2 verbs

Question

Hello,
I have another question. I used to be taught like if there are 2 verbs that go together then the second one has to add "ing". But how come a lot of people say things like "go get it" or "go eat"? why not " go eating" or "go getting"?
Or I hear this a lot: "I am looking forward to meeting you". Can I say: "I am looking forward to meet you"? Isn't that true that a verb that starts with the word "to" should be original like "to go" or "to play"?

Thanks,
Ky

MountainHiker · Accepted Answer

kynquyen,

I have another question. I used to be taught like if there are 2 verbs that go together then the second one has to add "ing".

I have not heard that rule before. It does not mean it does not exist. But I never heard it.

But how come a lot of people say things like "go get it" or "go eat"? why not " go eating" or "go getting"?

I am not sure how to answer your question. But I do know that "go get it" etc., are correct. Go do it. That is also correct.

Or I hear this a lot: "I am looking forward to meeting you". Can I say: "I am looking forward to meet you"? Isn't that true that a verb that starts with the word "to" should be original like "to go" or "to play"?

Both "I am looking forward to meeting you." and "I am looking forward to meet you." are commonly used. When I first read your question, I thought, "hmmmm, which is correct as they both sound very familiar." So what I did was put an entire phrase in Google "I am looking forward to meeting you" and then did a search. If I got a lot of hits, then I know it must be okay.

So now that we know that either form is acceptable, then we also know that where we have the "to + verb" that the verb need not be in its "simple" form.

I am looking forward to meeting you.

Let's examine the two sentences where we have the "meet" variation.

I am looking forward to meeting you. This to me implies more stress on the meeting process. You are meeting an attractive person for a date. You are looking forward to meeting them and learning about them. You are looking forward to the process of discovery.

I am looking forward to meet you. This to me implies more stress on the simple act of making an acquaintance and then moving on. You are about to close a business deal with your counterpart. You've never actually met, but just have dealt with each other over the phone. Now, you are going to fly to meet him and sign the contract. Yes, it is nice to meet him, but you are really focused on getting the contract signed.

The preceding paragraphs are exaggerated. I am sure people use the two form interchangeably all the time without thinking twice. But I were pressed to discuss a difference of why you might use one over the other, the preceding paragraphs would be my answer.

It's subtle. One is stressing the "meeting" or process of discovery, and the other is stressing the event itself.

Migo · Answer

You're not going to have a gerund if it's an imperative. Go getting would be something that a go getter does, that's entering the realm of colloquial speech though. Something else you have to think about is whether you're using to be or to do. To be will take a gerund whereas to do will take a verb.

If you want to say "go eating" it would be in a case like "He will go eating" which means the same thing as "He will be eating as he goes" as opposed to "He will go fishing" which means "He is going to fish" you're going to have a bunch of individual cases here, and depending on which verb or gerund is being used you're going to get a different meaning.

Miriam · Answer

Hello, kynguyen

You said:
"'I am looking forward to meeting you'. Can I say: 'I am looking forward to meet you'? Isn't that true that a verb that starts with the word 'to' should be original like 'to go' or 'to play'?

The problem with your example "I am looking forward to meet you" is that "meet" doesn't start with "to". "To" is part of "look forward to".

"Look forward to" is what is called a "phrasal prepositional" verb in which "to" is part of the verb, not of any construction you may use after it.
"To" is not part of an infinitive in this construction. It is a preposition and, as such, it must be followed by either an -ing form or a noun:

"Im looking forward to hearing from you"
"I'm looking forward to your graduation."

"I'm looking forwards to hear from you" is grammatically incorrect.
-------------------------

You said:
"I used to be taught like if there are 2 verbs that go together then the second one has to add 'ing'."
There are three possibilities when you have a verb following another verb:
1. the second verb can only be an infinitive
2. the second verb can only be an -ing form
3. the second verb can have either form and both are correct

Examples:
1. Verbs such as agree, wish, refuse, ask, choose, hope, claim, demand, want, dare, learn,
offer and deserve, among others, are followed by an infinitive.
2. Verbs such as give up, finish, suggest, practise, among others, are followed by an -ing participle.
3. Verbs such as hate, like, love, neglect, prefer, regret, start, begin, among others can be followed by either an infinitive or an -ing participle.

There are cases in which "and" and/or "to" are omitted between two verbs, such as in "go get your coat" (instead of "go and get your coat") or in "go do your homework" (instead of "go and/to do your homework"). I don't know the reason for this, and I believe it is colloquial, if not plain slang. I only know I've both heard it and read it, so it means that some poeple use these forms. How correct they are, I'm not sure.

Miriam

MountainHiker · Answer

Miriam wrote the following two quotes:

There are cases in which "and" and/or "to" are omitted between two verbs, such as in "go get your coat" (instead of "go and get your coat") or in "go do your homework" (instead of "go and/to do your homework"). I don't know the reason for this, and I believe it is colloquial, if not plain slang. I only know I've both heard it and read it, so it means that some poeple use these forms.

Migo wrote:
"Google isn't an appropriate means of determining whether something is correct or not."

I couldn't agree more.

Let's see if we can use google to solve this question of whether "go get your coat" is is colloquial, if not plain slang.

Searching for the phrase, "go get your coat", we find an interesting sites.

Using that phrase, we find sites dedicated to [url="http://www.tolkienonline.com/docs/16449.html"]Tolkien[/url] to [url="http://www.cps.ca/english/publications/cpsnews/2003/SeptOct/AddVoice.htm"]Canadian Paediatrician Society[/url] to [url="http://www.gnb.ca/0217/InfantHearing-e.asp"]Government of New Brunswick Hospital Services[/url] to [url="http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/hesguide/humanrel/gh6123.htm"]University of Missouri - Human Environmental Sciences[/url] and on and on.

Now maybe they all use colloquial speech, or even plain slang?

Google can be an excellent tool to problem solve on our own. Is a phrase commonly used by "reputable" (such as government bodies etc.,) agencies? If yes, then there is an excellent chance that it is okay. Not a full proof method, to be sure, but it certainly beats guessing, doesn't it?

How about if we tried, "git yer coat". Not a lot of hits. But then again, just maybe the Internet just hasn't cottoned on to this potential new phrase yet?

So I would not be so quick and dismissive of Google as an important tool for learning English. With only a few mouse clicks, one can see if a phrase is commonly used by reputable sources. You can also browse the context in which the phrase or sentence is used to further increase your learning.

If it is a commonly used phrase, we should have some comfort that the phrase is at least colloquial?

But as I discussed with my good friend Migo, Google is not the end-all and be-all as he stated eloquently.

Migo wrote...

I agree google is a viable research tool, but anything that turns up would have to be verified beyond the fact that it was found using google. Also, while a number of results does indicate that it may have entered common usage, a lack of results doesn't necessarily mean that it hasn't.

I use google myself, but I don't rely on the results turned up by it unless they can be independently verified.

You are correct, Miriam, that there are a lot of "go verb" type sentences.

Go wash your face.
Go dry your hair.
Go water the lawn.
Go practice the piano.
and so on.

And yes, you could write each of the above with "Go AND..."

But the word "and" is very commonly skipped.

This structure is sooo commonly used that, if it was "colloquial" at one point in time, it is now accepted English. It is definitely NOT slang.

Kynguyen · Answer

Hi,

Miriam said: The problem with your example "I am looking forward to meet you" is that "meet" doesn't start with "to". "To" is part of "look forward to".
This, I understand but what about the word "need" for example? it can be used with "to" or without "to". Infact I think most of the verbs can be used with or without "to", right?
For ex: I need to have a vacation. Or I need a vacation. But we can also say I need the money for my vacation. Is it correct to say : I need to having a vacation?

Thanks all for all the interesting posts earlier.

Ky

MountainHiker · Answer

Is it correct to say : I need to having a vacation?

No. You were correct earlier when you wrote, "I need to have a vacation."

Or you could write, "I need to take a vacation."

But I like this even more, "Or I need a vacation."

Hope that helps.

Miriam · Answer

Hello again, kynguyen

You said:
"In fact I think most of the verbs can be used with or without "to", right?
For ex: I need to have a vacation. Or I need a vacation."

You used the verb "need" as an exampe of the verbs that can be used with or without the particle "to".
But the particle "to", when it is part of an infinitive, will precede the verb, not follow it.

In "I need to take a vacation" the infinitive is "to take", whereas "need" is a conjugated verb in the simple present tense.

In your second and third examples, "I need a vacation" and "I need the money for my vacation", there is no infinitive at all. The verb "need" is again in the simple present, and the constructions that follow the verb, in both sentences, are noun phrases (the main word in those constructions is a noun). That is why no "to" is needed. Actually, the use of "to" either before or after "need" in those two sentences would be incorrect.

Your fourth example, "I need to taking a vacation" is also incorrect, as was pointed out in the previous post. The reason, again, is that "to" has to appear before the verb when it is part of an infinitive. That is the reason why this type of infinitive is called "to-infinitive": the name shows the order in which both the particle "to" and the verb must appear, and that order can't be altered.
In "I need to taking a vacation", "to" does not "belong" to "need". It is part of the following verb, "take", which should be a "to-infinitive" (not an -ing form); so "taking" is incorrect. The infinitives, in English, are the "base" form of the verb, the verb as you would find it in a dictionary entry. The ending "-ing" is added to a verb after the particle "to" only when "to" is a preposition.

Have a look at these sentences, in which "to" precedes "take" and, together with it, forms a "to-infinitive":
"I have to take a vacation."
"I need to take a vacation."
"I want to take a vacation."
"I would like to take a vacation."

In all the above examples, "to" does not have a meaning and is only use as part of an infinitive verb. It is different from the "to" used in "I'm looking forward to seeing you soon", where it is a preposition and has a meaning of its own.

Miriam

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