Gerund and Infinite

Both Gerund & Infinitive - No Meaning Change

The verbs below are common verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives.

The meaning of sentence

infinitive.

* begin

* like

* hate

* start

* love

* can't stand

* continue

* prefer

* can't bear

EXAMPLES:

* Sophorn began to sing.

Sophorn began singing.

* Sokhom liked to go to school when she was a girl.

Sokhom liked going to school when she was a girl.

* Choudy loves to talk with her friends.

Choudy loves talking with her friends.

* Rosa prefers to watch movies in Spanish.

Rosa prefers watching movies in Spanish.

does not change whether you use the gerund or

Both Gerund & Infinitive - Meaning Change

The verbs below are common verbs that can be followed by gerunds or infinitives.

The meaning of sentence

* remember

* regret

* stop

* forget

* try

EXAMPLES

* Wei remembered to go to the store on his way home from school.

does change whether you use the gerund or infinitive.

This means that Wei did go to the store on his way home. He didn't forget to

go to the store.

Wei remembered going to the store on his way home from school.

This means that Wei went to the store at some time in the past and he

remembered doing it.

* Latasha regretted to tell the student that his essay was deleted.

This means that Latasha was sorry for the student because the essay was

deleted. In this case, regret refers to telling someone bad news.

Latasha regretted telling the student that his essay was deleted.

This means that Latasha personally felt bad because she told the student

that his essay was deleted. She may feel bad because something bad may

have happened afterwards such as the student later got angry and started

yelling.

* Paul stopped to smoke.

This means that Paul was doing something but then he stopped doing it to

smoke.

Paul stopped smoking.

This means that Paul used to smoke (cigarettes, cigars, etc.) but he doesn't

smoke now.

* Jerome forgot to go to the bank.

This means that Jerome did not go the bank.

Jerome forgot going to the bank.

This means that Jerome went to the bank at some time in the past but he

doesn't remember doing it.

* Maria tried to close the window.

This means that Maria attempted (made a physical effort) to close the

window but she was unable to do it.

Because it was very cold in her home, Maria tried closing the window.

Maria then tried turning up the heat.

This means that Maria was attempting to solve the problem of being cold.

Try + gerund means to attempt to solve something. Because she was cold,

Maria first closed the window. However, she was still cold, so she then

turned up the heat. Both actions, closing the window and turning up the

heat, were accomplished by Maria.