The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

Verbs followed by the TO-infinitive or gerund with a difference in meaning

TO-infinitive or gerund: FORGET, REMEMBER, REGRET, GO ON, STOP, TRY

TO-infinitive or gerund: LIKE, HATE, PREFER, CAN'T BEAR

TO-infinitive or gerund: CONSIDER, IMAGINE

TO-infinitive or gerund: MEAN, HELP

TO-infinitive or gerund: NEED, REQUIRE, WANT

TO-infinitive or gerund: FORGET, REMEMBER, REGRET, GO ON, STOP, TRY

After these verbs, a to-infinitive refers to the future, while a gerund expresses an earlier action, relative to the time of the verb in the main clause:

Don't

forget to meet

Mr Moriarty at 10 o'clock this morning.

(You should meet Mr Moriarty at 10 o'clock this morning.)

I'll never

forget meeting

her for the first time.

(I'll never forget when I met her for the first time.)

Did you

remember to buy

tea?

(Did you remember that you should buy tea?)

I don't

remember

ever

visiting

this museum.

(I don't remember that I have ever visited this museum.)

We

regret to inform

you that your application has been rejected.

(We are sorry we have to inform you that your application has been rejected.)

I

regret spending

so much money last night.

(I am sorry that I spent so much money last night.)

Whichever page you're on,

go on to read

the next chapter.

(Continue with the next chapter.)

Go on reading

the article.

(Continue reading the article.)

We

stopped to drink

a cup of coffee.

(We stopped in order to drink a cup of coffee.)

I

stopped smoking

years ago.

(I gave up smoking years ago.)

I

tried to reach

her at work, but the line was busy.

(I made an attempt to reach her at work.)

Why didn't you

try calling

her on her mobile?

(Why didn't you call her on her mobile to see if you could reach her?)

Quotes:

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. - Bill Cosby

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. - Cavett Robert

Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live. - Margaret Fuller

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. - Voltaire

TO-infinitive or gerund: LIKE, HATE, PREFER, CAN'T BEAR

The verbs like and hate express (dis)liking if they are followed by a gerund:

I

like getting up

early in summer.

(I enjoy getting up early in summer.)

I

hate dancing

, so don't ask me to.

(I don't like dancing.)

But if these verbs are followed by a to-infinitive, they express habitual preference, something that we do not necessarily like or enjoy but consider as useful, right or wise:

I

like to be

punctual.

(It's important to be punctual and I am.)

I

hate to lie

, but sometimes I do.

(It's not right to lie but sometimes I do.)

If like is in the negative, a gerund refers to an action that we do but don't enjoy doing, while a to-infinitive means that we don't do something because we don't think it right to do:

I could tell that Sandra

didn't like being photographed

though she didn't say a word.

(Sandra was photographed, which she didn't like.)

Sandra

didn't like to be photographed

, so she turned her back to the camera.

(Sandra didn't want to be photographed, and she wasn't.)

Prefer and can't bear can also take a gerund or a to-infinitive:

I

prefer walking

to taking the bus.

(I like walking better than taking the bus.)

If you

prefer to walk

, it will take you 30 minutes to school.

(If you want to walk, it will take you 30 minutes to school.)

I

can't bear seeing

people being humiliated.

(I don't like it when I see people being humiliated.)

I

couldn't bear to see

those animals suffer, so I looked away.

(I didn't want to see them suffer, so I looked away.)

TO-infinitive or gerund: CONSIDER, IMAGINE

Consider and imagine can be followed by either (a) a gerund or (b) a noun phrase or pronoun + to-infinitive but with different meanings:

I am

considering working

abroad.

(I am thinking of working abroad.)

Everybody

considers him to be

the best person for the job.

(Everybody thinks that he is the best person for the job.)

Imagine living

at 2,000 metres above sea level!

(Imagine what it would be like to live at 2,000 metres above sea level.)

I

imagined him to be

much taller.

(I expected that he would be much taller.)

TO-infinitive or gerund: MEAN, HELP

Mean and help can be followed by either a gerund or a to-infinitive but with different meanings:

In those days, being a student

meant spending

long hours in the library.

(In those days if you were a student, it meant that you spent long hours in the library.)

I didn't

mean to hurt

your feelings.

(I didn't intend to hurt your feelings.)

I

can't help thinking

that you are hiding something.

(only in the negative: I have to think that you are hiding something.)

Could you

help me (to) undo

my shoelaces? My fingers are frozen.

(Could you undo my shoelaces?)

Help can be followed by a bare infinitive or a to-infinitive.

TO-infinitive or gerund: NEED, REQUIRE, WANT

Need, require and want can be followed by the active or passive to-infinitives to express active or passive meanings, respectively:

I

need to make

a phone call.

Sometimes, people

need to be told

the truth.

My job

requires me to handle

many letters from abroad.

They

required the information to be

sent as soon as possible.

I

wanted to stay

for a few more days.

It was obvious that he

wanted to be invited

.

But active gerunds after these verbs express passive meanings:

Your hair

needs cutting

.

(It should be cut.)

These photos

require

careful

handling

.

(They should be handled carefully.)

The windows

want cleaning

.

(They should be cleaned.)