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Provided that "It's totally useless to run after someone who does not make the slightest effort to listen to you", e.g. when you are always there, trying to stop someone from making a mess, but he/she doesn't care about that and continues to go on his/her own and the situation repeats again and again, until you get annoyed and you don't want to help him/her anymore, is it correctly (grammatically and semantically) to say:

"You know what?!?! I have no intention to run after you, no more!!!"?

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  • By "run after you", you seem to mean something like "look after you" or "take care of you" or "clean up after you". I don't think "run after you" is a generally accepted way of expressing this idea. Maybe "run around after you" is a bit closer to the mark.
    – Doug Warren
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 18:51
  • @DougWarren But we can say foe example "You know, I'm not running after you, bro", or something like that, I guess it's correct, isn't it?
    – user3019105
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 18:54

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Short answer: Almost! The fallacy is in your last bit, "no more", I think. It should be "I have no intention of running after you, anymore."

Reason: It's kind of like the common mistake where people say "you don't know nothing." That sentence is basically saying, "you know more than nothing, you do know something."

Conclusion: You're better off with saying "I have no intention of running after you, anymore." or "I have no intention running after you, at this point." It really depends on the context of your story and where the climax hit for the character to say that.

PS: If you're trying to say that the character is taking care of the other character, than you can just change the word to "looking after."

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    Is there a rule for using the present continuous (running after) instead of "to run after you"?
    – user3019105
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 18:58
  • How do you mean? Can you explain the question a bit more? From what I understand, in your context, it's something the character usually does, yes? "I'm tired of running after you." "I have no intention of running after you as I have been." If that's the case, it's fine to use the answer I suggested in the answer above, "Conclusion." "I have no intention running after you, at this point." is fine. But unless I didn't understand your question, this is what you should go by. Don't hesitate to edit your question if I didn't answer it.
    – Mike Kuplevatsky
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 19:44
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    Sorry, maybe I was a bit unclear, no character in my case, I was just wondering what is the correct way to say it, "I have no intention of running after you" or "I have no intention to run after you", can I use both when I talk to someone? E.g. lets say I am at a party and a friend of mine starts drinking a lot, I remember that the last time we were at a similar party and I had to chase him cause he got drunk and gone crazy, this time I don't want it to happen again, so I tell him "Hey man, don't get drunk like you did the last time, I have no intention..." Which form would you use?
    – user3019105
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 20:34
  • Ah, I see! No worries, thanks for clarifying it and sorry for such a long delay. Interesting example. You should use "I have no intention running after you, at this point. You [include reason here]." It's at a certain point that brought you to say that. "Anymore" is also an end-word you can use.
    – Mike Kuplevatsky
    Commented Aug 7, 2015 at 0:23
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I'm not one to split hairs, but I believe that "any longer" is the correct ending. Here are some reasons and additional points:

  1. "Anymore" isn't really a word but "any more" implies that there is something left in the tank to give and could be expended in the right circumstance.
  2. "Longer" implies time, distance and effort and lets the recipient know, in no uncertain terms, that the "end" has been reached and that there will be no more effort expended.
  3. I believe that a a semi-colon (;) after "...after you;" would continue the thought but provide the emphasis on the "no more!"
  4. Never use multiple exclamation marks; it is a lazy attempt to provide additional emphasis. If the reader isn't convinced of the importance of the statement, then you are wasting your "breath."
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  • All right, what about the expression "...no intention to run after...", should it be changed into "...no intention (of) running after you..."?
    – user3019105
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 19:17
  • Either preposition is an appropriate start to that phrase but, "...of running..." is more commonly spoken and I think that it flows a bit better. The phrase, "...to run after..." seems a bit formal and might be a better use depending on the context. For example, if you are writing a break-up letter/email, then you might want to use the "to" which would convey some personal "distance" from the person at whom the statement is directed.
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 19:25
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    All right! So definitely "I have no intention running after you, any longer!", do I got it right?
    – user3019105
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 19:28
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    A couple corrections: "I have no intention of running after you any longer!" Drop the extraneous comma and you missed the 'of'.
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 4, 2015 at 19:40
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    "Once" is typically a past-tense adverb so you don't want to use that word to refer to a potential future action. An alternate word might be, "again" - "I have no intention of running after you again."
    – Sam
    Commented Aug 5, 2015 at 12:36

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