ing or to infinitive

I was talking to some former students on Friday and inevitably we talk about English classes, books, tutorials and of course, things/topics/grammar points that are particularly hard to understand or grasp, rather.

We were talking verb patterns and, specifically, about verbs followed by -ing or to infinitive.

Here I will just mention some of the verbs we talked about.


Like, love, hate and prefer

In the case of love, hate and prefer, there is not much difference between the -ing structure and the to-infinitive structure. However, when we are referring to one particular occasion, the infinitive is more common.

Eg I hate to do this, but you're grounded. (Hopefully s/he  does not get grounded regularly.)

In the case of like, there is a slight difference. Like + to infinitive means that you think this is a good idea. It doesn't mean you enjoy it, but you think it is a good plan, let'say.


Eg I like to get up early so I can re-read my notes before I go to class.

Remember that would like/love/hate/prefer are always followed by to-infinitive .

Remember and forget

We can use both verbs either followed by an -ing form or a to-infinitive. The big difference between this two structures is a question of time: when the action that you remembered or forgot happened.

Remember to call John.  - First you remember and then you call John. You remember something you have to do, an action which will be necessary.

Don't forget to buy mum a present. - You (don't) forget something that you have to do, that will be
 necessary in the near future.

Whereas

I will always remember meeting George Clooney. (Of course, how could anyone forget). You remember
 something that has happened; it is a memory of a past action or event.

I will never forget seeing him in hospital. - You can't forget this past memory. Again we are talking about
something that happened before the act of (not) forgetting or remembering.

In Spanish this difference is carried out in a different way. 1) Recuerda llamar a John and 2) Recuerdo haber conocido a George Clooney.

Try

Try to do this exercise. I know it is difficult. - Here I am asking you to attempt to do something difficult, to make the effort


Try writing down all the new words in sentences. Maybe you will remember their meaning more easily.
       Here I am suggesting doing something to see what will happen. It is more like do this as an experiment.

Stop

I stopped smoking. - You stop what you are doing / do. You finish that activity or action.

I stopped to smoke. - You stop doing something in order to do something else. (I stopped studying to have a cigarette.)

Here in Spanish the difference might be marked by a preposition. 1) Paré / dejé de fumar and 2) Paré para fumar.


For further information or practice,

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omgrammar/gerundiooinfinitivo.htm

http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/ing6.cfm

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/verbs-followed-%E2%80%98ing%E2%80%99-or-%E2%80%98-infinitive%E2%80%99-2