund vs. infinitive distinction create errors for Spanish and Chinese speakers?

English distinguishes between gerund (-ing) and infinitive complements: 'I enjoy SWIMMING' (gerund only), 'I decided TO swim' (infinitive only), 'I like SWIMMING / TO swim' (both). Spanish does not make this distinction morphologically: *Me gusta nadar* (I like to-swim) uses the infinitive for all cases. Chinese uses bare verbs: <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>喜<rt>xǐ</rt></ruby><ruby>欢<rt>huan</rt></ruby><ruby>游<rt>yóu</rt></ruby><ruby>泳<rt>yǒng</rt></ruby> (I like swim). An English speaker learning Spanish will use the gerund: *Me gusta nadando* (ungrammatical). A Spanish speaker learning English will overuse infinitives: 'I enjoy to swim' (ungrammatical). A Chinese speaker learning English will omit both markers: 'I enjoy swim' (ungrammatical). The English gerund/infinitive split is one of the most arbitrary systems in English grammar.

Why do Chinese causative constructions with <ruby>叫<rt>jiào</rt></ruby>, <ruby>让<rt>ràng</rt></ruby>, and <ruby>使<rt>shǐ</rt></ruby> confuse English and Spanish speakers?

Chinese coverbs introduce causative complements directly: <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>叫<rt>jiào</rt></ruby><ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby> (I called him come = I told him to come). English requires 'to': 'I told him TO come.' Spanish requires *que* + subjunctive: *Le dije que viniera.* An English speaker learning Chinese will insert 'to': <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>叫<rt>jiào</rt></ruby><ruby>他<rt>tā</rt></ruby><ruby>去<rt>qù</rt></ruby><ruby>来<rt>lái</rt></ruby> (I called him go come — ungrammatical). A Spanish speaker will use a subordinate clause structure. Chinese speakers learning English will omit 'to': 'I told him come.' Chinese speakers learning Spanish will omit the subjunctive. The core issue is that Chinese causatives are monoclausal while English and Spanish causatives are biclausal, requiring different grammatical machinery.

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

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verb-tenses transitivity

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Infinitive complements

Gerund (-ndo) with estar

Perception verbs: infinitive vs gerund

Causative hacer

Dejar / permitir

Verbs of influence (subjunctive in clause)

Gustar-type verbs

English

To-infinitive

Gerund (-ing)

Verbs that change meaning

Object + to-infinitive

Object + bare infinitive

Object + gerund

Chinese

Bare verb complements

Coverb causatives

把bǎ construction (causative/resultative)

Resultative compounds

在zài for progressive

了le / 过guò / 着zháo as aspect markers

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References