With remember, forget, stop, try and regret, the meaning changes. As a rule of thumb, -ing looks back at something that already happened, and to + verb looks forward to something that comes next: I remember locking the door (I did it, and I remember it now). Remember to lock the door (do it later).
I remember locking the door.
-ing looks back: the locking happened first, and now you remember it. With to, the arrow points the other way: Remember to lock the door.
| remember / forget | -ing: a memory (I remember meeting her). To: a task to do (Remember to call her). |
|---|---|
| stop | -ing: the activity ends (I stopped smoking). To: you stop in order to do it (I stopped to rest). |
| try | -ing: an experiment, to see what happens (Try restarting it). To: an effort that's hard (I tried to open it, but it was stuck). |
| regret | -ing: sorry about the past (I regret saying that). To: formal bad news (We regret to inform you…). |
| go on | -ing: continue the same thing (She went on talking). To: move on to something new (She went on to become a doctor). |
I remember meeting her in 2019.
The meeting came first; the remembering is now.
Don't forget to send the email.
First you need to remember, then you do the task.
I stopped eating meat last year.
The eating was going on, and then it stopped.
We stopped to buy some water.
You stopped what you were doing (driving) so that you could buy water.
If it doesn't work, try restarting it.
Do it and see what happens. For an effort that's hard, use try to.
Common expressions worth learning as they are.
I clearly remember _____ the keys on the table.
Which verbs take -ing, which take to, and which change meaning.
Paste an email or an essay. Clarigram marks the mistakes you actually make, shows the rule behind each one as a picture, and builds your practice from them.
-ing usually looks back at something real or already done; to looks forward to something not done yet. It works for remember, forget, regret and stop. Try is different: -ing is an experiment, to is an effort.
With like, love, hate, start and begin, the difference is very small. See the lesson on verbs that take both.