Verb Patterns: Verb + Object + To Practice Tests with C1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Verb Patterns: Verb + Object + To

In English, some verbs follow a specific pattern where you use a verb + object + to + infinitive. This pattern is extremely common in academic writing, professional communication, and everyday speech at an advanced level. Understanding this verb pattern will help you express complex ideas about causing, expecting, or wanting someone to do something.

Look at these examples:

"The manager asked her team to submit the report by Friday."
"The new law requires all companies to disclose their earnings."
"She encouraged her students to think critically."

In each sentence, a verb is followed by an object (a person or thing) and then to + infinitive (the base form of another verb). This is the verb + object + to pattern.

What Is the Verb + Object + To Pattern?

Before we go further, let us clarify the key terms:

• Verb – the action word in the sentence (e.g. ask, want, expect)
• Object – the person or thing receiving the action (e.g. her, the students, us)
• To + infinitive – the word to followed by the base form of a verb (e.g. to leave, to finish, to consider)

The basic structure looks like this:

Subject + Verb + Object + to + Infinitive

Common Verbs That Use Verb + Object + To

Many different verbs follow this pattern. They can be grouped by their general meaning to help you remember them more easily.

Verbs of Instruction and Request

These verbs involve telling or asking someone to do something.

Verbs of Desire and Preference

These verbs express what someone wants or would like another person to do.

Verbs of Encouragement and Persuasion

These verbs are used when someone tries to influence another person's behaviour positively or negatively.

Verbs of Expectation and Belief

These verbs express what someone thinks or assumes another person will do.

Verbs of Permission and Cause

These verbs indicate that someone is allowed, enabled, or forced to do something.

Verbs of Advice and Recommendation

Forming the Negative: Verb + Object + Not + To

To make this pattern negative, place not directly before to. Do not add a negative form to the main verb.

Structure: Subject + Verb + Object + not + to + Infinitive

• She told him not to interrupt during the presentation.
• The doctor advised her not to consume alcohol while taking the medication.
• We warned them not to sign the contract without legal advice.
• He asked us not to share the information publicly.
• The manager instructed the team not to contact the client directly.

Passive Voice with Verb + Object + To

Many verbs in this pattern can be used in the passive voice. In the passive, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, and the verb becomes to be + past participle.

Active: The board expected the director to resign.
Passive: The director was expected to resign.

Active: They required all staff to complete the training.
Passive: All staff were required to complete the training.

Active: The company asked employees to work overtime.
Passive: Employees were asked to work overtime.

Special Cases and Advanced Usage

Using a Perfect Infinitive: To Have + Past Participle

With certain verbs — especially those of belief, expectation, and report — you can use a perfect infinitive (to have + past participle) to show that one action happened before the other.

• She is believed to have stolen the documents before leaving the country. (The theft happened before we are speaking now.)
• He was reported to have falsified the accounts. (The falsification happened before the reporting.)
• The suspect is alleged to have fled the country.
• We understand her to have resigned due to personal reasons.

Verbs That Can Also Take a Gerund or That-Clause

Some verbs in this group can alternatively be followed by a that-clause or a gerund, sometimes with a slight change in meaning or register.

Verbs That Require an Object Before the Infinitive

Unlike verbs such as hope or decide (which take a direct infinitive), the verbs in this lesson must have an object before to. Omitting the object creates an ungrammatical sentence.

• ❌ She told to leave.
• ✅ She told him to leave.
• ❌ They asked to complete the form. (ambiguous — who?)
• ✅ They asked us to complete the form.

Important Differences: Similar Verbs With Different Patterns

Make and Let vs. Verb + Object + To

Two very common verbs — make and let — cause confusion because they follow a slightly different pattern. In their active forms, make and let use the bare infinitive (without to).

Notice that when make is used in the passive, it does require to. This is an important exception to remember.

Help: Both Forms Are Possible

The verb help is unique in that it can be followed by either a bare infinitive or to + infinitive with no significant difference in meaning.

• She helped him understand the contract. ✅
• She helped him to understand the contract. ✅

Verbs That Do Not Follow This Pattern

Not all verbs can be used in the verb + object + to pattern. These common verbs cannot be followed by an object and then a to-infinitive:

• suggest – ❌ She suggested him to apply. → ✅ She suggested that he apply. / She suggested applying.
• recommend (without a personal object) – ❌ I recommend you to try it. → ✅ I recommend that you try it. (Some speakers accept this form; it remains disputed in formal usage.)
• propose – ❌ He proposed her to take the lead. → ✅ He proposed that she take the lead.
• insist – ❌ She insisted him to leave. → ✅ She insisted that he leave.

Common Mistakes

❌ She told to him to call back later.
✅ She told him to call back later.
(Do not add "to" before the object.)

❌ They made her to rewrite the entire proposal.
✅ They made her rewrite the entire proposal.
(In active sentences, "make" uses the bare infinitive — no "to".)

❌ The manager suggested her team to work faster.
✅ The manager suggested that her team work faster.
("Suggest" does not follow the verb + object + to pattern.)

❌ He expected her finishing the report by noon.
✅ He expected her to finish the report by noon.
("Expect" requires "to + infinitive", not a gerund after the object.)

❌ We urged them not leaving the building.
✅ We urged them not to leave the building.
(The negative form places "not" before "to", not before the gerund.)

❌ The law requires to declare all income.
✅ The law requires taxpayers to declare all income.
("Require" must have an object before the infinitive in active constructions.)

❌ She was made leave the meeting early.
✅ She was made to leave the meeting early.
(In the passive, "make" does require "to" before the infinitive.)

❌ I want that you reconsider the offer.
✅ I want you to reconsider the offer.
("Want" cannot be followed by a "that"-clause; it requires the verb + object + to pattern.)

Verb + Object + To: Quick Summary

The verb + object + to pattern is an essential structure at C1 level. Here are the key points to remember:

• The structure is: Subject + Verb + Object + to + Infinitive
• The object (a noun or pronoun) must appear between the main verb and the infinitive.
• To make the pattern negative, use: verb + object + not + to + infinitive
• In the passive voice, the object becomes the subject: "She was told to attend."
• A perfect infinitive (to have + past participle) can show that one action preceded another.
• Make and let use a bare infinitive in active sentences, but make uses to in the passive.
• Verbs like suggest, propose, and insist do not follow this pattern — they require a that-clause instead.
• The verb help can take either the bare infinitive or to + infinitive.

Now practise verb + object + to patterns in the exercises below.