Episode 47: I Enjoy Learning

verb + -ing — Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance (B1-B2)

Grammar Box

Meaning: Certain verbs are followed by -ing forms (gerunds) when we talk about activities, experiences, or states we enjoy, finish, avoid, or consider.

Form: enjoy/finish/avoid/consider/mind/keep/suggest + verb-ing

Example 1: I enjoy reading before bed every night.

Example 2: She finished writing her thesis last month.

Common mistake: Wrong: I enjoy to read. Better: I enjoy reading.

The Challenge

Luna looked at her growing list of hobbies: painting, cooking, learning languages. She wanted to describe her passions. “I enjoy to paint”? That sounded wrong. “I enjoy painting”? That felt right, but why? And what about “I finished to write” versus “I finished writing”? The watch glowed with Renaissance gold. Professor Wisdom appeared holding sketches of flying machines. “Some verbs,” he said, “demand the -ing form because they describe experiences in progress, not completed actions. Let me show you history’s greatest enjoyer of learning.”

The Journey

Florence, 1490s. Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop was organized chaos. Half-finished paintings leaned against walls. Anatomical drawings covered tables. Mechanical designs hung from strings. At sixty, Leonardo was still learning, still experimenting, still refusing to specialize. A wealthy patron entered, frustrated: “Leonardo, when will you finish painting my portrait? You keep starting new projects!”

Leonardo looked up from dissecting a cadaver. “Signore, I enjoy learning more than I enjoy completing. I’ve finished painting faces, yes, but I haven’t finished understanding how faces work. I keep discovering new things — the way light hits skin, how muscles create expressions. I can’t stop investigating.” The patron shook his head, but Leonardo continued, unbothered. “Most painters avoid studying anatomy. They consider it unnecessary. But I don’t mind spending years on one question if it means really knowing.”

His assistant, Francesco, understood. He had watched Leonardo spend three years painting one portrait while simultaneously designing weapons, studying bird flight, and mapping human organs. “Master,” Francesco asked, “don’t you ever finish anything?” Leonardo smiled. “I finish learning one thing, then I start learning another. I enjoy asking questions more than I enjoy having answers. I keep questioning because that’s where truth lives.”

Later, in his notebooks, Leonardo wrote: “I have offended God and mankind because my work didn’t reach the quality it should have.” But his real offense wasn’t incomplete projects — it was that he enjoyed the process too much to rush to the end. He couldn’t stop exploring. He avoided certainty. He kept pushing. And that restless curiosity, that refusal to finish learning, gave humanity the Mona Lisa, flying machine designs, and anatomical drawings that wouldn’t be matched for centuries.

He didn’t just paint. He didn’t just invent. He enjoyed learning itself. And the -ing form was perfect for him — because he was always in the middle of something, never quite done, forever becoming.

The Deep Dive

Certain verbs naturally take the -ing form because they describe activities as ongoing experiences or states. Verbs like enjoy, finish, avoid, keep, mind, and consider focus on the activity itself, not the completion. We say “I enjoy reading” because enjoying happens during the reading, not after it. We say “I finished writing” because finishing focuses on the activity’s end point.

The -ing form (gerund) functions as a noun representing the activity. “Reading” in “I enjoy reading” is the object of the verb “enjoy.” Other verbs in this category include: admit, deny, suggest, risk, miss, practice, quit, imagine, and delay. Each focuses on the experience or process rather than a future intention.

This contrasts with verbs that take “to + infinitive,” like want, decide, plan, hope — these focus on future intentions or purposes. Understanding which verbs take -ing and which take to-infinitive is crucial for intermediate learners. Some verbs can take both but with different meanings, which we’ll explore in later episodes.

More Examples

History: Edison admitted making thousands of mistakes but never stopped trying new approaches to invention.

Science: Marie Curie risked her health by continuing to work with radioactive materials without protection.

Everyday: I’ve finished reading that book you recommended, and now I’m considering starting the sequel.

Formal: The committee suggested postponing the decision until more data became available.

Informal: I don’t mind waiting if you need more time to get ready.

Contrast: “I finished to write” (wrong) vs “I finished writing” (correct) — “finish” requires -ing form.

Practice & Reflection

Exercises:

Fill in the blank: Leonardo never stopped _ new things, and he always avoided _ in one field. (learn / specialize)
Correct the mistake: I enjoy to paint landscapes on weekends.
Choose and explain: “She __ studying medicine after two years.”
a) finished
b) wanted
Rewrite: Use “enjoy” + -ing: “I like when I travel to new places.” → “__”
Compare: Which sounds natural: “I mind to wait” or “I mind waiting”?
Your reflection: What activity do you enjoy doing? Write a sentence using “enjoy” + verb-ing.

Answer Key:

learning / specializing — both verbs (stop, avoid) take -ing form
I enjoy painting — “enjoy” requires -ing, not to-infinitive
a) finished — fits with -ing form; “wanted” would need “to + verb”
I enjoy traveling to new places — “enjoy” + -ing
I mind waiting — “mind” takes -ing form
Check: Did you use “enjoy” + verb-ing correctly?

The Lesson

Luna smiled, writing in her journal: “I enjoy painting. I finished learning basic Spanish. I keep discovering new interests.” The watch dimmed. She thought about Leonardo, forever in the middle of something, never quite done. Maybe completion isn’t the goal. Maybe we don’t finish learning — we just keep enjoying it. And the grammar? It’s perfect for that. The -ing form doesn’t promise an end. It celebrates the middle. The beautiful, messy, ongoing middle where life actually happens.