In other contexts an infinitive introduced by derelates to the cause or
source of the action indicated by the finite verb:
Me alegro de haber ido. I’m pleased I went.
Nos acusaron de ser espías. They accused us of being spies.
Similar verbs are:
arrepentirse de to regret
cansarse de to tire of
In some cases, however, it is not easy to account for the use of de, thereby
strengthening the general recommendation to learn verbs with their prepo-
sitions:
Acuérdate de apagar las Remember to turn off the lights.
luces.
Alicia trató de convencerlos. Alicia tried to convince them.
(c) Por+ infinitive
This pattern is characteristic of verbs expressing a powerful longing or
struggle ‘for’:
Guillermo está luchando Guillermo is fighting to succeed.
por triunfar.
Se muere por poder hablar She’s dying to be able to talk to
contigo. you.
Similar verbs are:
esforzarse por to make an effort to
rabiar por to be itching/dying to
Poris found also with verbs stating to begin/end ‘by’ or to opt ‘for’:
Siempre acaba por aceptarlo.He always ends up by accepting it.
Al final optó por estudiar In the end she opted for studying
informática. computing.
(d) En+ infinitive
Frequently this pattern matches English verb + ‘in/on’ + gerund:
Luis insistió en venir con Luis insisted on coming with us.
nosotros.
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
Prepositions
+ infinitive
191
