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Why does the verb "continue" take the infinitive form sometimes instead of the gerund form in its progressive form?:

-I continue to love my wife.

-She continues to study at the same college.

Is there another verb which occupies this same special structure?

Juan Zarate
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    Maybe because continue is, by definition, progressive, even when it's used in a simple tense. Check out stative verbs. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/stative-verbs – JavaLatte Apr 10 '17 at 16:30
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    I think you mean simple present, not infinitive. "I continue" and "she continues" are just the simple present. – stangdon Apr 10 '17 at 17:21
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    I think that's similar to many other verbs like "start", "leave", ... . These verbs allow both infinitives and present participle. In other words, I do not see any irregularity. – Cardinal Apr 10 '17 at 17:33
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    Which verbs allow a gerund (I finished working at noon) and which do not requires practice. That said, the verb continue sometimes does and sometimes does not: He continued speaking after his lesson. He continued to speak after his lesson. The verbs start and begin can also take both. There is a technical difference in meaning but not a practical one. (The linguistic difference has not been well explained by English-speaking grammarians though the difference has been explained by a French grammarian, specializing in English). – Lambie Apr 10 '17 at 18:21

1 Answers1

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You can use either a to-infinitive or an -ing form immediately after the verb continue, without any difference in meaning. For example:

Do you plan to contine working after the baby is born? = Do you plan to continue to work after the baby is born? (Merriam-Webster Learner's)

The use of the to-infinitive is a bit more common.

There are many other words that can take either a to-infinitive or an -ing form, such as start, begin, intend, like love, hate.

Khan
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