Unit 2 - Gerunds and infinitives

Regret
Regret + -ing form refers back to the past – something that one is sorry one did.
· I regret leaving school at 14 – it was a big mistake.
Regret + infinitive is used mostly in announcements of bad news.
· We regret to inform passengers that the 14.50 train for Cardiff will leave approximately 37 minutes late.
· We regret to say that we are unable to help you.


Remember and forget
Remember/ forget + -ing form refers back to the past – to things that one did. Forget … ing is used mostly in the phrase I’ll never forget …ing, and expressions with similar meanings.
· I still remember buying my first bicycle.
· I’ll never forget meeting the President.
Remember/ forget + infinitive refers forward in time – to things that one still has or still had to do at the moment of remembering or forgetting.
· You must remember to fetch Mr. Lewis from the station tomorrow.
· I forgot to buy the soap.


Try
To talk about making an experiment – doing something to see what will happen – we use try + -ing
· I tried sending her flowers, writing her letters, giving her presents, but she still wouldn’t speak to me.
To talk about making an effort to do something difficult, we can use either try + infinitive or try + -ing
· I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold. (or I tried changing the wheel …)


Stop
To say why we stop doing something use stop + infinitive
· She stopped to make a cup of tea.
To say what it is that we stop doing use stop + -ing
· They stopped laughing when Malcolm walked into the room.