一,这个问题其实很简单,你只要理解一个大的原则就可以了,就是:
动词后的不定式往往表示:你打算做的具体的活动 ;而动名词往往表示:你经历了的经验。
所以,enjoy后只能是动名词,比如:
I enjoy listening to music.
你肯定有听过音乐的经验,否则你说不出这样的话来。
同样,want的后面只能是不定式,因为你想做某事,这事肯定还没有做(注意,是站在谓语动词的时间点,这个问题这里不展开),所以只能说: I want to listen to music.
再比如admit这个词,你只能说:
He admitted stealing my money.
而如果是plan那就只能是不定式了:
He is planning to steal money.
二,这样的一种大的原则是普遍的——也就是说不仅是动词后适用,在任何地方任何时候都适用。比如:
听音乐是我的爱好。
Listening to music is my hobby.
My hobby is listening to music.
今年结婚是我的计划。
To get married this year is my plan.
My plan is to get married this year.
有了这样的原则,我们就知道,我们翻译句子时一定要看清句子的意思,比如:
我的工作就是在知乎上写文章。
My job is writing articles on Zhihu.
今天,你的工作就是在知乎上写一篇文章。Today, your job is to write an article on Zhifu.
某教材上曾经有这样的句子:Going to a British high school for two years of study was a very exciting and enjoyable experience for me. 这里的动名词就表明了说话人已经去过英国学校学习了。如果换个说法:To go to a British high school for two years of study is my biggest dream in the near future. 意思就完全不一样了。
——当然,原则不是数学公式,不少时候我们还得具体问题具体分析。
——"to do --"叫不定式,"doing --"叫动名词,它们都是非谓语动词的一种,要知道如何正确地使用非谓语动词,你首先得弄清楚:非谓语动词是怎么来的?
这个问题,可参阅:
Now, I want to hit the '赞同' button !
Hitting the '赞同' button after reading a good answer is my habit.
附录:
一,后面常接动名词的动词列表
advise Doctors generally advised doing exercise.
allow The European Union doesn't allow smoking in bars.
anticipate I anticipated getting stuck in traffic.
appreciate I appreciated Danny helping me.
avoid He avoided talking to her.
begin I began learning Spanish.
can't bear He can't bear being late.
can't help He can't help drinking so much.
can't see I can't see us living in London.
can't stand He can't stand her smoking in the street.
cease The government ceased providing free healthcare.
complete He completed renovating the house.
consider She considered moving to Amsterdam.
continue He continued talking.
defend The lawyer defended her making such statements.
delay He delayed replying to the letter.
deny He denied committing the crime.
despise She despises waking up early.
discuss We discussed working at the company.
dislike She dislikes being ignored.
don't mind I don't mind helping you.
dread She dreads meeting her in-laws.
encourage He encourages eating healthy foods.
enjoy We enjoy swimming.
finish He finished doing his homework.
forget I forgot giving you my book.
hate I hate doing the ironing.
imagine He imagines working there one day.
involve The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.
keep She kept interrupting me.
like She likes listening to music.
love I love reading.
mention He mentioned going to the theatre tonight.
mind Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes.
miss She misses living near the shops.
need The aquarium needs cleaning.
neglect Sometimes she neglects doing her homework.
permit Most hotels do not permit smoking in restaurants.
postpone He postponed returning to Paris.
practice She practiced singing the song.
prefer He prefers sitting at the back of the movie theatre.
propose I proposed having lunch at the beach.
quit She quit worrying about the problem.
recall Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.
recommend Tony recommended taking the train.
regret She regretted saying that.
remember I remember telling her the address yesterday.
report He reported her using office property for her personal use.
require The certificate requires completing two courses.
resist He resisted asking for help.
risk He risked being caught.
start He started studying harder.
stop She stopped working at 5 o'clock.
suggest They suggested staying at the hotel.
tolerate I tolerated them being at the party.
try Sam tried opening the lock with a paperclip.
understand I understand his quitting.
urge They urge recycling bottles and paper.
二,后面常接不定式的动词列表
agree Sarah agreed to help me.
appear His health appeared to be better.
arrange Peter arranged to stay with his uncle in Paris.
ask She asked to leave.
begin He began to talk.
can't bear He can't bear to be ignored.
can't stand David can't stand to work in an office.
care He doesn't care to participate in the charity run.
cease The government ceased to provide free healthcare.
choose I chose to help.
claim She claimed to be a doctor.
continue She continued to talk.
decide We decided to go to Paris.
demand He demanded to speak to the manager.
deserve He deserves to go to jail.
dread I dread to think what might have happened.
expect They expect to arrive early.
fail He failed to get enough money to pay for the new project.
forget I forgot to lock the door when I left.
get (be allowed to) John gets to go to the concert next week! Why can't I?
happen She happened to be in Latin America during the riots.
hate He hates to be proved wrong.
hesitate She hesitated to tell me the problem.
hope I hope to begin college this year.
intend We intend to visit you next spring.
learn I learned to speak Russian when I was a kid.
like Chris likes to read.
love We love to scuba dive.
manage He managed to open the door without the key.
need I need to study.
neglect She neglected to tell me the date of the meeting.
offer Donald offered to drive us to the supermarket.
plan We plan to go to America this summer.
prefer He prefers to eat at Italian restaurants.
prepare They prepared to take the test.
pretend The child pretended to be a monster.
promise She promised to stop smoking.
propose Dad proposed to pay for the trip.
refuse The guard refused to let them enter the building.
regret I regret to inform you that your application was rejected.
remember Did you remember to lock the door when you left?
seem Sarah seemed to be disappointed.
start Marc started to talk really fast.
swear Anne swore to tell the truth.
tend Matt tends to be a little shy.
threaten Alison threatened to leave forever.
try Joanna tried to lift the table, but it was too heavy.
wait Sue waited to buy a movie ticket.
want I want to study Spanish.
wish I wish to stay.
would like We would like to start now.
有个诀窍。
就是用一下自己的逻辑思维。
为什么英语中有些动词后只能接 doing,而不能接 to do?
finish doing sth.
完成做啥事, 讲的是结束一个动作的过程, 当然 “DOING STH” 就是个被完成的目标或者说“宾语”。
你可以说, I finish doing chicken to do soup.
俺做完鸡要做汤。
而 to do 指的是某种意愿或者计划或者即将开始的动作。
You finish preheating to bake the pizza.
您预热完(烤箱)就烤批萨。
这就是接 to do 的实例。
kids finish (elementary) to go secondary (school).
孩子们完成(小学)后, 要上中学。
这都是很自然的说法。
别被语法书给绕晕了。
动词的用法在字典里面有十分详细的示范。
牛津英语用法那本书也有相当的篇幅讲这样的现象和用法。
上世纪八十年代,俺用的是商务印书馆的第一版 18 元人民币而已。 不知道为什么现在字典都那么贵了。
您依样画葫芦(牛津英语用法/字典)就差不多了。
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
俺知乎阅读总量只有 9000万, 没跨出一小步 (n<1亿)。盐值低迷(半年了还 900)希望长点盐值。俺的回答您当笑话看看就算了, 别太当真, 不然会被贴吧网友耻笑。
“老麦, 大家都说你是笑话、论坛孤儿和神棍。”
“没错。 只有万分之0.5的读者赞同俺的观点。”